Calico Spy by Margaret Brownley

Katie is sent out on a new case.  She's a Pinkerton detective and there have been two murders at the Harvey House she is infiltrating.  She's no waitress but she's going to have to learn fast.  Working on the inside should give her a better chance at identifying the killer.  The sheriff isn't impressed.  He thinks she's putting herself in danger.

Barbour Publishing and Net Galley gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published tomorrow and there are others in this series, too.  They are all good reads.

You can tell that Katie and the sheriff will most likely be a couple before the story ends.  They have a ways to go before that happens, though.

The sheriff has a son but he's a widower.  Katie's love only used her to get close to her older sister.  They both aren't interested in new commitments.  But they do have to work together to try to identify the killer.

In addition to the murder mystery, there's an abused wife hiding from her husband and the return of the sheriff's boy's father.  His mother said he was dead.  No he'd just run off.  And now he wants "his" son and the inheritance that comes with him.  All these things climax at the same time the mystery is being solved.

The strange older woman in the story wasn't loosing her mind, it did involve someone from Harvey House, and the killer was someone I didn't suspect.  This is a good read set in the old west days and the author writes a smooth satisfying story.  Give it a read.  I'd recommend reading the whole series.