THE HARVEY GIRL by Dana Stabenow will be released on March 3, 2026, by Head of Zeus.
Pinkerton Detective Agent Clare Wright is sent to Montana Roja in New Mexico Territory to work undercover as a Harvey Girl while investigating a string of train robberies. During the last robbery, the train conductor was decapitated. There is reason to believe that the conductor was working with the robbers, and Clare’s job is to not only find the train robbers but to make sure none of the other Harvey House employees are part of the gang.
I struggled to get into THE HARVEY GIRL due to a very slow start and a failure to connect or even care about the main character. Clare was not very engaging, and I feel like the reader never really gets to know her. There was also a lack of depth—none of the characters were fleshed out and descriptions were sparse aside from those related to the scenery. I did enjoy the Wild West setting as well as all the historical facts and characters—including appearances from Bat Masterson and Mark Twain and Butch Cassidy.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.