Editorial Content for The Detective's Assistant

How do you become a detective’s assistant?  Eleven-year old Nell Warne has never given this subject even the smallest amount of thought. Her life is centered around staying out of awful orphanages and keeping in the good graces of her Aunt Kate, or “Kitty,” as Nell calls her. Through no fault of her own, Nell’s whole family has died. Now she has been brought from an orphanage in New York to her nearest living relative and she is not exactly welcome.

The year is 1859 and times are hard, everywhere.  Kate Warne is a young widow with little means of supporting herself. She does not want to take on the financial responsibilities of feeding and caring for a child. Nell comes with other burdens too --- Kate believes Nell’s father shot her late husband. The best thing she can do is check out the orphanages in the Chicago area and place the child there.  It is an uneasy situation for both Kate and Nell.

As determined as Kate is to place Nell in an orphanage, Nell is determined to make herself totally indispensable to her aunt. Nell works hard to not disrupt her daily routines, doesn’t eat much and is tidy and quiet. There are visits to various orphanages until something most extraordinary happens --- Kate comes home and announces that she is the first woman to ever be hired by the famous Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency.

THE DETECTIVE’S ASSISTANT provides a great introduction to a true female heroine for middle school readers.

Suddenly, Nell finds herself donning disguises, listening in on conversations, sewing costumes and traveling all over as she and her aunt delve into murders, robberies and other mysteries. The most excitement by far is the encounter with persons surrounding a plot to kill Abraham Lincoln.  As Nell soon finds out, her aunt is a really extraordinary woman, much ahead of her time.

Nell is a wonderful little character. She grows throughout this story and the letters between her and her dear friend Jemma reveal two resourceful and courageous young ladies. Often talking in codes or ciphers, the letters are sprinkled with dangerous information about underground railroads. Just before the outbreak of the Civil War, Jemma and her family must be careful of leaking information. They have their own mysteries to solve, like locating Jemma’s father and finding out what really happened between Nell’s father and his brother. 

Through her careful research, Kate Hannigan has brought life to a fascinating story about the very first female detective, Kate Warne.  Nell, Jemma and other characters are fictional. Like middle grade and young adult author Karen Cushman’s stories, Hannigan’s THE DETECTIVE’S ASSISTANT provides a great introduction to a true female heroine for middle school readers.  It’s an informative and fun read, and it’s a part of history that is definitely important for both girls and boys to know.   Hannigan’s book should to be in the hands of young readers and in every school and public library.