Advance praise for LIAR, TEMPTRESS, SOLDIER, SPY, coming on Sept. 2 from HarperCollins:

"With this book, Karen Abbott declares herself the John le Carré of Civil War espionage, with the added benefit that the saga she tells is all true and beautifully researched. Her four protagonists, exuding charm, adept at skulduggery, take us on a sweeping and bloody jaunt across the Civil War landscape, into an intimate realm of warfare that will yield for even the most hard-core Civil War buff a wholly fresh perspective on those deadly days."

— Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author of The Devil in the White City and In the Garden of Beasts

"In the gripping book, Abbott tells the moving and fascinating story of four women who played unconventional roles during the Civil War... a remarkable story of passion, strength, and resilience."

— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott is a masterpiece of narrative storytelling, backed by impeccable research and extraordinary material. I was gripped by every page."

— Amanda Foreman, New York Times bestselling author of A World On Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War

“This inspiring collective biography reads like a novel while shedding some much-needed light on fascinating chapters in both Civil War and women’s history.”

— Booklist

"Abbott has performed an invaluable service by revealing in such vivid detail the extraordinary lives of these women who involved themselves so dangerously in the Civil War. This is that rare work of history that reads like a novel—and a really good one at that—and in which the truth is more thrilling than fiction."

— Michael Korda, New York Times bestselling author of Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero and Clouds of Glory

"Thrilling, illuminating, heart-pounding. Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy reads like a crackling espionage novel and resonates as only the most compelling history can. Abbott brings to vivid life four extraordinary and audacious women, and runs glorious roughshod over all our traditional notions of the role of women in the Civil War."

— Megan Abbott, Edgar-award winning author of Dare Me and The Fever

"Karen Abbott's powerful narrative is first rate American history about a fascinating, little-known chapter of the Civil War, as well as a compulsive, thrilling saga of espionage. Brilliant storytelling, highly accessible, and impossible to put down."

— Gilbert King, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America.

"The subjects of Karen Abbott's gripping story Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy leap up— and almost off—the page… an irresistibly good tale of Civil War espionage and a reminder that the heroes of our history are often found in the most unexpected places."

— Deborah Blum, New York Times bestselling author of The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York.

"Ian Fleming could not have invented better spies…nor have written about them with any more suspense.”

–Robert Hicks, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow of the South and A Separate Country

"Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy offers a riveting, fresh perspective on the most defining event in American history. Abbott takes us through secret missions and clandestine rendezvous to intensely realized scenes of the war's key battles, creating a rich, true world that captured me from the first line to the last. Beautifully written, meticulously researched, and paced like an edge-of-your-seat-novel---I love this big, ambitious, unstoppable book."

— Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of gods in Alabama and Someone Else's Love Story

"It is no small task for a writer to wade into the well-swum waters of the American Civil War and emerge with a book that manages to enhance the existing canon while holding the attention of casual readers and history buffs alike... Abbott's engaging prose is backed by dogged research that buoys the stories with delightful insights."

— Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author of The Girls of Atomic City

"Karen Abbott's latest gem is a ticket to a dark and fascinating secret world. Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy is a masterwork of suspenseful plots and unforgettable characters rendered in exacting, gorgeous detail—a brilliant new take on the heroines and villainesses of the Civil War."

— Lydia Netzer, author of the New York Times notable book Shine Shine Shine