An Untimely Frost by Penny Richards

She's doing well as an actress; she has a lot of talent.  She's been saving her money and dreaming of having a home and a family.  Her husband doesn't work much but she has plans.  That all changes dreadfully when he assaults her boss' wife and takes the money that Lily was saving.  Even worse, he's taken all the money she had in her room, too.  Lily has no money, no husband, and not much hope for the future.  While she's trying to overcome her loss, she reads an ad in the paper asking for female operatives to work for Pinkerton...

Kensington Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published July 26th.  This is the first in a new series.

Lily is no shrinking violet and is suited for the Pinkerton job but she's also quite young.  They interview her but don't ask her back.  She's devious enough that she comes back as two different characters and does additional interviews.  They decide to hire the older woman and are astonished to see that Lily is acting the part.  The best part is their father is there and he tells her she's hired, conditionally.  She has to take this missing person case first and they will see how she does with that.

No one in town wants to talk about the preacher and his family.  They disappeared one night and most people think that's a good thing.  She's looking for them to get permission to sell the house.  What she finds is a lot of hidden hurt and more than one insane person.  The further she digs, the more dangerous the situation gets for her.  She also has a man that is pestering her all the time.  She wishes he'd go away.  He's attractive and nice but she's been burned in the man department and she's not looking for a new one.  It's a good thing he's persistent because he's able to save her from a slow death.

The town has secrets, the house has secrets and the preacher's wife has secrets.  As all those secrets get uncovered, death draws closer to Lily.  It takes all her strength and resources to keep going when the answers aren't clear.  I think she's going to make it as a Pinkerton detective...