I Love to Read: Counterfeit Love

We're taking a little break from the A to Z and I'm happy to share a new book, Counterfeit Love, by Crystal Caudill, that fiction fans will enjoy. If you're a fan of historical fiction, history and yes, romance, this is a great read. 

Counterfeit Love takes place in Cincinnati in 1884. Theresa Plane is about to marry Edward Greystone, a "practical love," but as the story progresses she encounters her former beau, Secret Service Agent, Broderick Cosgrove returns to her life. The historical details are fascinating and the romance is much more complex than heart vs. head. 

What I especially enjoyed, and had never read or thought about was information about the history of the early years of the Secret Service. I erroneously believed it was founded to protect the President, but its initial purpose was the protect the U.S. Currency. I'm including comments from the author giving a quick overview of the beginnings of the Secret Service.  

 Q: We think of the Secret Service today as the men and women in black suits within a certain perimeter protecting the President, but what was the original purpose of the Secret Service? 

I find the early days of the Secret Service incredibly fascinating and somewhat shrouded from public view. Most are familiar with their current black-suit role, but the Secret Service didn’t start unofficial part-time protection of the President until 1894, almost thirty years after their creation. While April 14, 1865 is most well-known for Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, it was also the date Abraham Lincoln authorized Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCullough to create an organization whose sole purpose was to thwart the counterfeiting of U.S. currency. At that point in history, it is estimated that one-third of all circulating currency was counterfeit, and an unstable currency is a menace to the health and economy of a nation.

On July 5, 1865, William P. Wood was sworn in as the first Chief (now called Director) of the U.S. Secret Service. The organization’s first decade was fraught with questionable practices, scandal, and a negative public image. In the mid-1870s, policies and procedures were changed, but they remained an organization with little power on their own. They required the partnership of local police or U.S. Marshalls to make arrests, obtain warrants, and conduct searches. The challenges they faced were incredible and so fascinating. In 1867, their umbrella of investigations expanded beyond

counterfeiting to include any frauds against the government. Some examples are investigating the Ku Klux Klan, nonconforming distillers, smugglers, mail robbers, land frauds, and so much more. However, it wasn’t until President McKinley’s assassination in 1901 that Congress requested official full-time Secret Service protection of U.S. presidents, and it was 1902 before the Secret Service assumed that duty. I could literally spend hours talking about the history of the Secret Service because I love it so much. In fact, I created a section on my website to share some of the information that wouldn’t fit into my story for those who are interested.

I was delighted to learn that Counterfeit Love is the first of Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age and look forward to more good reading hours with Crystal Caudill.

Please note: I received a copy of Counterfeit Love as part of I Read With Audra, but the opinions are all mine.

As ever, thanks for visiting and join us tomorrow for "C."