B+

Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit

Having raved about the first book in the Kopp Sisters series, Girl Waits With Gun, I found the sequels (Lady Cop Makes Trouble, Miss Kopp’s Midnight Confessions) to be disappointing. I’m pleased to say that the series returns to form with the most recent book, Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit. As always, most of the story is either completely true or inspired by real events, and the title was the headline of a real news article.

In this book, which is set right before America enters WWI, Miss Kopp is a Deputy Sheriff working for Sheriff Heath. It’s an election year, so Sheriff Heath’s job is in jeopardy and so is Miss Kopp’s. In an afterword, the author ruefully reminds us that the election stuff is all historically accurate and not invented to be eerily similar to Trump’s election campaign and results.

While the campaign is going on, Miss Kopp involves herself in the case of one of her prisoners, who is transferred to an insane asylum at the request of her husband. When Miss Kopp goes to the woman’s house to collect her, she finds no signs that the woman is insane. Neither has the woman seen a doctor. The husband doesn’t seem at all upset about his wife being dragged away to the asylum. Miss Kopp decides to find out why the woman is being admitted, and what she can do to either help the woman or free her outright.

The ensuing mystery not only sheds light on the lack of legal resources for women, but also brings Miss Kopp into a new circle of friends: the women in the police force, a female lawyer, and of course her own strong-willed sisters, who are increasingly concerned about the Great War. The book explores victimization, powerlessness, and grief, but also explores strength and resilience and hope. Above all, it’s incredibly exciting, funny, and entertaining. You could easily read this book as a stand-alone, or start with Girl Waits With Gun and skip the middle two books (or, of course, read all four).

– Carrie S

Trailblazing Constance’s hard-won job as deputy sheriff is on the line in Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit, the fourth installment of Amy Stewart’s Kopp Sisters series.

After a year on the job, New Jersey’s first female deputy sheriff has collared criminals, demanded justice for wronged women, and gained notoriety nationwide for her exploits. But on one stormy night, everything falls apart.

While transporting a woman to an insane asylum, Deputy Kopp discovers something deeply troubling about her story. Before she can investigate, another inmate bound for the asylum breaks free and tries to escape.

In both cases, Constance runs instinctively toward justice. But the fall of 1916 is a high-stakes election year, and any move she makes could jeopardize Sheriff Heath’s future–and her own. Although Constance is not on the ballot, her controversial career makes her the target of political attacks.

With wit and verve, book-club favorite Amy Stewart brilliantly conjures the life and times of the real Constance Kopp to give us this “unforgettable, not-to-be messed-with heroine” (Marie Claire) under fire in Miss Kopp Just Won’t Quit.