Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Louisa and the Missing Heiress-Anna Maclean

Louisa and the Missing Heiress
Anna Maclean
Obsidian, Jun 7 2011, $14.00
ISBN 9780451233240

Although they are as poor as can be, they live in an exclusive section of Boston so Louisa May Alcott and her family mingle with people of high society. Her father doesn’t earn much money and the family’s work with the Abolitionists and the underground which puts the Alcotts in danger yet they are a close group bound by love. In her early twenties Louisa May wants to be a writer.

She is excited about seeing her friend Dot Wortham, who is finally home after a year-long honeymoon in Europe. Dot is noticeably upset and asks Louisa May to meet with her tomorrow at a tea party. The next day Louisa May learns that her friend’s body was found floating in the Charles River. Bruises around her throat and injuries to her head lead the police to believe she was murdered by her husband who society thinks married Dot for her money. Louisa is more attuned to the behavioral nuances of the families of Dot and her husband and thinks the killer is still at large. Wanting justice to be served, she starts her own investigation and almost ends up as the killer’s next victim.

LOUISA AND THE MISSING HEIRESS is a reprint of a charming amateur sleuth novel that will appeal to fans of historical cozies. Anna Maclean brings the 1850s in Boston to life and readers see how even in the North the social issue of slavery permeates the culture. The heroine is charming, intelligent and independent, a woman who knows what she wants and will work to obtain it. This first installment is a delightful new mystery series starring a totally wonderful protagonist.

Harriet Klausner

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