Amy Stewart spends very little time bringing readers up to speed at the beginning of MISS KOPP’S MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS, her third novel featuring the Kopp sisters. Instead, she dives into one of several stories that will eventually intersect with the life and work of Deputy Sheriff Constance Kopp. The first young woman we meet, Edna, is about the last person one would expect to be arrested on a charge of waywardness. She has worked hard at the factory ever since leaving home (albeit without telling her parents), and she’s about the least likely young woman in her boarding house to break curfew and sneak out to go dancing. So when she winds up in the women’s prison that Constance oversees, Constance is determined to get to the bottom of Edna’s story.

Likewise, when a (slightly less virtuous) young woman named Minnie also finds herself brought in on morality charges and eventually sent to a reformatory, Constance resolves to help out another young woman who, she’s sure, was just a victim of circumstances. Constance firmly believes that in this modern day and age (it is 1916 after all), young women should be free to pursue their own interests and livelihoods without fear of being hauled back home to their parents like children.

"As with Stewart’s other books featuring the Kopp sisters, one of the most remarkable parts of reading this novel is paging through the author’s afterword, in which she explains the historical basis for her story..."

But when Constance’s vivacious younger “sister” (actually her daughter), Fleurette, pursues her show business aspirations and runs away from the Kopp family home to join the Dresden Dolls (a vaudeville troupe, not the Amanda Palmer musical project), all of Constance’s principles and modern viewpoints are put to the test, as Constance and her sister Norma must decide whether --- and how far --- to pursue 18-year-old Fleurette.

As with Stewart’s other books featuring the Kopp sisters, one of the most remarkable parts of reading this novel is paging through the author’s afterword, in which she explains the historical basis for her story, much of which is actually pulled directly from newspaper accounts and records of the time. Many readers will likely be surprised at the draconian laws pertaining to young single working women, laws and regulations that seemed to be ramping up even as those same young women were discovering a measure of independence and responsibility doing work largely related to the Great War in Europe.

In this third volume, Constance is achieving more than a little notoriety; her numerous handwritten proposals from bachelors and widowers nationwide contribute much of the novel’s humor. She’s also --- especially given how young women like Edna and Minnie respond to her --- beginning to recognize her responsibilities as a role model for young women, as a real-life example of a single woman who is carving out an unconventional yet rewarding life for herself. Tensions continue to abound, as Constance’s relationship with Norma grows strained, as Fleurette struggles to define herself apart from her sisters, and as Constance comes to realize that her mentor, Sheriff Heath, may not remain in his role much longer.

Readers will eagerly await developments on these issues as well as the opportunity to spend more time among the fearless and funny Kopp sisters.