Kathleen Catches a Killer

A Victorian San Francisco Mystery #5.1

by M. Louisa Locke

It’s the very end of December, 1880, and the servant Kathleen Hennessey expects to spend a quiet week taking care of the O’Farrell Street boarding house while her employers, 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 puzzle that she is determined to solve.

While featuring minor characters from Locke’s 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.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Short Stories

118 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 26, 2017

About the author

After being a professor of history for over 30 years, I am now retired and writing full time. The books in my Victorian San Francisco Mystery series are based in part on my dissertation research on women who worked in the Far West at the end of the Nineteenth Century, and they feature Annie Fuller, a young widow who gives domestic and business advice as the clairvoyant, Madam Sibyl. She is aided in her investigations into crime by Nate Dawson, a local lawyer, and the residents in the boarding house she owns.

Maids of Misfortune, the first in the series, finds Annie investigating a murder by going undercover as a domestics servant. In Uneasy Spirits, she is asked to investigate a fraudulent trance medium, and in Bloody Lessons, she is asked to find out who is attacking local public school teachers. The fourth book, Deadly Proof is set in the printing industry in San Francisco, and in the fifth book, Pilfered Promises, Annie and Nate investigate theft and murder in a modern department store.

Book six in this collection, Scholarly Pursuits, takes Laura Dawson and her friends (introduced in Bloody Lessons) across the Bay to Berkeley to attend the university where unexpected skulduggery is afoot. In Lethal Remedies, Annie is tasked with uncovering who is trying to ruin a clinic run by and for women, and in Entangled Threads it is a woolen factory that is the site of her investigations.

Volume One of my collection of short stories about minor characters, Victorian San Francisco Stories, are free to anyone who signs up to my newsletter. (see my website for sign up at http://mlouisalocke.com)

Not content with just writing about the past, under the pen name Louisa Locke, I have now turned to the future with a new science fiction series set in the collaborative world of the Paradisi Chronicles.

As an indie author I absolutely depend on the readers who have read and liked my cozy historical mysteries and spread the word. This second career has turned out to be more fun and rewarding than i ever thought possible. So thanks to all of you!

Reviews

[Erik Sapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Locke continues to impress me.

The only reason this book got 4 instead of 5 stars is that the ending was too obvious. The characters (obviously) could not see how things were going to turn out, but it's obvious to the reader. The only reason all the events are told is because they are linked, and how they are linked is clear from the beginning.

However, the writing is very good and the characters continue to be well-defined.

[Dawn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh to be a maid!

The never dull adventures of the upstairs downstairs world in Victorian San Francisco. I love these novellas that help give the secondary characters from the main novels an opportunity to own the spotlight for a while! As ever the story doesn't disappoint in providing a glimpse into an era past, while encapsulating it all in crime mystery to resolve. Jolly good fun as ever!

[Donna Zigmont · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great novella from the series. I liked it a lot because in this story Kathleen not Annie solves it. I love the interaction between the staff members of the boarding house. Especially Kathleen and Bea. I'm hoping somewhere down the line Katleen and Patrick get married. And possibly a series for them too.

[Elizabeth Dodd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like the full length novels in this series, this is a fully developed mystery.
Why was the servant abruptly let go?
Who is the strange young man who claims to be the older woman's son?
Why do none of the pieces quite fit in this puzzle?
And why don't people who should know better pay better attention to Kathleen's concerns?

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun, quick read. I have enjoyed the Annie Dawson mystery series.

In this book, Annie and Nate are away and their maid, Kathleen has to step up and help out a friend and solve a mystery. Mary Margaret is dismissed by her employer after her son arrives. She goes to her friend and fellow maid, Kathleen. The household supports Mary Margaret and they figure out the mystery.

Enjoy

[Sheryl Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A killer story

Kathleen has always been one of my favorite characters so I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story where she got to be the headliner. Like all the stories in the series, this was a very pleasant and entertaining read.

[Lauretta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful novella features Kathleen Hennessey, the smart and savvy young maid of Annie and Nate Dawson. When her good friend Mary Margaret, the only servant for a frail, elderly lady who lives nearby, appears sobbing at the kitchen door late at night on December 26, Kathleen's only thought is to get her out of the cold rain. She can barely understand Mary Margeret's tearful explanation of being dismissed without wages or references by Mrs. Ashburton's newly returned son. From this moment on, Kathleen feels something is not right at the Ashburton residence, and Mary Margaret remains very concerned that her mistress is not being cared for properly. At the same time, Kathleen's policeman beau Patrick continues to rise in the esteem of his sergeant Thompson and is called away to help solve a bank robbery. As more details are revealed about what is going on in the Ashburton home, Kathleen is forced to take action alone, with potentially devastating consequences. Thankfully the police arrive just in time, and all the pieces of the puzzle are revealed. Kathleen concludes that she would rather be Mrs. Dawson's assistant rather than take on solving mysteries by herself!

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may have read this before under a different title but I really enjoyed. The author writes quite descriptively about the 1800s in San Francisco and it's interesting to get a glimpse of how people lived in that era. Kathleen, one of Annie's maids, tries to help her friend who is a maid for an older woman and has been dismissed by the woman's son. Things just don't seem right when the older woman is not allowed visitors and doesn't show up at church. Kathleen starts to put things together and plans a rescue that involves her friend, Mary Margaret, and a young boy who is a border in the house. Again, this is a novella so it's a quick and easy read and so enjoyable.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another novella, this one starring Annie's maid Kathleen; it falls between the 5th and 6th novels of the series. Kathleen goes to the aid of a friend who has been dismissed from her maid job without notice or references, under suspicious circumstances. The friend was fired by the son of the old lady she cared for, and she is very worried that he will not take proper care of his mother. When Annie and Nate return from their trip, a case they are working on crosses with Kathleen's suspicions. A quick, entertaining read.

[Heatherinblack · Rating 5 out of 5]

short sweet mystery solved by a smart girl

i think that is what i liked the most about this book. the maid put the pieces together. and it the most logical way. sure, it is fiction, but there isn’t enough girl smarts save the day. at least not with the maids. i actually liked this better than the full length book that was published before this one.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

26 December 1880. Kathleen Hennessey's friend mary Margaret arrives late at night having been dismissed without notice or given her back wages.It seems her employer - Mrs Ashburton - has let her go because her son has arrived home after 12 years away.
Kathleen comes suspicious and wants to help solve the problem.
An enjoyable novella

[Susan Sarabasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interested side story

Enjoyed getting to know some of the secondary characters better.
However the story seemed to drag a bit with minutiae and then it ended quickly. Also the piece needs to be edited for words out of place, etc.

[Lori Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a well written and researched series

I look forward to every new story in this series. The author brings early 20th century San Francisco, the people, customs and fashions to life perfectly.

[Nikolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

a Good Quick Read

Unlike the others in this series I had my suspicions from the start but they did turn out exactly right. I enjoy the personalities of the regular characters. The historical thread is also int red interesting

[John Barclay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another of these fun little side stories from the series of impeccably researched novels. It's a bit too easy to see what's happening, but the characters are such fun and the details so interesting that it's great to read.

[Zindia Pierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked when she writes a novella where the minor (though not that minor) characters have their own little adventures. It was a good story!!

[Melissa Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book just like I love all her books. I thought I might have issue with Annie not being the main character but I didn’t. It was very enjoyable.

[Mary Walterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kathleen Shines

This is a short book with Kathleen as the focus. She takes on a mystery to be solved and does a great job! Now I wait door the next book in the series!

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little read. Very relaxing.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, fun but predictable read.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A particularly nail-biting climax, but a satisfactory resolution. With this series, it's best to start at the beginning and just keep reading. I'm on to the next!

[Chris Blackton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read but one glaring error, Mrs. Ashburnham was mentioned to go to church on Wednesdays but at the end of the novella the story said that she missed going to church on Sunday.

[janice a brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Series



Love all of Dr. Locke's books. Nice insight to an earlier time for women in San Francisco and great mysteries too.

[Michele Hermansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novella a lot. Kathleen emerges as the voice of the story, and solves the crime. It was fun to get to know one of the other characters in the series better.

[J Shu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little novella featuring houseworker Kathleen helping her friend discover if friend's former employer could be in distress and why.

[Juliet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the way M. Louisa Locke uses the details of everyday life in Victorian San Francisco as clues in this novella.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful little holiday mystery that gives Kathleen, the maid, a chance to shine at solving a problem.