Customer Reviews

Louisa and the Missing Heiress: The First Louisa May Alcott Mystery (Louisa May Alcott Mystery Series)

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In this first book of a promising new series, Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, tells readers of a time in her past when she helped solve a murder mystery. Shortly after going to a tea party where her friend, Dorothy Brownly Wortham, acts strangely, Dorothy is murdered. Dorothy had told Louisa she wanted to speak to her, but was killed before she had a chance to. Louisa is determined to find out how and why Dorothy was murdered.

This was an extremely well written, well researched book. Louisa really came to life as a character, as did the rest of her family, especially her mother, Abba. The time period also came to life through the book. The mystery itself was well plotted, and the identity of the murderer unexpected.

I'm looking forward to more books in this series.

A new sleuth has arrived on the scene, the author Louisa May Alcott. Ms. Alcott was known to have written a few thrillers herself when not writing things like "Little Women." Anna Maclean has gone back and recreated this aspect of Louisa's life with amazing fidelity; however Ms. Alcott does not just write mysteries, but also solves them.

Written with the precision and skill of her historical novels, Jean Mackin creates a minor masterpiece in her debut as Anna Maclean, mystery writer. The plot winds itself in and around pre-Civil War Boston with the beauty and complexity of a Medieval tapestry. The story is entangled with numerous characters functioning on many levels, often seeming to contradict themselves, leading us down many blind alleys. I must admit I could not put this book down. Just when I thought I had figured out who the guilty party was I discovered some new reason why they did not do it. The ending is quite a surprise. If you are looking for an entertaining historical mystery, and value good writing, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

The time is 1854. Louisa May Alcott is 22. Yes, this is the Louisa who later writes Little Women and goes on to become a famous author. In this book she does the sleuthing.

Her friend Dorothy Brownly Wortham is recently returned from her travels in Europe after her wedding to Preston. Louisa and her friend Sylvia Shattuck have been invited to Dorothy's for tea. Also in attendance are Dorothy's twin sisters Edith and Sarah, their brother Edgar, and their aunt Alfreda Thorney. Unfortunately the one person missing is Dorothy. After waiting for quite a while, she arrives. She says that tea was for tomorrow, not today. She won't say where she's been. She seems quite distraught and asks everyone to come back tomorrow for tea. She asks Louisa to arrive a little early so that they may talk.

Louisa is distressed and determined to arrive early to find out what is wrong with Dorothy.

The next day, Dorothy is once again missing. After everyone arrives, Constable Cobban of the Boston Watch and Police arrives to announce that Dorothy had drowned. Her dog Lily was found drowned with her.

Louisa and Sylvia attend the autopsy but it proves to be too much for Sylvia and they leave. Louisa is determined to find out how and why Dorothy was murdered. Yes, it was murder.

Louisa ends up putting herself in danger and bringing gossip upon her name in her quest to find the murderer.

While historical mysteries are not my favorite, I really enjoyed this book. It was fun having a famous author do the sleuthing. I thought I was well written and the characters were so well developed that I had trouble figuring out who did it. That always makes it a good mystery in my eyes.

I look forward to reading more books with Louisa doing the sleuthing. I recommend this book.

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 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's home after a year long honeymoon in Europe. Dot noticeably upset asks Louisa 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 charming amateur sleuth novel that will appeal to fans of historical cozies. Anna Maclean brings the 1850's 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 is the first installment in what looks to be a delightful new mystery series starring a totally wonder protagonist.

Harriet Klausner

The concept of this book was wonderful - Louisa May Alcott, a detective? How exciting. I did enjoy this book, but on a very shallow level - the whole thing was very prettily written but without a very intriguing amount of content.

This was a charming little read, but it didn't blow my skirt up. Good light reading.

Louisa and the Missing Heiress: The First Louisa May Alcott Mystery takes place in Boston in 1854 long before Louisa gains the fame from her book Little Women. Back then she was writing a children's book and "blood and thunder" mysteries. Her father was a philosopher and would never approve of her literary pursuits. Her mother was a very frugal woman but very independent. The family followed some very risky pursuits for the time.

But the life she was leading in no way prepared her for the death of her friend, Dottie, a young newlywed, barely home from a year long trip abroad. She was clearly changed when she returned. Louisa was trying to find a way to spend time with her friend to determine what had caused this change, but she was too late. Dottie was found dead in the Boston Harbor. Accident... suicide... no it was murder. Suddenly Louisa feels as if she has been thrust into one of her mystery writings and she needs to find out who killed her friend and why. There are definitely many secrets and strange happenings. Louisa must sleuth out the truth before she falls victim herself.

My Thoughts
I really enjoyed this story. Stories behind the scenes of any famous person are always fun. It appears to be pretty historically accurate and reads much like something written my Louisa May Alcott herself. She was definitely one of my favorite authors while growing up.

Maclean takes us effortlessly back in time with a great mystery plot and true to the facts characters. It is books like this the remind us of authors who wrote wonderful classics and brings them back to life for yet another generation of readers.

The next book in this delightful series, Louisa and the Country Bachelor will be released October 4, 2011. I venture to say that after reading these stories you will probably feel like rereading some of Alcott's classics or reading them for the first time if you haven't before.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Obsidian. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Journey back to Boston circa 1887 for a historical mystery starring Louisa May Alcott before she became famous. As a budding writer, Louisa has an observant nature, so when her friend Dot is late for a tea party and arrives in a disheveled state, Louisa's suspicions are raised. Everyone wonders why Dottie married Preston Wortham, especially so Dottie's wealthy family. So when Dot is found dead by the wharf, it's no surprise that Constable Cobban suspects the victim's husband of being a fortune-hunter. Afraid the officer of the law might not look any further than the obvious, Louisa determines to unmask the killer. It appears all of Dottie's relatives have something to hide, and a few near misses on her life tell our heroine that she's getting closer to the truth.

This is a delightful debut for a new series. I look forward to reading more about Miss Alcott's exploits in the sequel, Louisa and the Country Bachelor.

"Louisa and the Missing Heiress" is a historical mystery set in 1854 in Boston. The title is misleading since the heiress in question was never really missing, just late to tea parties and then killed. The story contained rich, but not overwhelming detail about everyday life at that time and the real Louisa May Alcott's life.

I found the Louisa character charming, and I enjoyed the underlying humor in how she viewed others and herself. The other characters were vivid but generally not very deep or distinct from each other.

The whodunit wasn't very difficult to figure out. I was sure who the murderer was very early in the story, and it only became more obvious. The author was able to extend the mystery by having Louisa have so many questions to ask that she didn't ask some obvious questions early on. However, she still hadn't asked these questions when, near then end of the story, Louisa knew she was missing something but couldn't think of any questions she'd neglected to ask. The character was smart, so this didn't strike me as realistic.

When Louisa did figure it out who the murderer was (along with some details that, indeed, I never would have guessed), she acted stupidly: she didn't tell anyone who the murderer was, sent her only backup away (to fetch the police), then went alone and without a weapon to confront someone whom she suspected was about to kill again. This didn't increase the suspense for me. During her confrontation with the murderer, the author didn't use the murderer's name in order to "surprise" us with it later. That just made me feel insulted and irritated.

So, while I found the first two-thirds of the novel charming and enjoyable, the author hit too many of my pet peeves in the last third for me to enjoy it. If the things I pointed out above don't annoy you, then you'll probably enjoy this novel. There were no sex scenes. There was a very minor amount of both explicit and "he cursed" style bad language.

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.

In the year 1854, the Alcott family is living in Boston and 22-year-old Louisa, trying to make up for her father's utter lack of talent for earning money, is bringing in what income she can by writing "sensational," blood-and-thunder fiction for the vastly popular "story papers." When an old friend, the former Dorothy "Dot" Brownly, and her husband Preston Wortham return from their European honeymoon, Louisa is invited to tea, but Dot shows up late and distracted. "If only I could talk completely openly with a trusted friend," she laments. "I have made such a mess of it." Louisa promises to return the next day and listen. But then Dot is found floating in Boston Harbor--with the marks of human fingers on her neck.

Not at all convinced of the competence of Boston's relatively new police force, Louisa finds herself drawn into the quest for answers. Dot's wealthy family seems strangely unaffected by her murder and unanimously disapproving of her marriage. Wortham apparently wasn't aware that Dot's money was tied up in such a way that upon her death he would lose every penny of it. (Did he kill her in hopes of gaining control of it? The police seem to think so; they arrest him for the crime.) And what is the connection with Dot's only brother, a would-be artist who keeps a studio near the waterfront, and his mistress, a supposedly Spanish actress? Or with Queenie, one of the inmates of the Charles Street Home for Unwed Girls where Louisa and her mother give time and food?

Louisa May Alcott did indeed write a considerable number of potboilers before she became famous under her own name for Little Women (Signet Classics) (some of them are available for your examination in collections like Behind a Mask: The Unknown Thrillers Of Louisa May Alcott and A Long Fatal Love Chase), and MacLean, taking off from this fact, has crafted an intriguing period mystery with a strong sense of place, particularly in her picture of the mores and customs of antebellum Northern society. (There are, it's true, a few jarring notes, such as the cowboys-and-Indians motif of the play in which Louisa and her dear friend Sylvie view Katya Mendoza's purported dramatic gifts, and a mention of tennis, which wasn't introduced to the U.S. until 1874.) She has also obviously done her research into the Alcott family and succeeds in bringing them vividly to life, from practical Abba (the model for the March girls' Marmee) to the somewhat woolly-minded but idealistic Bronson. And the case itself is full of twists and turns, with "greedy husbands, money-driven sibling rivalries, [and] jealous mistresses," as well as blackmail. This is a first novel whose sequels I definitely plan to acquire.

This first book in a projected series gives us Louisa May Alcott who in her old age looks back to a "secret" part of her life, her "adventures...in the curious role of a lady detective." Not yet a well known author, Louisa willingly sets forth from the protective bosom of her hard working, loving family in order to discover who murdered her childhood friend. In the process, her own life is threatened.

Although the story is not particularly fast moving, it provides rich details about the required manners and dress of "respectable" Boston women. Find also bits of information about social issues in pre-Civil War New England, of Louisa's father, Bronson Alcott, and of Henry Thoreau, Ralph Emerson and Margaret Fuller.