Girl in Disguise

Kate Warne is a widow with no income and a pitch for Allan Pinkerton: a woman detective can enter places and do things that no man on his staff can. He hires her, and she is set to work in 1850s Chicago as the first female detective.

Kate learns lock picking and surveillance, but her real talent is disguise. She plays a prostitute, a wealthy matron, a spinster, a clerk and a Southern belle, and she lies with ease in every role. Her cases cover burglary, bank robbery, embezzlement, counterfeiting, blackmail and murder.

As the other detectives come to respect her, she devises a plan to protect President Lincoln from a Southern assassination plot. Once the Civil War begins, she faces a dangerous opponent in the Southern spy Mrs. Rose Greenhow.

This is a historical novel built around a real detective's career, with an emphasis on suspense and action. Expect a brisk run of cases, undercover work and a growing political threat.