“Constance Kopp, the feisty heroine of Amy Stewart’s charming novel “Girl Waits With Gun,” sounds like the creation of a master crime writer. At nearly 6 feet tall, Constance is a formidable character who can pack heat, deliver a zinger and catch a criminal without missing a beat. Based on the little-known story of the real Constance Kopp, one of America’s first female deputy sheriffs, the novel is an entertaining and enlightening story of how far one woman will go to protect her family.” —Washington Post 

“Stewart has spun a fine, historically astute novel…The sisters’ personalities flower under Stewart’s pen, contributing happy notes of comedy to a terrifying situation…And then there is Constance: Sequestered for years in the country and cowed by life, she develops believably into a woman who comes into herself, discovering powers long smothered under shame and resignation. I, for one, would like to see her return to wield them again in further installments.”—New York Times Book Review

“The Kopps are the stars of Stewart’s new zippy, winsome novel, Girl Waits With Gun. Filled with historical detail without being weighed down by it, the novel is a cinematic story of the women, the siege instigated by their powerful enemy, and their brave efforts in the face of real violence.”—Los Angeles Times

“This rollicking western about a woman who’ll do anything to save her family is based on the true tale of one of the country’s first female deputy sheriffs.” —People Magazine

“This historical novel by the bestselling author of The Drunken Botanist stars an unforgettable, not-to-be-messed-with heroine – one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs. It all begins circa 1910 when an earnest request entangles a family with the town thug. The rest is kickass history.”—Marie Claire

“Stewart gives us three sisters whose bond — scratchy and well-worn but stronger for it, as can happen with family ties — is unspoken but effortless. Girl Waits With Gun might sometimes be a story in which truth is stranger than fiction, but it also makes for pretty charming fiction.”—NPR

“Fans of strong female characters will find their new favorite heroine in Constance Kopp, who takes a bold stand against a gang that is threatening her family. Debut novelist Amy Stewart’s Girl Waits With Gun is a historical thrill ride, racing through funny, tragic, and terrifying scenes. Even better, it’s based on the true story of one of the United States’ first female deputy sheriffs and her brave, amazing sisters.”—Cosmopolitan, “24 New Books to Read this Fall”

“Amy Stewart uses her skills as a researcher to lovingly excavate the wonderful, entirely forgotten story of the Kopp sisters, who briefly dominated East Coast newspaper headlines a century ago…Constance, Norma, and Fleurette live on a New Jersey farm, scraping by without too much difficulty until a road accident entangles them with a crooked silk manufacturer, who begins to harass them – possibly with the help of the Black Hand gang. It’s Constance’s doughty response that gives the book its title, and also its delightful verve…[Stewart’s] created several memorable characters here, in particular Constance, who, enterprising and independent but with a closely guarded sorrow in her past, seems like an American answer to Maisie Dobbs.”—USA Today

“Well-written with sharply drawn characters and the occasional plot twist, Girl Waits With Gun is an absorbing throwback to a bygone era.”—Associated Press

“[A] confident, charming, sure-footed debut — a fresh, winning and delightful mystery with a warm heart, impish humor and a heroine who quietly shatters convention.”—Dallas Morning News

“If fictional accounts of real women are your thing, then settle in with Girl Waits With Gun and you won’t be let down. Amy Stewart recreates one of the world’s first female deputy sheriffs, set in the early 1900s, and you will be cheering Constance Kopp on through every page. The race to catch a murderer is thrilling in itself, but the powerful woman driving the book is what will really keep readers turning pages!”—Bustle, “11 Smart Books to Read if You Love Thrillers”

“Thrilling… iveting and great fun… The blend of historical fiction with this true-life story is ingenious and makes Stewart’s book a pleasure to read. The Kopp sisters are not shy and shrinking violets and the author’s style is just as bold.”—Cowgirl Magazine

“Girl Waits with Gun [successfully] mines the life of Constance Kopp and the fascinating, riveting, and almost-lost sliver of history that bears her stamp.”—Paste Magazine

“[A] marvellous romp.”—The Guardian

“Through painstaking attention to detail, Stewart has created an elegant, moving narrative of an unusual real-life woman who dared defy the odds to ensure the safety of her family.” —BookPage

“It’s set in 1914, but its heroine, Constance Kopp, feels about 100 years more modern as she boldly takes on a gang hellbent on destroying her family.”—Glamour

“The author of The Drunken Botanist turns to fiction with this lighthearted novel about America’s first deputy sheriff, the real-life Constance Kopp, who with her sisters Norma and Fleurette pursued criminals in Paterson, New Jersey, in the early 20th century. Stewart stumbled on the Kopps’ story in a 1914 newspaper clipping and says she knew she had to write about them.”—Newsday, “What’s New”

“Constance Kopp is no Nancy Drew. One of the country’s first female detectives and the subject of bestselling author Amy Stewart’s new novel, Girl Waits with Gun, Kopp is a gun-toting gal plagued by a family secret. Expect a highly willful protagonist penned with the utmost historical accuracy.”—San Francisco Magazine

“Laugh out loud [funny].”—Good Housekeeping

“A wry, exciting period novel starring a kick-ass heroine.”—Refinery 29