She’s become an American sensation. But someone wants her dead. Will Annie put a bullseye on the killer before it’s too late?
Fifteen-year-old Annie Oakley is the sole supporter of her widowed mother and two younger siblings. An expert markswoman and independent spirit, she hunts game to sell to the local mercantile to make ends meet instead of accepting a marriage proposal that could solve … proposal that could solve all her problems, including the impending foreclosure of her family’s farm.
After a stunning performance in a shooting contest against famous sharpshooter Frank Butler, Annie is offered a position in the renowned Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Finally, she has a chance to save her family’s farm–and make her dreams come true. But after her catapult to fame, a series of crimes takes place in the Wild West Show, including the death of Annie’s Indian Assistant. The coroner claims the death was due to natural causes, but mysterious clues convince Annie it’s murder. As she gets closer to the truth, her prized horse, Buck–a major part of her act–is stolen, and she realizes that someone is out to get her.
With the help of a sassy, blue-blooded reporter, Annie sets out save her horse, find the killer, and clear her good name–before everything she’s worked for is destroyed.
2019 Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem First Place, Best in Category
2019 Hillerman Award for Southwest Fiction
2019 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards: First Place in the Mystery/Crime Category
2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Finalist in Historical Fiction
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Folly at the Fair is the third installment from Kari Bovee’s series, An Annie Oakley Mystery series. I have not had the pleasure of reading the prequel and first two books, Shoot Like a Girl, Girl with a Gun and Peccadillo at the Palace. Since I have not read those books, I believe they can each be read as a stand alone. I did not feel as though I was missing anything or feel lost by reading those. However, I would love to find out what had happened previously.
Folly at the Fair was a fun and entertaining read. It had just about everything I love to read in a book. History, Mystery, and Suspense. It was interesting how the author was able to bring Annie Oakley to life. It was great to see her vision of how Annie was like in those days. I was fascinated and captivated with her and her story from the start and did not want to put it down until I read the very last page. I did not find that it was predictable and I never knew what was going to happen next until I read the following page. Such a fun read.
I am giving Folly at the Fair a very well deserved five plus stars. I would love to read more from An Annie Oakley Mystery series in the near future. I thought this one was great. I highly recommend this to readers who enjoy a historical mystery and those that include historical figures.
I received a digital copy of Folly at the Fair from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
Take a journey back to the Wild West with Annie Oakley, Frank Butler, and the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. While this is a fictional story, there are parts of this story based on fact which gave me a peek into the past while enjoying this story.
Annie is but 15 when hired as a sharpshooter for the Wild West Show. Considering the financial straits her family is in, she signs up with the show. What she doesn’t expect is to become wrapped up in helping solve some murders with nothing more than her intuition and a few clues left behind. She has a little help from some new friends, but many still stand in her way and don’t believe what she is saying and this shouldn’t be a surprise since it is 1885 and men tend to think women don’t know too much.
I thought Annie was spunky to leave her family at that age to join the show, but I understand the responsibility that she feels towards her family and helping them survive especially since her mom has taken up with a deadbeat that drinks any of the money that they receive. I felt like Annie had to grow up quickly at that point as she was thrust into the limelight with her rifle and pistol acumen and entertaining the crowds. While not everything worked out well in the shows, the crowds were entertained and enthralled by Annie’s abilities. She was quite a celebrity!
The mystery is well crafted and while there are several red herrings tossed into the mix, I suspected who the killer was but didn’t have too many facts to back up my gut instinct. I enjoyed following the clues and trying to firm up my guess with facts sprinkled throughout the book.
There is a little bit of romance too for Annie and Frank Butler. In a way, it seemed strange since she was just 15, but at the same time, this is a different world in the late 1800s and really shouldn’t have been too surprising. I appreciate that the author stayed true to whom Annie married in real life.
There was one passage that really caught my eye between Annie and a suffragette named Emma Wilson, who was also a local reporter. This speaks volumes to me.
“I admire you, Annie. With your sweet face, you look like a prim little girl in those sparkly cowgirl outfits, but you are fierce – you are making a difference in the world of women, inspiring women to be stronger, to let the world know that women can be might without losing their femininity. Have you thought about joining the suffragette movement?”
Overall, this is an intriguing mystery and I look forward to reading the next book and where Annie’s adventures take her (and I have an idea since this book ended with a clue!)
We give this book 4 paws up.
Girl With a Gun is an interesting fictional mystery story about Annie Oakley. Of course, I’ve heard of her, but didn’t really know much of her history. As the author states, she took some liberties, but nonetheless, this is a good read.
Annie is easy to connect to, but I found it more difficult to connect with the other characters. They felt more surface level at times. To say this is a fun murder mystery sounds strange, but it really is entertaining. I liked Annie’s personality, with ample doses of vivacity and strength.
This is a quick read. The audiobook narration is crisp, with a clear tone and nice inflection in voice changes without being distracting. If you enjoy cozy type mysteries with sassy heroines, you’ll enjoy this one.
Disclosure: #CoverLoverBookReview received a complimentary copy of this (audio) book.
Interesting premise, Annie Oakley solving mysteries while with the Buffalo Bill show. Annie and Frank Butler are well developed, with well developed arcs. The villains, not so much. I did find it difficult to put down though.
This was a great audiobook. The writing was excellent, as was the narration. It took me a few minutes to get into it, but then it just flew along.
This book shows a behind the scenes look at Annie Oakley, the woman sharpshooter with Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. It’s informative about Annie’s home background in Ohio, how she came to join the Wild West Show, her relationship with Frank Butler and others in the show. Young Annie finds herself in the middle of several deaths and illnesses, and she digs in to learn what’s going on.
Annie is very mature for her age. She’s not afraid to take charge when necessary to get the job done. Annie worries about her family, her mother and siblings, and how they’re going to make ends meet. While her mother, a good Quaker woman, doesn’t like the idea of Annie joining the show, they need the money. Along with Annie is her faithful horse, Buck. He also gets sick, and with a little help, Annie learns why.
This was a very enjoyable audiobook. The story moves along at a good pace. I’m looking forward to listening to the next book in this series.
I received an Audible code for this book from the author. I thank her for her generosity, but it had not effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
The author ruined what could have been a good mystery by having one grown (and married) character fall in love with Annie Oakley, while she was having sex (at age fifteen) with another character she’d known only a couple of weeks. What a waste of a good plot.
Interesting story about Annie Oakley
Very different story line from what I usually read. Well written and interesting characters and time period, plus a murder mystery.
I was spellbound as this author, Kari Bovée, led me through my paces alongside Annie Oakley. I felt like I truly understood who she was. This was also a great story as well, mixed in with a bit of mystery. I really enjoyed the book and would give it more stars if I could.
Interesting idea: Annie Oakley as a sleuth, solving murders at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. But it just wasn’t that well written.
Reading second of this series.
Good read about a woman in history that did what mostly men always did.
I love this book because it was based on Annie Oakley, a true female. The book was mostly fiction, but there was enough history in it to make it interesting and entertaining.
Don’t recommend it. Interesting plot but kinda cheesy
Very entertaining. Love story wasn’t developed too well. I did like that the love story wasn’t pornographic.
Good mystery and inspirational.
The story is great, but the author Kari Bovee could have benefited from the skills of a good copy editor of hack out the unnecessary verbiage which might shorten the book considerably and make it an even more entertaining read than it already is.
But short of that, the plot is good, although tedious at times, and the overall story line quite good … considering at times too many words are used to say too little.
It’s like the author was commissioned to fill x- number of pages and used any means to reach that goal. Length has nothing to do with making a novel better. This one could be shortened and this might actually improve its entertainment quality.
Intriguing story line but historically inaccurate.
Good light read
I enjoyed reading this book
Calamity Jane has always been an interesting character to me. This was a fun read following her life as she became the star shooter in Wild Bill’s Buffalo Show. It’s a good mystery trying to figure out who the murderer is when there are quite a few likely suspects.