This is strongly based on a true historical figure. I feel it would have changed my expectations and approach to the book if I had known that going in. I might have enjoyed it more. As it was I judged it against the plots and pace of classic hard-boiled novels (maybe because of the cover). This is not that. ( )

I really enjoyed this. I picked it up because the next novel in the series was on sale, and surely I can't start with the second book, so I checked this one out from the library. The characters are well drawn and interesting, and the story moves along at a good pace. Great fun! ( )

Awful. Felt like I was reading a book that was written 100 years ago and did not age well. Everyone was naive. The plot was too weak. Who cares about this one-dimensional man? There is nothing at all to keep my interest in his stupid behavior. (His sister, father, and friends are one-dimensional too.) The Kopp sisters aren't much smarter. They're burning through money with no future plans?

The twists and turns are minimal. Fleurette-as-sister was the only interesting one and it wasn't enough. Much of the action is unbelievable: Sheriff providing them with guns? Providing lots of attention including men to watch the house for months? Letting Constance meet criminals as they demanded? Offering her a job as detective with very little experience and unable to control her reactions (both physical and verbal)?

Yes, I read that the book is based on a true story and some of these things happened but what the author has made up for to fill in the details just doesn't rise to the sum total of a worthwhile book. (And certainly not one of 400 pages.)

So why did I read the whole thing? Book club. ( )

The first in the Kopps Sisters Novel Series, Girl Waits with Gun is an enthralling novel based on the forgotten true story of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs.
Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family — and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared. ( )

This was a nice light read between War & Peace and Ticking Clock. A bit of fun and escape. It did have a lot of waiting. I kept expecting something to happen, but found myself waiting sans gun. It is already fading from my memory. It did show how powerless women were at this time. These were strong characters being harassed by circumstances. I found it frustrating at times that the women weren't listened to and were expected to submit to a subservient role to a male family member. Glad they were able to prevail. ( )