Madam Sibyl's First Client


Book Description

In this short story, the young widow, Annie Fuller, is meeting her first client as the pretend clairvoyant, Madam Sibyl. If she can’t convince this man that she can make money for him with her financial advice, she doesn’t know how she will be able to hold onto her O’Farrell Street boarding house and her precious independence. Madam Sibyl’s First Client is the prequel to Maids of Misfortune, the first book in Locke’s USA Today bestselling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series.




Victorian San Francisco Mysteries: Books 1-4 (Maids of Misfortune, Uneasy Spirits, Bloody Lessons, Deadly Proof


Book Description

This USA Today bestselling boxed set brings together the first four books in the romantic and suspenseful Victorian San Francisco Mystery series: Maids of Misfortune, Uneasy Spirits, Bloody Lessons, and Deadly Proof. Maids of Misfortune introduces Annie Fuller, a young widow who runs the O’Farrell Street boardinghouse and supplements her income by giving financial and domestic advice as Madam Sibyl. When one of Madam Sibyl’s clients dies in mysterious circumstances, Annie goes undercover as a domestic servant to find out the truth about his death. Against his better judgment, Nate Dawson, the Voss family lawyer, finds himself drawn into helping in her investigations, alternatively fascinated and frustrated by Annie’s independent nature. Uneasy Spirits finds Annie Fuller and Nate Dawson, assisted by the boardinghouse maid, Kathleen, delving into the world of 19th century Spiritualism in order to expose a fraudulent trance medium. They will soon find there are as many secrets as there are spirits swirling around the séance table and some of those secrets will threaten the foundation of Annie’s career as Madam Sibyl and the future of her relationship with Nate Dawson, and, in time, they will threaten her very life itself. In Bloody Lessons, Annie Fuller has been asked by her beau, Nate Dawson, to find out who has been sending poison pen letters to tarnish the reputations of San Francisco public school teachers. The case becomes personal when they discover that Nate’s sister Laura may be one of the teachers being targeted. In Deadly Proof, first place winner of Chanticleer’s 2018 Mystery and Mayhem historical mystery award, Annie helps her fiancé, Nate Dawson, with a troubling case—defending a female typesetter who is accused of killing her employer. Complicating matters, Nate’s sister Laura decides to take the investigation into her own hands. This collection of four cozy, historical mysteries, set in late nineteenth-century San Francisco, are appropriate for teens to adults, and it is a welcome companion to the fifth book in the series, Pilfered Promises, and Locke’s Victorian San Francisco Stories and Victorian San Francisco Novellas, which feature beloved minor characters.




Bloody Lessons: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery


Book Description

In Bloody Lessons, it's the winter of 1880, and the teachers of San Francisco are under attack: their salaries slashed and their competency and morals questioned in a series of poison pen letters. Annie Fuller, the reluctant clairvoyant, has been called in to investigate by Nate Dawson, her lawyer beau, and the case becomes personal when they discover that Laura, Nate's sister, may be one of the teachers being targeted. In this installment of the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, readers will find the same blend of a cozy mystery and romantic suspense, played out against the historical backdrop of late 19th century San Francisco, that they found in Maids of Misfortune and Uneasy Spirits. If you are new to this series, you will still enjoy spending time with the lively residents of Annie Fuller's boarding house and visiting San Francisco when Golden Gate Park was filled with horse-drawn carriages, politics were controlled by saloon-keepers, and kisses were stolen under gaslight.




Victorian San Francisco Stories


Book Description

This is a collection of four short stories by USA Today bestselling author, M. Louisa Locke, set in the gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco. Madam Sibyl’s First Client was written specifically for this collection and it finds Annie Fuller, the young widowed boardinghouse keeper, just starting her career as a pretend clairvoyant. In Dandy Detects, the Boston Terrier that lives in Annie Fuller’s boardinghouse helps uncover a crime, and in The Misses Moffet Mend a Marriage, Annie’s two elderly boarders use their dressmaking skills to avert a domestic tragedy. Finally, in Mr. Wong Rights a Wrong, a Chinese manservant introduced in Maids of Misfortune, the first book in Locke’s historical mystery series, makes another appearance and helps Annie Fuller solve a serious problem. As a bonus, there is an essay, Historical Tidbits, which provides insight into the historical research that went into these stories. This collection can be read as an introduction or a companion to the full-length novel in the cozy Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, permitting some of the most beloved minor characters of that series to have some fun by taking center stage.




Deadly Proof: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery


Book Description

It’s the summer of 1880, and once again the lovely and inquisitive businesswoman, Annie Fuller, is helping San Francisco lawyer and beau, Nate Dawson, with a troublesome case. Nate’s client, a female typesetter accused of murdering her boss, refuses to help in her own defense. Complicating matters, Nate’s sister Laura insists on getting involved in the potentially dangerous investigation, while Laura’s friend Seth Timmons, troubled Civil War veteran, finds himself a witness for the prosecution. Will Nate be able to win his first big case? Will Laura and Seth find some way of becoming friends? And finally, will Annie and Nate’s upcoming nuptials be derailed by their attempts to track down a killer? Old friends and new readers alike will enjoy Deadly Proof, this fourth installment of the cozy Victorian San Francisco Mystery series that blends light romance, suspense, and a glimpse into the lives of late 19th century women who worked.




Dandy's Daring Deeds


Book Description

Dandy’s Daring Deeds is a collection of already published stories featuring the Boston Terrier, Dandy, a recurring character in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series. This collection consists of the short story, Dandy Detects, an excerpt from the novel, Uneasy Spirits, the novella, Dandy Delivers, and the short story, Dandy’s Discovery. Dandy Detects: In the fall of 1879, San Francisco swelters under a heat wave. Meanwhile, Barbara Hewitt, a reserved school-teacher who lives with her son Jamie in Annie Fuller’s O’Farrell Street boardinghouse, uncovers a mystery with the help of her son’s dog, the Boston Terrier, Dandy. Uneasy Spirits Excerpt: Annie Fuller takes a break from investigating a fraudulent trance medium in order to take a walk with two of her two boarders, Barbara and Jamie Hewitt, and their Boston Terrier, Dandy. Halloween is fast approaching and they have stopped to get some pumpkins when disaster strikes––an accident that, without Dandy’s intervention, could have been deadly. Dandy Delivers: It’s January 1881, and while the grown-ups in the O’Farrell Street boardinghouse are busy with their own affairs, two boys and a dog find their own adventure. Ian Hennessey, a poor boy from South of Market, who is trying to shoulder a man’s responsibilities, gets in trouble, and his best friend, Jamie Hewitt, does what he can to help. But it is Jamie’s young Boston Terrier, Dandy, who saves the day. Dandy’s Discovery: Something odd is happening at the O’Farrell Street boardinghouse, and Annie is worried that her new baby might be in danger. But never fear, Dandy, the Boston Terrier, will discover the culprit and all will be well.




Dandy Detects


Book Description

In the fall of 1879, San Francisco swelters under a heat wave while Barbara Hewitt, a reserved school-teacher, uncovers a mystery with the help of her son’s dog, the Boston Terrier, Dandy. This short story, which comes chronologically after Maids of Misfortune, is set in the 19th century, gas-lit world of Annie Fuller and her O’Farrell Street boarding house, which Locke writes about in her Victorian San Francisco Mystery series.




Victorian San Francisco Novellas


Book Description

This collection brings together three novellas by USA Today bestselling author, M. Louisa Locke: Violet Vanquishes a Villain, Kathleen Catches a Killer, and Dandy Delivers. These shorter works contain the light romance, humor, and suspense of the novels in her cozy Victorian San Francisco mystery series and are an excellent introduction to the gas-lit world of late 19th-century San Francisco. Violet Vanquishes a Villain: In this novella set in August of 1880, Annie and Nate Dawson’s trip down the San Francisco peninsula to San Jose was supposed to be a pleasant romantic interlude and a chance for Annie to get to know Nate’s family better. When the visit takes a serious turn, Annie races to expose a criminal who could ruin a young man’s life, getting help from an unexpected quarter. The events in Violet Vanquishes a Villain come right after Deadly Proof, the fourth book in Locke’s Victorian San Francisco mystery series. Kathleen Catches a Killer: As 1880 comes to a close, the O'Farrell Street boardinghouse servant, Kathleen Hennessey, expects to spend a quiet week while her employers, amateur sleuths Annie and Nate Dawson, are off spending the Christmas holidays with Nate's family. However, when she agrees to help out one of her friends, Kathleen discovers that a simple case of a servant being dismissed without notice has turned into a complicated and dangerous puzzle that she is determined to solve. The events in Kathleen Catches a Killer come right between those in Pilfered Promises and the third novella in this collection, Dandy Delivers. Dandy Delivers: It’s January, 1881, and while the grown-ups in Annie and Nate Dawson’s San Francisco O’Farrell Street boardinghouse are busy with their own affairs, two boys and a dog find their own adventure. Ian Hennessey, a poor boy from South of Market, who is trying to shoulder a man’s responsibilities, gets in trouble, and his best friend, Jamie Hewitt, does what he can to help. But it is Jamie’s young Boston Terrier, Dandy, who saves the day.




Medieval to Modern: An Anthology of Historical Mystery Stories


Book Description

***Don't miss the next books in the series on sale for 99 cents and FREE this week only!*** Join amateur sleuths, private detectives, and feisty female protagonists in a journey through time with this anthology of historical mysteries spanning nearly a thousand years, from Medieval Wales to 1940s Ohio. This collection of eight novellas and short stories is the perfect introduction to five award-winning series in settings ranging from the back streets of Elizabethan and Regency London to the steep slopes of Victorian San Francisco. -- Libi Astaire, the Jewish Regency mystery series. -- Anna Castle, the Francis Bacon mystery series and the Professor & Mrs. Moriarty mystery series. -- M. Louisa Locke, the Victorian San Francisco mystery series. -- M. Ruth Myers, the Maggie Sullivan mystery series set in Depression-era Ohio. -- Sarah Woodbury, the Gareth & Gwen Medieval Mysteries.




Kathleen Catches a Killer


Book Description

As 1880 comes to a close, the O'Farrell Street boardinghouse servant, Kathleen Hennessey, expects to spend a quiet week while her employers, amateur sleuths Annie and Nate Dawson, are off spending the Christmas holidays with Nate's family. However, when she agrees to help out one of her friends, Kathleen discovers that a simple case of a servant being dismissed without notice has turned into a complicated and dangerous puzzle that she is determined to solve. While featuring minor characters from Locke's USA Today bestselling Victorian San Francisco mystery series, Kathleen Catches a Killer contains all the light romance, humor, and suspense of the longer works. Chronologically, this novella comes right after the events in Pilfered Promises, but it can be read as a stand-alone and an excellent introduction to this mystery series about the gas-lit world of the late 19th century.