Louisa and the Missing Heiress — Anna MacLean

Gentle Reader,

In the days before I achieved renown as the author of Little Women, I was writing and selling stories of a more lurid nature, inspired by my spellbound fascination with the dark and mysterious. But nothing I could conjure from my own imagination could prepare me for the role of detective I found myself playing time and again....

My family and I shared a frugal home in Boston during the years before the Civil War, a time of hooped skirts and beaver hats. While I railed against my lack of freedom as a woman, my parents set high standards for me, offering warmth and wisdom, and secretly (and illegally!) aiding the Underground Railroad. My sisters provided lighter companionship, as did my many friends, including Dorothy Wortham.

I was looking forward to seeing Dot again after her yearlong honeymoon overseas. However, the happy reunion I expected was overshadowed by her distant and distraught behavior. Before she could confide her anxiety in me, her body was discovered floating in Boston Harbor, with evidence of foul play. I could not fathom who would wish to harm such a kind spirit as Dot, but I was determined to search the foggy cobblestone streets until I found out....

Louis May Alcott