107. Dear Miss Kopp

Dear Miss Kopp (Kopp Sisters #6). Amy Stewart. 2021 [January] 320 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: May 2, 1918 Dear Norma, You’re a terrible correspondent and there’s no excuse for it. Fleurette and I are left stateside while you march off to France. We had a few decent letters when you were in Paris and a passable selection when you arrived at your secret location, but lately you’re sending us nothing but an occasional “I am well” to let us know that you’re alive. Are words also being rationed overseas, even short ones?

Premise/plot: Dear Miss Kopp is the sixth book in the series starring the three Kopp sisters: Constance, Norma, and Fleurette. World War I has the sisters separated--but they are able to keep in touch via letters. This sixth installment is the wartime correspondence of the sisters. Constance is working for the Bureau of Investigation; Norma is overseas in France; and Fleurette is touring the nation still with May Ward. The book has two primary mysteries--one in France, and one in the United States. A few new characters are introduced--as you'd expect. Notably, Norma's friend, Aggie, a nurse. Readers are treated to her letters because she is a much better correspondent than Norma. And the sisters rely on her to keep them up to speed on Norma's adventures and misadventures. Laura--the parrot--is also introduced.

My thoughts: I really LOVE this series. I do. Reading them in order is a must however. If this was your first introduction to the series it would probably be a confusing mess! But if you've read and enjoyed them all, this one is a treat. I don't normally "love" epistolary novels, but it makes sense in this context.

My favorite quotes:

If you ever meet a woman who hasn’t carved out some tiny hiding place in a desk or drawer, be very suspicious. It doesn’t mean she has no secrets: it means her secrets are too large or dangerous to be hidden in her bedroom or sitting-room. Look for a gun under the floor boards in that case, or a body buried in the garden. ~ Constance

Please remember that only in novels do investigations run smoothly, with a new clue turning up in each chapter until the whole is finally revealed. In fact, the usual progress of an investigation is something more like this: Day One: Nothing out of the ordinary. Day Two: Nothing out of the ordinary. Day Three: An idea! The idea is pursued, but leads nowhere. Day Four: A witness is interviewed, but they know nothing. Day Five: Nothing. And on it goes, until one day, you find the answer. And the reason you find it is that you’ve been looking. I promise you that discouragement, boredom, and the questioning of one’s own sanity are the workaday characteristics of any investigation. ~ Constance

© 2021 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews