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2017 HWA Debut Crown Award (longlist)
From the New York Times best-selling author of The Drunken Botanist comes an enthralling novel based on the forgotten, true story of one of the US's first female deputy sheriffs.
Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mould. 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 from the city to the country fifteen years before. When a powerful, ruthless factory owner runs down their buggy, a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their farm. The sheriff enlists her help, and it turns out that Constance has a knack for outwitting (and disarming) the criminal element, which might just take her back out into the world and onto a new path in life.
Through Amy Stewart’s exuberant storytelling, Constance Kopp catapults from a forgotten historical anecdote to an unforgettable historical-fiction heroine — an outsized woman not only ahead of her time, but sometimes even ahead of ours. PRAISE FOR AMY STEWART
‘A tongue-in-cheek fable of feminist empowerment … Often funny, and always likeable, Girl Waits With Gun is as offbeat and original as its heroine.’ The Sunday Times
‘[Constance Kopp] is a likeable heroine in a breezy romp, which is thrilling and amusing in equal measure.’ The Sunday Herald Sun
Genre: Historical Mystery
Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mould. 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 from the city to the country fifteen years before. When a powerful, ruthless factory owner runs down their buggy, a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their farm. The sheriff enlists her help, and it turns out that Constance has a knack for outwitting (and disarming) the criminal element, which might just take her back out into the world and onto a new path in life.
Through Amy Stewart’s exuberant storytelling, Constance Kopp catapults from a forgotten historical anecdote to an unforgettable historical-fiction heroine — an outsized woman not only ahead of her time, but sometimes even ahead of ours. PRAISE FOR AMY STEWART
‘A tongue-in-cheek fable of feminist empowerment … Often funny, and always likeable, Girl Waits With Gun is as offbeat and original as its heroine.’ The Sunday Times
‘[Constance Kopp] is a likeable heroine in a breezy romp, which is thrilling and amusing in equal measure.’ The Sunday Herald Sun
Genre: Historical Mystery
Praise for this book
"Amy Stewart s debut novel 'Girl Waits With Gun' is an irresistible and thoroughly enjoyable book, a suspenseful historical mystery spiced with marvelouscharacters, wit, and humor. Is it too soon to beg for a sequel?" - Jennifer Chiaverini
"A smart, romping adventure, featuring some of the most memorable and powerful female characters I've seen in print for a long time. I loved every page as I followed the Kopp sisters through a too-good-to-be-true (but mostly true!) tale of violence, courage, stubbornness, and resourcefulness." - Elizabeth Gilbert
"Yowza! Amy Stewart s debut boasts pomaded gangsters, pistol-packin dames, kidnappings, shots in the dark, and everything from Girls Gone Wrong to carrier pigeons finding their way home. You might want to stay up all night reading, you might want to lie down on your fainting couch with a cool cloth on your forehead. Either way, you ll have the time of your life." - Robert Goolrick
"Engaging, lively, and substantive, 'Girl Waits with Gun' is a perfect mystery, and the Kopp sisters are my new best friends. Amy Stewart writes about crime as well as she writes about plants and poisons. I loved this book, and will be first in line for the next installment." - Sara Gran
"How could you not fall in love with a book about one of the first female deputy sheriffs and her sisters--especially when it s written by the enthralling Amy Stewart? Full of long-held secrets, kicked-up dust, simmering danger, and oh yes, that gun this gritty romp illuminates one of history s strongest women with a hold-your-breath panache." - Caroline Leavitt
"Girl Waits with Gun" is fresh, funny and utterly compelling-- and Constance Kopp and her sisters are not just great investigators, but completely original women. It was a blast from start to finish and I can t wait to see what Deputy Kopp gets up to next." - Lisa Lutz
"Girl Waits With Gun" makes excellent use of history to put a fresh spin on classic cop-and-crook types. Amy Stewart's true-life protagonist is a rough and tumble version of the early 20th century's New Woman. She is witty, sharply-drawn, and suffers no fools!" - Suzanne Rindell
"Amy Stewarthas craftedthe best kind of historical novel; she uncovers an intriguing, all-but-forgotten historical nugget and spins it into a wildly entertaining tale with an engaging, tough-minded heroine. 'Girl Waits With Gun' hits the bulls-eye." - Daniel Stashower
"A smart, romping adventure, featuring some of the most memorable and powerful female characters I've seen in print for a long time. I loved every page as I followed the Kopp sisters through a too-good-to-be-true (but mostly true!) tale of violence, courage, stubbornness, and resourcefulness." - Elizabeth Gilbert
"Yowza! Amy Stewart s debut boasts pomaded gangsters, pistol-packin dames, kidnappings, shots in the dark, and everything from Girls Gone Wrong to carrier pigeons finding their way home. You might want to stay up all night reading, you might want to lie down on your fainting couch with a cool cloth on your forehead. Either way, you ll have the time of your life." - Robert Goolrick
"Engaging, lively, and substantive, 'Girl Waits with Gun' is a perfect mystery, and the Kopp sisters are my new best friends. Amy Stewart writes about crime as well as she writes about plants and poisons. I loved this book, and will be first in line for the next installment." - Sara Gran
"How could you not fall in love with a book about one of the first female deputy sheriffs and her sisters--especially when it s written by the enthralling Amy Stewart? Full of long-held secrets, kicked-up dust, simmering danger, and oh yes, that gun this gritty romp illuminates one of history s strongest women with a hold-your-breath panache." - Caroline Leavitt
"Girl Waits with Gun" is fresh, funny and utterly compelling-- and Constance Kopp and her sisters are not just great investigators, but completely original women. It was a blast from start to finish and I can t wait to see what Deputy Kopp gets up to next." - Lisa Lutz
"Girl Waits With Gun" makes excellent use of history to put a fresh spin on classic cop-and-crook types. Amy Stewart's true-life protagonist is a rough and tumble version of the early 20th century's New Woman. She is witty, sharply-drawn, and suffers no fools!" - Suzanne Rindell
"Amy Stewarthas craftedthe best kind of historical novel; she uncovers an intriguing, all-but-forgotten historical nugget and spins it into a wildly entertaining tale with an engaging, tough-minded heroine. 'Girl Waits With Gun' hits the bulls-eye." - Daniel Stashower
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