Short Story Collections

This is the second volume of short stories by USA Today bestselling author, M. Louisa Locke, set in the gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco. The first story, Beatrice Bests the Burglars , finds Mrs. O’Rourke, the O’Farrell Street boarding house cook, home alone and in danger. In Dandy’s Discovery , something odd is happening at the boardinghouse, but Dandy, the Boston Terrier, discovers the culprit and all is well. In Mrs. O’Malley’s Midnight Mystery , a poor widow’s determination to investigate the strange behavior of her neighbors has unexpected consequences. In the fourth short story, Tilly Tracks a Thief , it’s Christmas, and the young Irish boarding house servant decides to find out who’s stealing from houses in the neighborhood before the thefts ruin the holidays for everyone. This collection of short stories can be read as an introduction or a companion to the full-length novels in the cozy Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, and chronologically it comes between the events of the sixth full-length mystery, Scholarly Pursuits , and the seventh full-length mystery, Lethal Remedies .

Dandy’s Daring Deeds is a collection of already published stories featuring the Boston Terrier, Dandy, a recurring character in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series. This collection consists of the short story, Dandy Detects , an excerpt from the novel, Uneasy Spirits , the novella, Dandy Delivers , and the short story, Dandy’s Discovery . Dandy Detects : In the fall of 1879, San Francisco swelters under a heat wave. Meanwhile, Barbara Hewitt, a reserved school-teacher who lives with her son Jamie in Annie Fuller’s O’Farrell Street boardinghouse, uncovers a mystery with the help of her son’s dog, the Boston Terrier, Dandy. Uneasy Spirits Excerpt: Annie Fuller takes a break from investigating a fraudulent trance medium in order to take a walk with two of her two boarders, Barbara and Jamie Hewitt, and their Boston Terrier, Dandy. Halloween is fast approaching and they have stopped to get some pumpkins when disaster strikes––an accident that, without Dandy’s intervention, could have been deadly. Dandy Delivers : It’s January 1881, and while the grown-ups in the O’Farrell Street boardinghouse are busy with their own affairs, two boys and a dog find their own adventure. Ian Hennessey, a poor boy from South of Market, who is trying to shoulder a man’s responsibilities, gets in trouble, and his best friend, Jamie Hewitt, does what he can to help. But it is Jamie’s young Boston Terrier, Dandy, who saves the day. Dandy’s Discovery : Something odd is happening at the O’Farrell Street boardinghouse, and Annie is worried that her new baby might be in danger. But never fear, Dandy, the Boston Terrier, will discover the culprit and all will be well.