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Book Review By Harriet Klausner
Louisa and The Missing Heiress by Anna Maclean



Signet, April 2004, 5.99, 304 pp.
ISBN 0451211790

Although they are as poor as can be, Louisa May Alcott and her family live in an exclusive section of Boston and 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, who is finally home after a year long honeymoon in Europe. Dot is noticeably upset and 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.

Harriet Klausner


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
descript. of violence and chases - 10 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 %
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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