Copy Boy by Shelley Blanton-Stroud is the second in the series that started with Tom Boy. The protagonist is Jane Benjamin who is a cub reporter, itching to get 'the' story of a lifetime. Jane is the caregiver of her little sister and she just wants to have a good job so she can take care of her. This story takes place mainly on the RMS Queen Mary, there is talk of an upcoming war.

When the chance she finagles her way onto the RMS Queen Mary to go to Wimbleton. The story she is after is that of a tennis pro and cover girl Tommie O’Rourke. She is excited to cover the story of the star but once she gets there she finds that things are not what they appear regarding Tommie.

At Wimbleton, she witnesses Tommie's coach Edith “Coach” Carlson drop dead in the bleachers. It is suspected that it was a heart attack but Jane thinks otherwise. She wants to write this bombshell gossipy story for her newspaper but she starts to rethink that when she gets to know Tommie and those who surround her.

Jane has a dilemma, should she divulge all she has learned about Tommie and the coach, chance ruining Tommie's career, or should she do what is right? In Tom Boy, Jane dressed as a boy so she could get her position at the newspaper. In Copy boy, Jane is a bit more mature and thinking of what is best for her sister and her new friend, Tommie.

I enjoyed Tom Boy and was excited when the opportunity to review Copy Boy came up. I liked how Jane, grew up from this tomboy to a young lady. I applauded her for wanting to do a job that was historically male-dominated.

Shelley Blanton-Stroud does a wonderful job setting up the atmosphere to the times. Great research to tell a story that is authentic. Her descriptions of the clothing matched the era. Very glamorous.

Tom Boy is written as a series but can certainly be read as a stand-alone. I would recommend that you read the

Jane Benjamin is risking it all for a shot at getting her own gossip column at the San Franciso newspaper The Prospect. Through a stroke of luck and a willingness to take a chance, Jane ends up on the RMS Queen Mary to attend the 1939 Wimbledon tennis championship. Impaired by a concussion and a lack of experience, Jane attempts to earn the right to her own column and solve a mystery along the way.

I loved Jane’s character, a young Okie who grew up in the Hoovervilles of California with a dysfunctional family. She suffered many indignities and abuse from her parents as they struggled to survive as migrant farm workers yet she struck out as a teenager to make a life for herself in spite of her difficult childhood. She is spunky and determined with a willingness to act now and beg forgiveness later. She knows she is out of her depth, but she fakes it till she makes it as she plows her way towards her goal.

This sequel to Copy Boy works well as a stand-alone. It’s a great historical mystery with a strong and gutsy female MC who goes after what she wants at a time when women weren’t often able or willing to do so. The period details and pre-World War II setting make for a fascinating story that illuminates the struggles of this time in history.

Read this one if you enjoy dynamic and tough female main characters making their way in trying times.

Tomboy is the second in the author’s historical mystery series featuring cub reporter Jane Benjamin. I can reassure readers who, like me, haven’t read the first book in the series, Copy Boy, that Tomboy works perfectly well as a standalone. The references to events in the earlier book provide new readers with a tantalising glimpse of Jane’s colourful journey to date. I say colourful but much of that colour is of a pretty dark hue as the occasional flashbacks to her early life demonstrate. She’s had a tough upbringing, witnessing violence and neglect as part of a family with an itinerant lifestyle. It’s given her a strong survival instinct.

Jane is feisty, resourceful, ambitious and determined her gender shouldn’t be an obstacle to achieving her journalistic ambitions. She’s had to learn to rely on herself from an early age but now finds herself with responsibility for her baby sister, Elsie. It’s a responsibility she feels quite conflicted about; she loves her little sister but she also wants to advance her career and the two don’t mix well. Jane’s clear-eyed about her own shortcomings and honest enough to admit she often makes decisions that adversely affect other people.

I really enjoyed the lively writing style and how the author recreated the atmosphere aboard the ocean liner Queen Mary from the luxury suites to the celebrities hobnobbing in the exclusive Verandah Grill (such as Charles Boyer, Irene Dunne and Fred Astaire) and, at the other end of the scale, the crew members in the bowels of the ship making their own amusement in the ‘Pig ‘n’ Whistle’. Thrust into an unfamiliar luxury lifestyle through her friendship with tennis star Tommie O’Rourke, Jane finds herself at sea, both literally and metaphorically. A bang on the head and a broken nose don’t help.

The mystery at the heart of the book is not quite of the ‘locked room’ variety as the suspicious death has already occurred before the Queen Mary sets sail, but all the people who might have been involved are amongst the passengers and as Jane delves deeper she uncovers some unexpected things, not always by legitimate methods. I thought things got a little jumbled up towards the end of the book (or perhaps that was just me) and Jane’s angst over whether she was doing the right thing seemed to overshadow the unravelling of the mystery. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my first encounter with Jane in whose company life is never going to be dull.

I really enjoyed this despite not having read the first book in the series. The setting was vivid and lush, it brought the 1930s to life. I adored Jane, a feminist heroine, tough with a quick wit. This was a mix of thriller, and historical fiction. I loved it! Thank you for the opportunity to review this wonderful novel.

Jane Benjamin is a crackingly clever, witty and ambitious 19 year old that comes into her own trying to fulfill her journalistic desires while she grapples to protect and raise her younger sister.
Jane is driven to cover hometown girl tennis ace Tommie O’Rourke’s trip to the courts at Wimbledon but this story becomes much when she witnesses Edith ‘Coach’ Carlson suffer a fatal heart attack in the stands. Jane finds herself at a journalistic turning point, uncovering the who and what of Coach’s death or telling Tommie’s story. Her departure home on the Queen Mary uncovers mystery with a twist of moxie
With crisp, grabbing prose and characters that lead you through a twisting, turning, tumbling plot, Tomboy is a wonderful read that holds tightly until the very last page.
Thank you NetGalley, Shelley Blanton-Stroud and the She Writes Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.