I love the concept of this book, telling the story of the first female secret service agent, who saved President Lincoln's life.

The problem is, that the book doesn't take off until half way through, when we see the plot against Lincoln, and how the women of the force plot to get around it.

Up until that part, which is exiting and fairly straight forward, we are going back and forth in time, to Mary Lincoln being worried about her husband, to Kate going by cart and horse somewhere with her mother.

I swear I almost didn't finish the book, half way through, it was so confusing, and had *nothing* important to say to the plot. Once we got past all that, it was quite exciting how the women acted as spies, because men and women didn't suspect that they were being listened to.

I suggest reading the second half of the book, for a great story, but skip the first half, or you will not enjoy it at all, and be thoroughly confused.


<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

I want to know more of her life, more of what's she's done. I want to know about Hattie, more of what happened to the women in the boarding house! I hope more are made~

Better Angels: A Kate Warne Adventure, written by Jeff Jensen and illustrated by George Schall, is a graphic novel inspired by the true story of Kate Warne, America’s first female detective and her signature achievement--cracking a plot by Confederate radicals to kill Abraham Lincoln. America is at a crossroads. Secession is spreading. And the nation’s newly elected president is the target of a conspiracy to assassinate him and trigger a Civil War. The safety of Lincoln and his family—and the future of the American experiment—hinges on the success of a new kind of lawman, known by a word still novel in the culture of the time: detective. But there was only one who would prove to be up to the task—an individual whose extraordinary cleverness and resourcefulness would alter the course of history from deep within the shadows of domestic spycraft. Her name was Kate Warne. This is the story of America’s first female detective, a trailblazing working woman trying to make a living and do some good in a tumultuous, sexist age, and whose mysterious life and tall tale exploits are truly the stuff of legend.

Better Angels: A Kate Warne Adventure is a historical graphic novel that shares a bit of history many might not know. The truth of female detectives and what women went through in that time is something people do not always know, or think about if they know. I found the story of Kate and her found family to be fascinating, and while I know much of it was likely embellished or altered for a good story, the important truths are in there as well. I thought the artwork was extremely well done, capturing the period and emotions of the story with great effect. My biggest issue with the story is that I wanted more about Kate and her group after the adventure with the Lincolns, but before the scenes that framed the story here. I need more about what happened with each of her group, because I found myself just as concerned with the secondary characters as the main players. I think this will be a hot with many readers, and might start some into researching more about the female agents of Pinkerton.

Better Angels: A Kate Warne Adventure is an engaging graphic novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is based on historical fact, and it had me investigoogling as I read it. It’s all true! Kate Warne really did those things! Her main nemesis really did those things too! It’s a place and time period I don’t know much about, but it was fascinating to read about how a woman detective managed to play a significant role in foiling an assassination attempt.

However, it did mean at times that it was a bit dry – there was a fair bit of history in there! There was also a fair bit of time jumping as well, as we learn about Kate and what made her become a detective, but it tends to be clearly identified by a panel which tells us the time period the action is occurring in.

I also really enjoyed the art, and in particular the heritage/sepia tones of the colouring – it had a very historical feel!

This is definitely a great starter book for someone who wants to know a little bit more about Lincoln or about a woman who defied convention, but is a bit daunted by a book with lots of words. I found it quite easy to follow even with my limited understanding of the US Civil War.

3.5 stars

Meet Kate Warne - a trailblazing working woman trying to make a living and do some good in a tumultuous, sexist age, and who uncovers one of the first plots to assassinate President Lincoln making her America’s first female detective. Upon reading the summary I thought I was picking up a piece of historical fiction, and was delighted to find out it's a true one!

The graphic novel cuts between the past and future and centers around Lincoln's train ride from Illinois to Washington DC, as he stops between cities trying to endear himself to a divided nation. Kate, and her group of women detectives, uncover a plot to harm the would-be-president by using one of the biggest tools at their disposal - the underestimation of women.

The book does a great job of presenting how these women cultivated their skills and fought the confines society placed on them. By the end I was googling the biographies of these heroines, lamenting this sort of book wasn't in my school library when I was of book report age.

While I enjoyed the history and story, I was also very confused. The timeline skipping all around was hard for me to follow which took away from her story. The art was well done and added to the story.

Wow. This was absolutely amazing. I knew about Kate Warne from a previous book I read [before that, I didn't know anything about her - I knew about Pinkerton, but never had heard of Mrs. Warne, which seems criminal given all she did to protect this country and the President], but I didn't really *KNOW* about her. This graphic novel changed that and now that I have had a glimpse, I simply want more. I can only hope that Mr. Jensen will write more Kate Warne Adventures so we can learn more about her life and the trials she endured after saving President Lincoln from a certain death. We all should know her story and I will be pushing this book into the hands of everyone I know, and recommending "The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the War" by Daniel Stashower, which goes into more detail about the whole shebang [and is also a captivating and thrilling read] to read after this compelling graphic novel. .

This graphic novel is an excellent read and will open the door to more conversations about that time in this country that we seem to still be struggling to recover from.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jeff Jensen, George Schall [Illustrator], and BOOM! Studios/Archaia for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with a copy of "Better Angels: A Kate Warne Adventure" in exchange for an honest review. I was very pleased with the concept of this book because Kate Warne's story is incredibly interesting and deserves to be told. The illustrations were lovely and set the atmosphere well. The choice of words and overall writing style were authentic and also matched the era, although to be honest I found the story really hard to follow. Once I have read the book I realised how immaculate this story is, but while reading I felt little to no desire to finish it because it is written in a very draining way, which I partially blame on the fact that this book is set in 1861, when the words people used were very different in comparison to the ones we use nowadays. The book is also rather slow-paced, which is not necessarily a bad thing, I just do not like slow-paced books. Overall, some alterations can be made, but it is a nice read.

I am definitely interested in books about history. Even better when they are about a niche topic. And what is more niche than talking about a female detective who helped foil a plot to assassinate President Lincoln. Now why I was first really excited to read this that soon waned. I just couldn't find the line between history and historical fiction that this book was playing with. Obviously, we don't know the actually personalities of these people and what their day to day was like so some artistic license has to be taken. I would have appreciated little footnotes throughout the book giving me more historical facts. I think this would have allowed me to enjoy the story more since I would have a more accurate historical basis for the story. Overall, I think this book is a quick, read to learn some quick details about a forgotten American hero, and use as a jumping off point to do your own research for the topic. One last criticism about the ending of the book. Without giving away any spoilers I feel like we were left on a cliffhanger concerning comments our female detective made about other characters in the book. I don't know if this one book could turn into a series that might explore these cliffhangers or maybe it is just to spark enough curiosity in the reader to look it up for themselves. Only the future will show me if this was actually a negative or an intentional action by the author.

I got this book for free in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley. You can also read my review that will be posted to Goodreads.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

Set in 1861 the story follows Kate, a young woman on the run trying to outrun her past and find herself in the present.

Kate discovers love that is soon taken away from her leaving her broke. She is forced to take up menial jobs to earn.

In the 18th century America, Kate Warne realizes that the world isn't full of opportunities for someone, a woman like her.

She offers her skill to Mr Pinkerton to work as his undercover detective and train other women and girls like herself.

Women would be able to hide in plain sight without drawing much attention but also be able to uncover secrets and plots.

In February of 1861, Kate Warne stands at the core of a plot against President Abraham Lincoln. It's up to her and her girls, Kew, Alice and Hattie to stop the plot by going undercover, wearing disguise and gaining trust of the people plotting.

The format of this comic transports you back into the industrial revolutionary age. With the storyline growing from a question of what happened to the women during the assassination plot on president Abraham Lincoln.

Each Character grows from trying to achieve a want to discovering the reason why they act and make Certain decisions.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this story and the art that went along with it. I have been a fan of Jeff Jensen since I read the Green River Killer:A True Detective Story.