Review: 'Lady Cop Makes Trouble' by Amy Stewart (2017)

In 1915, lady cops were not expected to chase down fugitives on the streets of New York City. But Constance Kopp never did what anyone expected.
Bergen County’s Sheriff Heath has appointed Constance as one of the nation’s first female deputies. He knows she’s a powerful addition to his force, and she knows she can do the job, but when the wiles of a German-speaking con man threaten her position and her hopes for this new life — and risk the honourable sheriff being thrown into his own jail — Constance is forced to prove herself again.
'Lady Cop Makes Trouble' sees Constance on the trail of a fugitive, helping runaway girls taken in by unscrupulous men, and sorting out why an old woman is taking the fall for a murder she couldn’t have committed. Cheering her on are her sisters Norma and Fleurette — that is, when they aren’t, respectively, training pigeons for the war effort or fanning dreams of a life on the stage.
I was really excited to pick up and check out ‘Lady Cop Makes Trouble’, author Amy Stewart’s sequel to her fantastic read ‘Girl Waits with Gun’, which I had the pleasure of reviewing a few weeks ago (click here to read my review). I loved the mix of historical fiction, women’s fiction and detective/mystery novel, and was really curious to read more about the Kopp sisters. I was lucky enough to have also received a review copy of the second part of this book series, which was released in 2016, and I already had a good feeling I was hopefully going to enjoy it as much as the first part…!
Set in the 1910s, Constance Kopp finds herself making history when she is appointed as one of the country’s first female deputies. Constance is determined to do a good job, especially since she loves what she does, but not everyone supports her and sheriff Heath’s decision to appoint a woman as deputy. When Constance accidentally lets a German immigrant criminal escape on her watch, she not only brings her own career at risk, but also sheriff Heath, who has always supported her. There is only one thing that can save both of them and that’s tracking down the German criminal and putting him behind bars once again, but Constance has quite a job ahead of her…
After having read Amy Stewart’s novel ‘Girl Waits with Gun’ I promised myself I’d keep an eye out for any other books by this author, and I’m really glad to say the sequel in the series, ‘Lady Cop Makes Trouble’, managed to live up to my expectations; it’s definitely another engaging and well-written detective read I couldn’t get enough of. The oldest of the Kopp sisters, Constance, has managed to be appointed as deputy and she takes her job very seriously. When something unexpected happens, she is suddenly forced to prove her worth, no matter the stakes. I really liked how we not only follow Constance, but we also learn more about her sisters Norma and Fleurette. I love the three different female characters, and wouldn’t have minded if perhaps even more attention had been paid to Norma and Fleurette and their activities.  
Just like with the first part of this series, I really enjoyed how the author tackles various genres (women’s fiction, historical fiction, a detective element) and both fiction and non-fiction (the storyline is based on actual events). Amy Stewart has a great and comfortable writing style and I am counting the Kopp sisters novels to some of my favourite reads of this year so far, and I sincerely hope there will be more adventures to come. All in all, another stunning and convincing read by author Amy Stewart; ‘Lady Cop Makes Trouble’ is an entertaining and original work of fiction that I loved from start to finish.

Rating:9/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.