The Starling Releases Tomorrow!!

 

By Kristy McCaffrey

I'm pleased to share that The Starling is out tomorrow. Don't miss this new, full-length novel in my Wings of the West series.

Colorado 1899

Kate Ryan has always had a streak of justice in her. When she decides to apply to the Pinkerton Detective Agency, nothing will stand in her way. Initially hired in a clerical position, she quickly works her way up to field agent with the help of her mentor, Louise Foster. When Louise is injured, Kate gets her first assignment and the opportunity of a lifetime.

Henry Maguire has been undercover in the household of wealthy entrepreneur Arthur Wingate. Employed as a ghostwriter to pen the man’s memoir, Henry is also searching for clues to a lucrative counterfeiting scheme. When Henry’s “wife” shows up, he’s taken aback by the attractive woman who isn’t Louise. Now he must work with a female agent he doesn’t know and doesn’t necessarily trust. And because he has another reason for coming into Wingate’s world, Kate Ryan is unavoidably in his way.

Kate Ryan is the daughter of Matt and Molly from THE WREN, and THE STARLING is the first of five novels featuring the second generation of Ryans in the Wings of the West series.

The Wings of the West Series Reading Order
Book One: The Wren
Book Two: The Dove
Book Three: The Sparrow
Book Four: The Blackbird
Book Five: The Bluebird
Book Six: The Songbird (Novella)
Book Seven: Echo of the Plains (Short Story)
Book Eight:  The Starling

Click here to pre-order a digital copy (available for Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, and Google Play). Or grab a paperback copy.

Excerpt

Kate used the glass of sherry as a shield. It was obvious undercover agent Henry Maguire was stunned to see her and less than happy with her presence. Luckily, she had known who to look for from a photograph Mr. Jones had given her, although it hardly did justice to the man before her.

Henry Maguire had presence. There was simply no other word for it.

His intense blue eyes accented the hard line of his jaw like the frozen slopes of Colorado where her cousin Molly Rose had lived. Kate couldn’t help but notice his clean-shaven face and the citrusy smell coming from him. It was pleasant in a way that unsettled her, and she was entirely uncertain why.

But she had been warned … Henry was expecting Louise Foster, and he would have no idea who Kate was. It was unfortunate that Mrs. Wingate had caught Kate right at the door and had started speaking with her, because it had made contacting her “husband” fraught with danger.

But it was over. Henry had accepted the charade, and they were now working together. He had said he wanted to speak privately, but as yet he hadn’t, so Kate could only conclude it wasn’t safe to do so while at the party. She vowed she wouldn’t break protocol. She wouldn’t say anything to Henry that his loving wife, who had been separated from him for nearly two months, wouldn’t say.

“When did you arrive?” Henry asked.

“Earlier this evening.”

“How did you get here?”

“A man named Francis O’Malley brought me. I hired him.” The Pinkertons had hired him, but she couldn’t say that aloud. “I believe he’s a blacksmith in town, and he runs a livery too. He offered to stay, but I assured him that you would be here and see me home.” Her lips stretched into a smile, but she couldn’t hold Henry’s gaze as he watched her rather intently, so she took in the room.

It was quite festive. The Wingate wealth was on grand display with sparkling crystal chandeliers hanging from tin ceilings, a tiled floor covered in ornate rugs, and stuffed chairs likely imported from Europe.

As she brought her attention back to her “husband” she caught him still staring at her, those ice-blue eyes holding her briefly spellbound. He must have been watching her the entire time she had scanned the room. She shifted, feeling a bit uncomfortable, wanting to clear the air more than anything.

Had she done something wrong? Was she dressed inappropriately?

But a second glance around the room revealed that while her gown might not be quite as fancy as the many ladies in attendance, it was good enough. It had been Louise’s dress, after all, and Kate had to believe her mentor had been very prepared to enter this operation as Henry’s wife.

That was it. Henry was upset about Louise.

She turned to him. “I’m sure you’re worried about my dear sister, Louise.”

He regarded her with interest. “I am,” he replied in a measured tone. “Is she well?”

“Unfortunately, no. She’s indisposed at the moment, but she should be better soon.”

Henry accepted the news with a nod, his gaze conveying a glimmer of concern. Suddenly, Kate felt terrible. It had been clear from Louise that she valued Henry’s expertise, as well as his friendship, but Kate hadn’t thought any further than that.

The additional assignment that Louise had given Kate—privately and outside the dictates of the job—now seemed to take a different tone. Louise had asked Kate to keep an eye on Henry because eight years ago his father had died in an accident in Trinidad, apparently falling to his death down a mine shaft. Kate had inferred that Louise considered Henry compromised, and that it could place him at odds with the job the Pinkertons had been sent to do.

But now the worry in Henry’s eyes, however brief, said something else. Did he and Louise have a relationship that extended beyond business associates? Is that what his irritation was about? Did Henry love her? And why did that thought cause another ripple of unease in Kate?

Ignoring it, she added, “She’ll be all right. You’ve no need to worry. The bullet missed all vital organs.”

His eyes flicked back to her, reflecting shock.

Oh, no. He did love her.

Copyright © 2022 K. McCaffrey LLC

 

Counterfeiting U.S. Currency in the 1800’s

 

By Kristy McCaffrey

In the 1800’s, money in the United States came in many different forms, from gold and silver coins to fractional paper currency (denominations less than a dollar), Treasury notes, and postal currency used for redeeming postage stamps. The first paper currency was issued during the Civil War in the form of “greenbacks.” Individual banks also issued their own currency, called banknotes, in varying denominations, but their value fluctuated depending on the solidity of the bank.

 

Dealing with these banks was risky for most Americans since there was no insurance on the deposits or government control over how the banks did business. Because of this, banks and paper currency were greatly distrusted. Only gold and silver retained their value, so most people tended to hoard these metals.

 

Enter the counterfeiters. By the 1860’s, nearly one-third of the currency in circulation was counterfeit. Retailers subscribed to weekly papers showing drawings of the latest counterfeits. Printers of the fake money would sell them to passers, who exchanged them for real currency or goods.

 

Detecting the counterfeit money was fairly easy, but it was harder to catch the printers. Prior to the Civil War, the Treasury Department used the U.S. Marshal Service to track down the perpetrators. In 1865, the Secret Service was established as a bureau in the Treasury Department to suppress widespread counterfeiting. (Informal part-time protection of the President of the United States—Grover Cleveland—began in 1894. By 1902 the Secret Service assumed full-time responsibility for the safety of the President.)

In my upcoming release THE STARLING, Pinkerton Detectives Henry Maguire and Kate Ryan have been hired to uncover a counterfeiting scheme in Trinidad, Colorado, in 1899.

* * *

Colorado 1899 

Kate Ryan has always had a streak of justice in her. When she decides to apply to the Pinkerton Detective Agency, nothing will stand in her way. Initially hired in a clerical position, she quickly works her way up to field agent with the help of her mentor, Louise Foster. When Louise is injured, Kate gets her first assignment and the opportunity of a lifetime. 

Henry Maguire has been undercover in the household of wealthy entrepreneur Arthur Wingate. Employed as a ghostwriter to pen the man’s memoir, Henry is also searching for clues to a lucrative counterfeiting scheme. When Henry’s “wife” shows up, he’s taken aback by the attractive woman who isn’t Louise. Now he must work with a female agent he doesn’t know and doesn’t necessarily trust. And because he has another reason for coming into Wingate’s world, Kate Ryan is unavoidably in his way.

Kate Ryan is the daughter of Matt and Molly from THE WREN, and THE STARLING is the first of five novels featuring the second generation of Ryans in the Wings of the West series.

* * *

Coming August 2, 2022

Pre-Order Now

Excerpt from The Starling

 “Your wife has arrived, sir.”

My wife ….

What the hell? Louise was here? Now?

Jonesy had agreed that Louise Foster would be summoned when Henry sent word. And he hadn’t sent word. Dammit.

“Of course,” Henry replied. “Thank you.”

“Please follow me, sir.”

Henry thought of abandoning the drink he’d been nursing for the last hour, but instead kept it as he followed the valet through clusters of people and the low din of talking and laughing. In fact, he took a large gulp as he walked, to soothe his nerves. Sometimes his own rules needed to be amended. This wasn’t a disaster, he reminded himself. Louise was a good field agent, one he’d worked with more than once, and he respected her abilities. She was also his friend, one of the very few along with Jonesy. If she were here now, there must be a good reason. While his cover had included a wife, Henry rather liked working alone, and he’d told Jonesy that Louise could join him when it seemed necessary. And it hadn’t been necessary … yet. But apparently Edgar Jones had pulled rank, thinking differently.

As Henry entered the foyer, his gaze landed on a young woman in a stunning blue gown, curls of dark brown hair accenting her oval face, her figure lithe and youthful. Her reserved countenance indicated her discomfort as she conversed with Arthur’s wife, Lottie, near the front entrance, and Henry couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her. Lottie Wingate had been mostly unwelcoming to him.

The young woman’s poise drew his eye and for a moment, Henry considered what it would be like if he weren’t working, if he could simply pursue a conversation with an attractive woman. He had purposely not set down roots. His work made it impossible. Well, not impossible. He’d simply never met a woman who could turn his attention from his job.

And hell if that didn’t remind him that he was more like his old man every day.

He pushed aside the memories of the last time he’d seen his father, of the terrible fight they’d had, of the anger that had pulsed white hot within Henry.

Instead, he focused once more on the alluring distraction of the woman in blue, and then, reluctantly, he peeled his eyes from her and searched the foyer for Louise, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“She must have stepped into another room,” Henry said to the valet.

“No, sir.” The young man stopped and gave a nod toward Mrs. Wingate and the striking woman beside her.

Henry endured a brief state of confusion, an unnatural occurrence since he kept everything in his life compartmentalized and in order.

Recovering quickly, he said, “Of course, thank you. I must need my spectacles this evening.” He left the valet before he was forced to converse further, giving even more opportunities for a slip up. He walked slowly to the two women, since he wasn’t certain what he should say. Clearly, the valet had been misinformed.

Henry glanced over his shoulder, confirming the man had left the foyer. With the all-clear, Henry shifted his path to miss the two conversing women, although a twinge of regret flared. A small part of him wondered what would happen if he struck up a conversation with the woman who drew his gaze with such ease. But now wasn’t the time for personal interests. Just as he passed within three feet of the women, a voice rang out, “Gilbert! Darling!”

Henry stopped and faced the woman who had in a brief span sparked such an intense interest in him. She’d used his alias. It all became clear in an instant.

She was his wife.