Maids of Misfortune

by M. Louisa Locke

Ebook, 2009

Status

Available

Call number

Fic Mystery Locke

Publication

Publisher Unknown

Description

It�??s the summer of 1879, and Annie Fuller, a young San Francisco widow, is in trouble. Annie�??s husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide five years earlier, and one of his creditors is now threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns to pay off a debt. Annie Fuller also has a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sibyl, one of San Francisco�??s most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of Madam Sibyl�??s clients, Matthew Voss, has died. The police believe it is suicide brought upon by bankruptcy, but Annie believes Voss has been murdered and that his assets have been stolen. Nate Dawson has a problem. As the Voss family lawyer, he would love to believe that Matthew Voss didn't leave his grieving family destitute. But that would mean working with Annie Fuller, a woman who alternatively attracts and infuriates him as she shatters every notion he ever had of proper ladylike behavior. Sparks fly as Anne and Nate pursue the truth about the murder of Matthew Voss in this light-hearted, cozy historical mystery set in the foggy gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco. Maids of Misfortune is the first book in M. Louisa Locke�??s historical mystery series. The next three books are Uneasy Spirits, Bloody Lessons and Deadly Proof as well as a collection of… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Mrsbaty

Maids of Misfortune: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery - M. Louisa Locke

I knew as soon as I started this book that I was going to love it and I was right. A strong female heroine set in the Victorian era with a clever mystery is a recipe for success.

Annie Fuller is a widow who escaped a stifling

marriage when her husband committed suicide. She moved from New York to San Francisco where she inherited a house and is now a respectable businesswoman running her own boardinghouse. Her side job as Sybil the Clairvoyant is known only to a few trusted household employees.

When one of her customers dies and it is declared to be suicide, she knows better and decides to prove it. Along the way she meets a handsome lawyer, learns what it's like to be a domestic in the Victorian era and foils an old acquaintance who wants to take everything she has.

The mystery is clever but not overly taxing to figure out. There is some romance but it doesn't overpower the mystery. The Victorian setting adds the perfect touches to the story. I absolutely loved the ending.

This author knows what a mystery reader wants to read. I've already purchased the next book in the series and am excited to read it. I know for me this series will be like comfort food, something I'll return to again and again.

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LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing

As a gently-bred widow in nineteenth century San Francisco, Annie Fuller struggles to be financially independent. To supplement her boarding house earnings, she also gives advice masquerading as a fortune teller. When one of her favorite clients seemingly commits suicide on the eve of his greatest

triumph, only Annie is suspicious. The police won't listen to her theories, so she goes undercover as a maid in home of her late client. The family he left behind is in desperate straits, and Annie does her best to solve a murder, help each of them, and still somehow wash the linens and make the fires. She finds being a maid to be astoundingly hard work, and sleuthing not much easier. Luckily she has a handsome detective to help her...

Short, sweet, not that objectionable and not that memorable, either.

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LibraryThing member cameling

This Victorian San Francisco cozy murder mystery put me in a much better frame of mine. It has humor and Annie Fuller, a widow who dresses up as a clairvoyant who gives personal and business advice, becomes an amateur sleuth to find out who murdered a client who had become a friend. It appears

because the murder took place behind locked doors that the murderer must be one of the household members. When a maid conveniently vacates her position the day after the murder, Annie decides to disguise herself as a maid and gets herself employed in the household. Entertaining caper.

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LibraryThing member CindyAmrhein

I actually read this book (#1) after I read the second book. I did not feel lost or cheated by that. I knew tidbits about this one that were scattered in #2, but not enough to spoil it in any way.
I give the author credit for doing a great job making them all stand alone novels. I love Annie's

character as the fake medium stumbling into one mystery or another. Being a historian, whose favorite period this is, and being a mystery to boot, how could I ask for more! I have read all she has written and look forward to the release of the next one.

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LibraryThing member annertan

Cute story line. But I found the ending a little hard to believe.

***Spoiler***
Not that 3 women cannot overcome a man, but with a heavy carpet? I reread this passage a couple times because I was sure I missed a sentence or two that might explain the scene a little better.

LibraryThing member murderbydeath

This was a solid, well written book with a pretty good plot - I guessed the bad guy about half-way through. I usually don't go for the undercover-in-disguise sort of mystery, but this one was done well enough that I didn't mind it, and it was a plausible way for our amateur detective to detect.

I'll probably read the next one, but won't rush out to buy it - mainly because I think when I stared reading this book I wasn't in the mood for it, so it felt as though it dragged a bit.

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LibraryThing member Kathy89

I enjoyed this book even though the heroine was oblivious to the danger around her. Annie runs a boarding house and acts as a medium under the guise of "Sibyl" to help with the finances. One of her clients is believed to have committed suicide but she doesn't believe and manages to get hired as a

maid in his home to find clues to who could've murdered him.

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LibraryThing member scot2

I loved this book. The characters were realistic and very likeable except for the baddie of course. Annie, who was raised by her father, has a lookout on life that is rather different to the norm for ladies in those days. Many twists in the plot add to the enjoyment. I will buy the next in the

series.

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LibraryThing member vrchristensen

This was a lot of fun. Of course I'm always as interested in the human factor of a story (and, yes, the romance) as I am about the technical details involved in a crime. The book is filled with an entire cast of interesting characters from the kindly Chinese valet, to the surprisingly spirited

widow who pretends frailty but who is actually quite cunning. As with the best mysteries, I could not figure out whodunnit until the end, and I think a sense of unpredictability in a mystery is key. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

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LibraryThing member bookczuk

Light reading of the cosy sort. It made for a quick read while travelling. Characters were interesting enough that I'd read another in the series should one come my way.Nice to see San Francisco in its olden, golden days. I did employ some willing suspension of disbelief, but, on the whole, liked

the book. It's been several weeks since I read it, so a plot summary would be crap. Let's just leave it as "I liked it."

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LibraryThing member arctangent

This book was so poorly written, or at least written in a style that I find distasteful, that I couldn't get past the first chapter. So take this "review" for nothing more than a comment on style. I have nothing to say about the content, characters, plotting, resolution, etc.

LibraryThing member amaraki

Rather a fun read, giving enough clues to draw you into playing the whodunnit game. Best characteristic of this book for me was the description of time, place and mores. While there was a bit of romance in the development, fortunately it was not the trite descriptions in many romantic mysteries. I

think if the book had been shorter, the story would have had more impact; but I was reading it at a disadvantage as an ebook on my laptop, which is not the most pleasurable of reading experiences.

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LibraryThing member iShanella

Needing a reading break, I picked up this book because it was a Victorian mystery, set in San Francisco and it was discounted. I'm so glad that I picked it up! It's not overly complicated, and you probably could figure out the villain if you try, but it was a fun read with a splash of romance.

Annie is a widow whose deceased husband took advantage of her and squandered all their money before committing suicide. Left on her own she was fortunate to inherit the house that she now rents to boarders. Determined to make it on her own and be independent she is passing herself as a clairvoyant to help supplement her income for the boarding house she is running. When one of her clients ends up dead, she works - with the help of his family's lawyers - to investigate his death.

Overall, this was a quick, enjoyable read. I went into it looking for something light and was pleased that, while light, the story was really engaging. Loved all the characters that were introduced from the boarding house.

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LibraryThing member dorie.craig

This was a historical cozy mystery set in 1870’s San Francisco. The protagonist is Annie, a progressive-thinking widow who owns a boarding house and also secretly doubles as ‘Sylvia’, a psychic medium who gives domestic and business advice. One of Sylvia’s favorite clients is believed to

have been driven to suicide by financial problems, but Annie knew things were actually going very well for the man and suspects foul play.

This was actually a charming story but with a few flaws. Nate, the young lawyer and romantic interest in the story, was not very interesting and his inconsistency in manner was a source of irritation and confusion. Being as the romance between these two characters was obviously one of the sub-plots to the book, this was a fairly large drawback. Also Annie’s “investigation” while posing as a servant was fairly uninteresting, and I began to lose interest about three-quarters through the book. This book had both good and bad points, but I don’t think I’ll be continuing the series.

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LibraryThing member BraveNewBks

This was really cute. A spunky heroine, and a leading man who's a lawyer. The mystery was okay, a few clever pieces, but I didn't really have a favorite suspect through most of the story so that dampens the reveal a little. Still, I wanted to read the next one when I was done, so it was definitely

a fun read. Unfortunately, Victorian San Francisco Mystery #2 is apparently a short story of about 35 pages, which is a disappointment.

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LibraryThing member Mary_Beth_Robb

Boring, slow moving

LibraryThing member Constant2m

Everything about this book was charming. I read it a while back but found the audiobook on sale recently, so it gave me the excuse I needed to reread it.

Annie Fuller, a trained financier who can find no work since she's not a man, masquerades as a fortune teller in order to earn an income.

Unfortunately, near the beginning of the story, one of her favorite clients is found dead and she believes it's murder. Along with a lawyer who initially mistakes her boarding house as a brothel, Annie goes undercover to track down the suspect. And what a character Annie is. She is quite forward for her time, insisting on doing things her way and getting into plenty of scraps, but also getting herself out of those scrapes without needing a man to rescue her. Regardless, the growing relationship between Annie and her lawyer friend is sweet. There is also a Chinese servant who is a constant reminder of the stereotypes of Chinese at that time. He, like Annie, stands out from the stereotypes in many ways. I can't wait to continue rereading or listening to this series. I had forgotten how fun these books are.

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LibraryThing member delta61

Thought I was getting into a detective story. It turned out to be a love story more to the liking of teen age girls. Not my type of book. Very light reading. Didn't finish it.

LibraryThing member Vesper1931

Mrs. Annie Fuller, a widow living in San Francisco, makes her living running a boarding house, and giving business advice as Madam Sibyl, a clairvoyant.
Then one of her clients commits suicide which she believes is false and so goes undercover in his household to determine the truth.

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