It is November of 1880, and the future looks promising for Annie and Nate Dawson. Nate’s law practice is taking off. Annie has made the transition from pretend clairvoyant to a successful financial consultant, and as a couple, they are looking forward to spending their first Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays together.For Robert Livingston, the owner San Francisco’s newest grand emporium, the … emporium, the holidays are shaping up to be a dismal failure if he can’t figure out how to stop whoever is stealing from his department store, the Silver Strike Bazaar. When he hires the Dawsons to investigate, Annie and Nate discover that behind the doors of Livingston’s “Palace of Plenty,” nothing is quite what it seems.
Pilfered Promises, by USA Today bestselling author, M. Louisa Locke, is the fifth full-length historical mystery in the cozy Victorian San Francisco mystery series featuring Annie and Nate Dawson and their friends and family in the O’Farrell Street boarding house. Locke’s shorter works, found in Victorian San Francisco Stories and Victorian San Francisco Novellas, feature minor characters from the series.
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Enjoyed the view of the 1880’s.
You will enjoy if you liked others in the series. I also enjoy the details of how life was in 1860 San Francisco.
I like this series. May have something to do with having lived in the City but I like Annie’s character & resourceful spirit. Pun intended. Recommend all of them
It’s always fascinating to read historical fiction and see how we have advanced technology-wise. In M. Louisa Locke’s Pilfered Promises, telephones and elevators are new to the country in the 1880s. Annie Dawson and her lawyer husband Nate are asked to investigate systematic theft in the Silver Strike Bazaar, a large department store in San Francisco. Annie and Nate are asked to get involved.
All of her books are such fun to read and filled with so many facts of Victorian life…it’s an education. Love the characters and good story line. Can’t wT for a new one!
This is part of a series and on the whole okay. The author uses San Francisco of the 1880s as a backdrop and usually effectively. Unfortunately unless you’ve lived in SF the constant references to various streets is unnecessary and really doesn’t do a thing to move the plot along. The characters are for the most part engaging but often the plot holes are enormous. If you are willing to suspend disbelief for nicely drawn characters and historical background with bodice ripper romance and ladies in peril these are the books for you.
It’s a nice little easy vacation or weekend type read and several characters are kind of charming, but it’s a bit repetitive (as many mysteries tend to be).
Enjoyed the ambience of Victorian era San Francisco
I read this in December as Christmas approached and this helped set the mood for the book. The newspaper quotes at the beginning of each chapter were great.
This is the second book in a series though each can be read individually. Victorian crime mystery.
Enjoyable read
I love that time period. And I enjoy the strong female lead definitely ahead of her time.
As Annie’s story continues, and her strength in her convictions increases, the books are taking a somewhat darker turn. It is a clever, if subliminal, way of getting the point across that women are, first and foremost, living, breathing and capable human beings. The age old idea that women need to be protected from the world is just wrong.
Although presented as cozy mysteries of the Victorian era, what truly recommends this series are its presentation of history, and its feminist leaning. The history in each novel is backed up with squibs of actual newspaper accounts, at the beginning of each chapter, that substantiate the fictional account. The feminist side shows that women, in the late 1800s, in America, were starting to assert their independence. It also does not discount the way in which men responded. There is Nate Dawson who learns to curb his tongue when trying to make his point that he wants to protect Annie. Then there are men who think of women as their chattel. On the surface, these may seem like sweet little mysteries, but the underlying message is what provides the backbone.
One last thing I realized while reading the series is that the titles of the novels and short works really do sum up the stories in their clever play on words.
Again, I will urge that you start reading the Victorian San Francisco mysteries from the beginning. I say this because it is the backstory that will make you come back for more. In any mystery series, the actual mystery is often secondary to the importance of learning what happens next in the lives of the characters. Dr. Locke’s characters are very human and quite varied. It is through these well-developed individuals that the history comes alive.
This series is fun to read. The characters are memorable and the interactions between them build the story line.
The first book in this series was very engaging but subsequent novels are less compelling.
A fun book with a mystery twist. Interesting view of woman’s role in the early 1900’s. Enjoyable and fast-paced.
This entire series is highly entertaining. I love how these books completely take you to another place and time in history. It’s so easy to imagine yourself right there with them.
I love this whole series and read them as they come out
Brings Victorian San Franciscans to life in an engaging mix of characters.
Love these books and enjoy everyone so far.