Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister
"We were all misrepresenting ourselves to each other after all. To live in this world daily was to traffic in the business of leading other people astray" (Macallister, 2017, p. 92).
"Love makes fools of us all" (Macallister, 2017, p.117).
Author: Greer Macallister
Title: Girl in Disguise
Publication Date: 2017
Number of Pages: 338
Edition: Kindle
Geographical Setting: Chicago, IL; Charleston, SC; Richmond, NC. Various locations in the southern states of the United States.
Time Period: August 1856-1861
Plot Summary:
Kate Warne is a struggling Widow who has no choice but to become a Pinkerton detective, a position unheard of for a woman. She has to face not only her fellow detectives but also learn how to turn her manipulation skills into undercover work. Her coworkers do not believe in her, whether it's because they do not think she has the strength or because she gained her position by sleeping with her boss. Yet, she withstands the test of time, leading her division of family detectives and saving the newly elected President Abraham Lincoln from an assassination plot on his inauguration day.
As the nation descends into the Civil War, Kate is called to duty as a spy for the Union. She'll face cutthroat Confederate operatives, her own heart, and ghosts from her past. She'll only have her investigative skills and ability to camouflage herself to survive the war. Can she survive the war? Or will the war destroy everything on its path, including Kate herself?
Subject Headings:
Historial Fiction, Civil War, Mystery, Thriller, Woman Power, Detective
Horror Appeals
Frame/Setting
"Historical Fiction requires accurate historical facts" (Wyatt, 2019, p. 171).
Kate lives through one of the most dynamic times in the United States: the Civil War. Not only is she one of the first female detectives in the nation, but she actually saved President Lincoln before his inauguration date. She traveled with him across the nation, staying up through the night to safely deliver him to Washington, DC. "Many readers trace a great deal of their knowledge of history to Historical Fiction" (Wyatt, 2019, p. 171).
Story Line "The story line explains and contextualizes events, linking them to the settings of the period and to particular characters and their motivations" (Wyatt, 2019, p. 172).
Kate's interaction with the South, even before the war, allows the readers to understand the true separation between the two regions. "We were already two countries. We even spoke different languages" (Macallister, 2017, 169." Her travel through the railroad showcases the hassle of traveling before cars or airports. It also showcases how hard it was for a woman to find a job outside of the what was "deemed" appropriate and actual keep that same job.
Characterization
"Characters underpin every historical event. Authors are quick to fictionalize real people and put them into their novels" (Wyatt, 2019, p.173).
Kate Warne was a real person who was, in fact, hired by Allan Pinkerton in 1856. She was a widow and was a key factor in saving Lincoln's life before his 1861 inauguration, yet no one really knows what she looked like or even how she died. Besides a few case references, we don't even know much about her cases (Wyatt, 2019, p. 317).
3 terms that best describe this book: empowering, self-discovery, suspenseful
Historical Fiction Read-Alikes:
The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan
Ryan, J. (2024). The underground library. Ballantine Books.
Common Appeals:
Independent Women, War, espionage
Windy City Blues by Renée Rosen
Rosen, R. (2017). Windy City Blues. Berkley.
Common Appeals:
Chicago, talented women, self-discovery
The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin
Benjamin, M. (2018). The girls in the picture. Delacorte Press.
Common Appeals:
female friendship, career women, gender equality
References
Benjamin, M. (2018). The girls in the picture. Delacorte Press.
Macallister, G. (2017). Girl in disguise. Sourcebooks Landmark.
Rosen, R. (2017). Windy City Blues. Berkley.
Ryan, J. (2024). The underground library. Ballantine Books.
Wyatt, N., & Saricks, J. G. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction (3rd ed.). American Library Association.
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