Girl in Disguise

Girl in Disguise tells the story of Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton detective. Kate is a recent widow and in desperate need of money in 1856 Chicago. She sees the famous Allan Pinkerton’s ad for new detectives and decides to convince him to hire her as his first female detective. It’s not an easy job, and she has to overcome a lot of obstacles, but eventually she becomes somewhat of a legend herself.

There is hardly any information about Kate Warne, and the author acknowledges this. However, the cases that Kate was known to have worked on are in this book, and Ms. Macallister seamlessly creates a story that integrates each of her cases.

This book is more about the woman that Kate Warne was, as opposed to the specific cases she solved. They are in there, but more as insight into how they transformed Kate into a legendary detective. The author may have taken some liberties with Kate’s story since not much is known about her, but anyone that is willing to be the first at anything is someone worth knowing about. I recommend you check it out.