Sheila's Reviews > The Widow Spy

This is not a thrilling spy vs. spy action filled book, so if that's what you are looking for, look elsewhere. What it is is an insightful character study of a woman trying to find herself in the nineteenth century. Orphaned by the Great Potato Famine in Ireland, Kate is fostered by a family who never quite treat her like a family member.At seven, she goes to work in a cotton mill, always feeling like an outsider. As the book opens, she is the Pinkerton agency's first female detective, trying to get Southern spy Rose Greenhow to break and reveal her secrets. Many issues are discussed, as well as the abomination that is slavery, including child labor and the early union movement. Does Kate live happily ever after? I hope so, in the short time she is given.