The Best Bad Things

Alma Rosales is a former Pinkerton spy who was dismissed from the agency for being a rogue and for going undercover as Jack Camp. As the book opens, Alma is looking for a treasure trove of opium that has gone missing. She needs to find out who’s stolen it, who turned on the owner of the drugs, and how to keep her secrets secret. In the meantime, she’s also sending messages to Pinkerton agents to keep them from blowing her case and her identity. She is, however, having trouble not blowing her own cover.

The book starts off slowly, but quickly picks up momentum and, at breakneck speed, heads toward the end. There are enough twists and turns along the way to keep a reader turning pages into the wee hours of the morning.

Carrasco’s show more real strength lies in her ability to evoke the period. Her stellar descriptions of place and time conjure up smells, grittiness, and sights that could only be found in a frontier town like Port Townsend in the 1880s. She is less adept at character development, though. Her writing is so well done, it will keep you reading even if you lose interest or don’t like the characters.

This debut feels like it’s the start of the series featuring Alma Rosales. If so, sign me up for book two.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eArc in exchange for an honest review. show less

I think I should just stay away from books about this particular period in American history. Apparently they just don't work for me.

I just didn't find this book as engaging as other people seemed to. I skimmed over the last 50 or so pages because reading became tedious. I would have stopped reading altogether if I would have remembered to bring an extra book on my road trip. Always bring an extra book.

The sex scenes seemed rather unnecessary. I have zero problem with the bisexual story line. In this case, the sex scenes didn't add anything to the story. If anything they felt forced. Again, I'm not opposed to sex scenes in my reading. I'm just a snob in that I think they should add something to the story. This seemed more about trying to show more get a rise (maybe literally ;) ) out of the reader.

The Alma/Jack character was weak. For someone who was constantly trying to convince me she wanted to be the brains of an operation, Alma sure didn't do a lot of thinking. She was more about braun than brains. Hit first. Ask questions later show less

A disgraced Pinkerton detective, Alma Rosales, takes up working with a smuggling ring to find out who is stealing the opium. Rosales, who goes undercover as Jack Camp, is spirited, rowdy, and will do whatever it takes to get the job done. Or, in some cases, what she feels should be done.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. While the start seemed a bit slow and dense, it started to pick up after a few chapters and I couldn't put it down. Rosales/Camp was well written, and while I may not have agreed with some of their decisions, they always followed through with whatever consequences occurred.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Probably 3.5 stars. Gritty & gripping. (Sometimes too gritty.) I enjoyed the feminist bent to the story, but that piece of it didn't feel fully authentic in a few spots. Could have been trimmed a bit to make the story tighter. The atmosphere tied in well with other books I've read such as By Gaslight and A Moment in the Sun. Overall, a rip-roaring read.

Alma is a cross dressing, bisexual, half-Mexican, badass woman who goes undercover in this historical fiction story set in 1887 Washington state. She lives life on the edge and with gusto and nerve in everything she does. It does contain graphic content if that is an issue for people. Otherwise just enjoy the ride!

A quick, entertaining read... Katrina Carrasco makes 400 pages fly by like nothing. There were parts that required significant suspension of disbelief (and quite a number of anachronistic details), but the fast-paced action and colorful cast of characters kept me engaged throughout the story. Many thanks to Goodreads and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for gifting me a copy of the book.

What did I just read?! The story was just starting to come together and getting somewhere and BAM it's over. I did enjoy the ride tho. And it's definitely one of those books you HAVE to pay attention to every detail or you will be quite lost.