I did not love this title. It had a great concept and was exciting because I mean ANNIE OAKLEY! However, it fell short of my expectations and was more like riding the tailcoats of a great name. There was no real character development and the mystery was just meh. I commend the author on giving it a great try as writing a book is incredibly hard.

This could have been a fun mystery like the Jane Austen mysteries. However, this was not executed well. It took a while for the author to build up the plot. The characters were one dimensional and the mystery was mostly inthe background. Despite this, I’m curious to see more improvement in these future novels.

I love westerns and mysteries so decided this would be a perfect pick for an afternoon's read. I was right. The ladies in Buffalo Bill's shows were always a huge draw and Annie Oakley was one of the best. This story centers on her life as a young woman trying to get ahead and take care of her family. Then her assistant is murdered and she takes on the role of detective. What follows is an enjoyable read that includes many of the biggest names in western history.

An okay story set in Wild West, it's more suited to readers who like reading about Annie Oakley. Although, I can't guarantee the accuracy of the historical elements.

THE MYSTERY was way too easy and convoluted. Easy because I sussed out the killer early on, and convoluted because it took Annie two milleniums to find the culprit and only after jumping to conclusions each step of the way(you could say that it's realistic because you're supposed to suspect anyone with possible means and proceed to eliminate them until you end up with your killer but did she need to VOICE them out??)

THE ROMANCE, ugh, insta-romance, anyone? Woman went from meeting, falling in love, bedding and being proposed to HELLA FAST.

THE PACING was too fast as well as having too much happening too soon.

OTHER points to mention would be the author's implicit negative portrayal of a domestic lifestyle. Okay you're trying to show the rising of the feminist movement and female power and all that but did you have to make domestic life seem like a bad thing? And uber boring? It's perfectly fine to want and live that kind of life if someone chooses to, you don't have to judge it. (I'm talking about being a housewife, not being controlled by male members and all that).
Also, Animal cruelty advocates might want to skip this book as it mentions shooting at animals, but mostly birds.

As I said, this story is more suitable for those of you who like reading anything with Annie Oakley and Frank Butler in it (with a plot loosely based on facts, leaning more on fiction).

Thank you to NetGalley and Kari Bovee for allowing me to read and review Girl with a Gun. I love books that focus on historical people from a fiction angle, and I really enjoyed this book.

I received a ARC from Net Galley and the publisher for review. My opinion is my own.

I loved this book ! I have always been a fan of the story of Annie Oakley and what a independent unique woman she was for her time. . I am a fan of westerns so reading this book was so much fun for me.

This is a mystery and I hope the first of many in the series. In this debut we meet Annie who is supporting her family at 15 years old with her shooting abilities. This is unprecedented in her time. She is shunned by many but what I love about her is she is tough and uses her abilities to make money to support her family no matter what society says.

Annie is going to a competition where the prize is $200 if you can out shoot the great sharpshooter Frank Butler. After she wins the prize she is offered a job with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show under the stage name Annie Oakley. While she is on the road with the show she experiences mysteries and mysterious events. She meets unique charcters and has life experiences that change her life.

Buffalo Bill and Chief Sitting Bull. are here in all their glory. All the supporting charcters were done to perfection with all the bravado of the old west.

I love that this book is written to be a light mystery about a fascinating historical woman that was ahead of her time. .I liked the mystery, the plot and the writing. I look forward to further books in the series.

Thank you for the ARC. A enjoyable read that I recommend.

I was unable to finish this book. I read a few chapters and found the writing and story to both be lacking in any interest.

Too many unnecessary historical inaccuracies. Annie Oakley was a fascinating woman who led a fascinating life, but nothing in this book reflected her. It’s as if the author did no research at all.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC ebook in exchange for a review.

Annie Oakley joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and discovers the body of the female Indian who shares her tent. Unhappy with the verdict of natural causes she decides to investigate.
Unfortunately I felt that the story and the characters were flat and uninteresting, and it was a struggle to care for the mystery and finish the book.

Annie Oakley is a horrible detective. She kept on jumping to the wrong conclusions so many times that I expected her break her ankle at one point. And she kept telling everyone who she thought was the murderer like she wanted someone to kill her.

Fifteen-year-old Annie Oakley has just joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, and her budding career as a female sharpshooter is not getting off to a good start. Yes, Annie is excelling at her new career, the audience in St. Louis adores her, and she is even besting Frank Butler – the man known as the best sharpshooter in the world. Annie is also taking to her newfound fame quite well. The problem is that dead bodies keep turning up in Annie’s general vicinity. First, Annie’s bunkmate, a young Indian woman, is found dead in their tent. Then Buffalo Bill’s former partner is found shot to death in the stands following one of their shows. Between investigating the mysterious deaths, practicing her tricks, and performing in the show, Annie is also trying to determine why her beloved horse keeps getting sick, figure out her potential romance with Frank Butler, and deal with a ghost from her past who is out to ruin her future. To solve the murders and the other criminal acts taking place around the campsite and arena for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Annie teams up with a local female reporter who has a suffragette agenda of her own.

I cannot even begin to describe how excited I was when I first heard about GIRL WITH A GUN. I loved the concept of a mystery novel surrounding Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. It was a very anxious wait to get my hands on a copy. As a huge fan of all things related to the American West, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Annie Oakley. The real Annie Oakley might not have solved any murders – or, for all we know, maybe she was an amateur detective – but she was a very fascinating woman. Back in the 1880s, not many women had careers – especially careers in show business. Yet there was Annie Oakley outshooting the best male sharpshooters in the world in various traveling shows and acting as an inspiration to women everywhere. Kari Bovee did an excellent job bringing the characters – both real and made up – to life. And she masterfully recreated Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.

GIRL WITH A GUN is a very entertaining, well-written novel. My only complaint is that there seems to be too much going on. There is the main story lies/plot and secondary storylines/subplot. None of it was hard to follow. It just got to be a little too much. Other than that, this is an amazing novel. GIRL WITH A GUN is a captivating romp back to the 1880s and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. The various mysteries are intriguing, the suspects are many with solid motives, and the red herrings will keep you guessing.

I so wanted to love this mystery, but it fell a little flat for me.

We meet a young Annie who wins a shooting contest and is invited to join Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. She quickly accepts since she is the sole support for her mother and two younger siblings. Once Annie is on the road a young girl is found dead. This seems to bother Annie and sets her to investigating, even though others write the death off and Annie doesn't seem to have a real connection to the girl. With others coming to be in harms way it seems a murderer is on the loose and Annie does eventually solve the mystery.

The thing that bothered me was the lack of connection to other characters in the story. We are practically thrown into the mystery without any real connections being formed. I do appreciate that Annie Oakley was a woman almost bigger than life and women and girls now need to know of her.

The concept of a mystery story featuring Annie Oakley and Frank Butler, with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show as a backdrop is phenomenal and deeply interesting. Annie Oakley is an American legend whose life and career bridged the time period between America as a frontier and as a developed nation.

Unfortunately,the execution of this story did not live up to the concept. I found the pacing and the writing to be uneven, and the plot not fully thought out. Character development is also lacking. Annie Oakley may be a legend, but that does not mean we cannot see her grow and develop over the course of a story. RJ Koreto's Alice Roosevelt mystery series provides a good example of how to use real-life historical figures in a fictional setting.

However, as I said earlier, he concept is an interesting one. With more polish, and a better understanding of pacing and plotting, this series could be quite good.

I absolutely adored this book! Finally, a bona fide feisty woman who doesn't need to advertise it... she lets her guns talk for her. I got mad, I cried, and I laughed out loud. More than once in all cases. Highly recommend this book for anyone searching for something different; as a voracious reader, it was a delightful experience for me!