Contemporary Authors

A little bit about me:
Anna Loan-Wilsey
I live in a Victorian farmhouse in the Iowa countryside with my patient husband, inquisitive six year old daughter and my old yellow dog. I was born and raised in Syracuse, NY but have lived in Finland, Canada and Texas. I have a BA in Biology from Wells College in Aurora, NY and a MLIS from McGill University in Montreal. I'm a biologist, librarian, information specialist and now with the Hattie Davish Mysteries Series, a novelist.

I'm a proud member of Sleuths In Time, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters-in-Crime.

If you want to know some more quirky and personal tidbits about me and my life, such as the fact that I once trained monkeys and drink tea every afternoon from my 19th century china collection, check out the various Q&A's I've done over the years!

Thanks for stopping by!

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OCT 10 2016 4:00PM
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SWEEPSTAKES!
How I Build the World of Hattie Davish
ANNA LOAN-WILSEY

Read this exclusive guest post from Anna Loan-Wilsey about the research that goes into each Hattie Davish Mystery, and make sure you're signed in and comment below for a chance to win a copy of A March to Remember!

In my Hattie Davish Mysteries series, we follow Miss Hattie Davish, a traveling secretary who solves crimes in each American town that she visits. So far, the towns have included: Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Galena, Illinois, Newport, Rhode Island, St. Joseph, Missouri, and Washington, D.C. The series is set in the 1890s.

As I aim to be as authentic as possible, I have had the opportunity to conduct a great deal of research, both of time and place. There is a great deal I am able to glean from both my own personal library (such as Sears & Roebuck catalogs, an encyclopedia of poisons, and a book of 19th-century menus) as well as from the internet. However, the most important aspect of researching my series is the site visit.

The very first thing I do once I’ve decided on the location of a book is set aside three or four days to visit the town. I have visited all the locations in the series before, but the research visit is dedicated for that only. I am always amazed of what I learn when I’m visiting a place not as a tourist, but as a writer researching her book.

When I arrive at my destination, I park my car (as Hattie is a hiker and prefers to walk over using public transportation, I do the same when possible), get out my digital camera, and walk the streets. Only by doing this can I get a sense of topography (several towns have hills that are quite steep and challenging to walk), the distance from place to place (I had to edit a plot idea I had after I walked the entire length of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Wow, that took me longer than I’d expected!), architecture, the character of different neighborhoods—as well as intangibles, such as how the light hits the buildings during a particular time of year or what the air smells like (essential for the seaside town of Newport). I do this until I’m satisfied that I’ve captured what I need to be able to transport the reader to this unique place.

The next thing I do is visit the local library. Local libraries are an invaluable source of historical information that can’t be found anywhere else (including the internet). This includes local history books, historical photograph collections, archived annual city directories and, most importantly, archived local period newspapers. I have found more information searching period newspapers on microfiche than any other single historical resource. For example, I discovered the minutes of a temperance union meeting in a Eureka Springs newspaper and a call to strike by “cottage” gardeners in Newport, both of which influenced the plots of their respective books.

After I emerge from hours at the local library, I head to the local historical museum, a source of unparalleled, otherwise inaccessible, information, expertise, and artifacts. In Galena, I stood inches away from personal possessions of President Ulysses S. Grant, and in St. Joseph, I was able to interview the city’s museum curator and walk the tunnels beneath what was once State Lunatic Asylum #2. I have also contacted local convention and visitors’ bureaus for maps, contacts, and any other information that will make my research trip as productive as possible.

Armed with this wealth of information, I am able to return home to my desk, put together all that I have learned, and create the town and the world as Hattie would have known it.

A MARCH TO REMEMBER
by Anna Loan-Wilsey
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KIRKUS REVIEW

March 1894 finds the nation’s capital anxiously anticipating the arrival of Coxey’s Army.

Hundreds of unemployed men have marched from Ohio and even farther away to demand that Congress pass a bill that would create government jobs to help the suffering masses. But the Washington establishment is largely unwilling to listen. Hattie Davish, secretary to renowned historian Sir Arthur Windom-Greene, is staying with her employer in the home of Senator and Mrs. Smith while doing research on the Civil War. On the way to the train station to meet the love of her life, Dr. Walter Grice, Hattie, passing through a street of brothels, sees a young woman sunning herself on a balcony. After accepting Walter’s proposal of marriage, she sees the same young woman removed from the store where Hattie’s shopping for her trousseau. Her last sighting is when the woman is thrown from a carriage into a carp pond and drowns while the driver flees the scene. While trying to hear Coxey give his speech at the Capitol grounds, Hattie’s beaten by the police and arrested for the murder of Jasper Neely, a member of Coxey’s Army who’d helped her search the carp pond. The police, aware of her reputation (A Deceptive Homecoming, 2015, etc.), release her and warn her against sleuthing, but Hattie’s already picked up too much information from Washington bigwigs to ignore the two murders. Sen. Smith, his nasty spoiled son, and even her prospective brother-in-law are just a few of the people Hattie suspects as she attempts to solve the crimes and keep her personal life from spinning out of control.

The weak mystery is offset by fascinating period detail and some illegal, immoral, and just plain outrageous political shenanigans.

Pub Date: Sept. 27th, 2016
ISBN: 9781617737282
Page count: 304pp
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: July 5th, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15th, 2016

A March to Remember

Anna Loan-Wilsey. Kensington, $15 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-61773-728-2

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Loan-Wilsey’s fifth Hattie Davish mystery (after 2015’s A Deceptive Homecoming) takes the reader on a fascinating journey into America’s past. In March of 1894, private secretary Hattie Davish accompanies her employer, Sir Arthur Windom-Green, an American-history scholar, on a research trip to Washington, D.C. They arrive at the same time that thousands of unemployed workers known as Coxey’s Army march on the U.S. Capitol to present their grievances. After Jasper Neely, one of the marchers, is fatally stabbed in the neck during a confrontation with the police, Hattie discovers that Neely sought to blackmail some powerful Washington politicos, one of whom may be Sir Arthur’s friend. The plot unravels at the end with a couple of implausible coincidences, but Hattie is an endearing, stalwart heroine, and Loan-Wilsey skillfully evokes time and place. Those who like their mysteries mixed with history and a little romance will be pleased. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Oct.)

A March to Remember: A Hattie Davish Mystery
BY ANNA LOAN-WILSEY

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Anna Loan-Wilsey highlights a little-known episode in our country’s history, the first poor people’s march on Washington, D.C., in this, the fifth and most recent volume of her Hattie Davish mystery series.

The greatest crime recounted in this murder mystery set in the late 19th century is the suppression of the ideas of Jacob Coxey. Coxey was a real person, a visionary who marched from Ohio to Washington in 1894 with a colorful “army” of the unemployed and the idealistic. He sought to petition Congress to end the worst depression the country had known up to that time by building infrastructure. His ideas anticipated the New Deal by 40 years, yet he was thrown into jail for walking on the Capitol lawn. The robber barons and crooked politicians found that intimidation and imprisonment weren’t enough to silence Coxey; ridicule from the newspapers, however, turned Coxey’s crusade into a joke. To this day, the term, “Coxey’s army” is synonymous with “screw-up.”

Just as the vanguard of Coxey’s Army arrives in Washington, secretary/sleuth Hattie Davish witnesses an accident – or is it a murder? The bodies pile higher and Hattie’s investigations lead her to a plot that involves the highest levels of government.

With its themes of economic inequality and political corruption, A March to Remember is very timely. It’s also a fun read, though the narrative moves at a distinctly 19th-century pace; the first murder doesn’t take place until chapter 7. The dialog is in the purple prose of dime-store novels. A few colorful period expressions would have added spice to the narrative; a glut is cloying. Luckily, the storyline is engaging, and the heroine is plucky enough to offset the occasionally leaden pacing and dialog.

A Lack of Temperance
A Hattie Davish Mystery by Anna Loan-Wilsey

A Lack of Temperance by Anna Loan-Wilsey
Review: Anna Loan-Wilsey introduces traveling secretary Hattie Davish, who investigates the murder of a temperance coalition leader, in A Lack of Temperance, the first mystery in this historical series.

In November, 1892, it is just days before the Presidential election when Hattie arrives in Eureka Springs, Arkansas to assist Mrs. Edwina Trevelyan. "Mother" Trevelyan, as she was called by the ladies of the American Women's Temperance Coalition (AWTC), had chosen this time and place to gather her supporters together, marching, singing, yelling, carrying placards, hammers and axes, breaking windows all to show their contempt for the evils of liquor. Someone even set fire to the local bar. Such was the scene when Hattie arrived. Taken to her hotel, Hattie was given telegrams and correspondence addressed to Mrs. Trevelyan and shown to her room, adjacent to Mrs. Trevelyan's. Hattie sorted through the correspondence, putting everything in order, and then went out looking for her new employer. No one knew the whereabouts of their leader. Hattie took some time to explore the land, admire the beauty of the hills, and enjoy the mineral springs. When Mrs. Trevelyan was finally found, she was dead, curled up in her traveling trunk in the basement of the hotel. Trevelyan's assistant told Hattie she could leave, her services obviously no longer needed, but Hattie's hotel bill and her salary had been paid for the week and she intended to stay and fulfill whatever work she could do. Besides, in Trevelyan's correspondence there were death threats, which someone apparently followed through on.

There is a good sense of time and place in this debut mystery, and Hattie Davish is an engaging amateur sleuth. The series premise is also a promising one, having Hattie travel with her typewriter to different settings, where she will no doubt find the opportunity to practice her sleuthing skills. The murder mystery plot is a little thin here, the killer's identity not too much of a challenge for Hattie, but on balance, A Lack of Temperanceis a solid start to this series.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of A Lack of Temperance.

Acknowledgment: Kensington Books provided a copy of A Lack of Temperance for this review.

Thursday, 25 October 2012

Review - A Lack of Temperance by Anna Loan-Wilsey
Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce

A Lack of Temperance

Hattie Davish has travelled from Kansas City to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, after taking a job as a secretary for Mrs Edwina Trevelyan. Hattie has never met Mrs Trevelyan because her former employer and trusted friend made the arrangements on her behalf. As soon as Hattie steps into Eureka Springs, her employment takes a strange turn. Even before she arrives at the hotel, where she will be staying while working for Mrs Trevelyan, Hattie is told her services won’t be required, but as she has already been paid a week in advance, Hattie continues on her journey.

Mrs Trevelyan is the leader of the American Women’s Temperance Coalition, whose aim in Eureka Springs is to abolish the sale of alcohol in the town. Hattie’s first glimpse of her new employer is of Mrs Trevelyan smashing a saloon before fleeing as the police have been called. Hattie doesn’t get to see Mrs Trevelyan afterwards and neither does anybody else until her body is found. Mrs Trevelyan has been murdered and Hattie decides to do a little investigating to find out who is responsible.

Set in 1892, A Lack of Temperance is the first in the Hattie Davish mystery series. Hattie is organised and thorough and displayed a lot of courage as she investigated Mrs Trevelyan’s murder, but I couldn’t really understand why she put herself in danger, possibly risking her own life, to uncover the murderer of a woman she had barely glimpsed. The police were already investigating, however chaotically, and I saw no major push for Hattie to wade in.

Hattie had never been to Eureka Springs before and had never met any of the inhabitants, so it was difficult to feel much empathy for the death of Mrs Trevelyan, or to feel connected to the story. There were quite a lot of members of the coalition to get my head round, which left me confused at times, particularly at the beginning before the key members became clear. However, I did quite like the scenes with elderly sisters Lucy and Lizzie, who constantly contradicting each other, offered a little light relief between the blood and death threats.

While I kept reading to see who had murdered Mrs Trevelyan, I can’t say that I was riveted by this book.

6/10

A Lack of Temperance

Anna Loan-Wilsey. Kensington, $15 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-7582-7634-6

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Set in 1892, Loan-Wilsey’s delightful debut introduces Hattie Davish, who has left Kansas City, Mo., for the Ozark town of Eureka Springs, Ark., to take a temporary secretarial position with Edwina Trevelyan, a woman she’s never met and knows little about. Typewriter in hand, Hattie arrives to find a riot in progress, courtesy of the local American Women’s Temperance Coalition, and the rioters’ leader, who happens to be her new employer, being carted off to jail. Further belying the surrounding hot springs’ much touted healthiness, Edwina later turns up dead and stuffed into her steamer trunk. Offended to be called “only a typewriter,” Hattie decides to track down the killer herself. Suspects include Edwina’s bad-tempered AWTC rival, Cordelia Anglewood; friendly Josephine Piers, who claims she’s Edwina’s new secretary; and any number of disgruntled imbibers. Cozy fans will eagerly await Hattie’s next adventure. Agent: John Talbot, the John Talbot Agency. (Oct.)

Anything but Civil

Anna Loan-Wilsey. Kensington, $15 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-0-7582-7636-0

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Loan-Wilsey combines meticulous research with sturdy characters in her second Hattie Davish mystery (after 2012’s A Lack of Tolerance). In 1892, Hattie Davish has come to Galena, Ill., home of many Civil War veterans, as the secretary of British scholar Sir Arthur Windom-Greene. Sir Arthur is interviewing Cornelius Starrett, a retired Union general who was present at Appomattox, when trouble arrives in the form of Henry Starrett, the general’s crude, rude, and lewd son. Henry incites violence against a former “Copperhead” (a Northerner who sought peace with the Confederacy), and his presence destabilizes other relationships. Hattie, caught in the middle of the resulting chaos, reluctantly agrees to investigate a murder when Sir Arthur becomes the prime suspect. Happily, the local police investigator and the doctor to whom Hattie is attracted don’t nag her to mind her own business. On the other hand, some readers may not want to know quite so much about Galena’s history. Agent: John Talbot, John Talbot Agency. (Oct.)

Anything But Civil
A Hattie Davish Mystery by Anna Loan-Wilsey

Anything But Civil by Anna Loan-Wilsey
Review: It is December 1892 and traveling secretary Hattie Davish has been hired by Sir Arthur Windom-Greene, a British scholar interested in the history of America's Civil War, to accompany him to Galena, Illinois, home of Ulysses S. Grant, to interview Cornelius Skarrett. Now a retired Union General, Skarrett was present at Appomattox, Virginia when General Robert E. Lee surrendered on April 9th, 1865 ending the Civil War. It soon becomes obvious to observant and clever Hattie that though the war ended over twenty-five years ago, there is still dissension among the residents of Galena. Those opposed to the war were called, and still are being called, “traitors” and “copperheads”. General Skarrett's son, Henry, is a leader of those who want to disgrace, fight and if necessary kill the copperheads. Although some of their homes were damaged, and some men were beaten and ridiculed, it was Henry that is found murdered. Inexplicably, Sir Arthur is arrested for the murder, and he asks Hattie to use her considerable talents and keen observations to seek out the murderer, in Anything But Civil, the second mystery in this series by Anna Loan-Wilsey.

There is no shortage of suspects, and lies and secrets seem to be the order of the day in this very entertaining mystery. Hattie is a delightful character, whose "have typewriter, will travel" can-do attitude is perfect for the task at hand. She is at something of a disadvantage in her efforts; though Sir Arthur treats her as an equal, the upper class members of the community think of her as a servant, as do the servants of their homes, who think she is reaching above her status. The cast is well drawn, the region and its history forming a strong backdrop to Hattie's investigation, and the murder mystery storyline intriguing and suspenseful to the end. Highly recommended for fans of historical mystery fiction and strong female sleuths.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Anything But Civil.

Acknowledgment: Kensington Books provided a copy of Anything But Civil for this review.

Anything but Civil
BY ANNA LOAN-WILSEY

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Thirty years have passed since the Civil War erupted, and feelings still run deep in the town of Galena, Illinois, where Hattie Davish, a traveling secretary, is assisting Sir Arthur Windom-Greene, her wealthy employer, in the research of a biography. General Cornelius Starrett is the subject, and his quiet Christmas is interrupted by the unexpected arrival of his son, Henry. Henry stirs up long-buried memories of the war, and when he’s found dead, Hattie’s budding Pinkerton-like traits are put to work to uncover the killer. Readers of A Lack of Temperance will appreciate callbacks to Hattie’s previous adventures in Eureka Springs and the reappearance of Dr. Walter Grice. Like the men in Hattie’s life, the reader will find her keen intelligence insightful and her naiveté endearing. Hattie has a plethora of colorful suspects to consider before Christmas Eve, making this a perfectly cozy murder mystery read, just in time for the holidays

A Sense of Entitlement
A Hattie Davish Mystery by Anna Loan-Wilsey

A Sense of Entitlement by Anna Loan-Wilsey
Review: As a travelling secretary, Hattie Davish takes her trusty typewriter to the lovely beach town of Newport, Rhode Island, the seasonal home of some of the most noble upper-class families in America, in A Sense of Entitlement, the third mystery in this series by Anna Loan-Wilsey.

Sir Arthur Windom-Greene, her current boss, and his wife Lady Phillippa have rented a cottage there for the season hoping he and Hattie could finish his manuscript and for he and his wife to enjoy a well-deserved vacation. Sir Arthur, however, is called back to England as his father becomes very ill, and Lady Phillippa, who unlike her husband views Hattie as a servant, learns that Mrs. Charlotte Mayhew, a very wealthy socialite, is upset because her personal social secretary had recently married and left her without a replacement. Lady Phillippa, eager to pawn off Hattie, insists that she fill the position. Although Hattie knows nothing about being a social secretary, she reluctantly agrees. Her new job entails maintaining Madam Mayhew's social calendar, answering her mail and paying her personal bills. Plus the list went on: put together guest lists and seating arrangements while avoiding any social faux pas; deal directly with the florists, the caterers and the social entertainers. But the situation in Newport is volatile. Local labor unions are in the area and intruding in the lives of the wealthy homeowners and businessmen. They want decent working conditions for the laborers. They are also demanding a decent wage for a decent day's work. It isn't long before violence erupts in the form of a wharf being blown up and the body of a very wealthy banker being found stabbed to death. All the evidence points to the uncompromising union boss, but the amateur sleuth in Hattie is not so sure. With her promise to Sir Arthur to finish his manuscript, and the multi-tasking required for Mrs. Mayhew, will she be able to give the time and thought needed to help find the killer?

A Sense of Entitlement is an engaging historical mystery. The Newport setting provides a colorful backdrop to the proceedings, where Hattie is able to freely mingle with the rich and famous, who are, as a group, a gossipy and selfish group. Their overriding need seems to be to outdo their "friends", and to prove they are richer and more famous than their neighbors. The key to the appeal of this series is the character of Hattie Davish. She is smart, confident, and courageous at a time when such traits are frowned upon in women, and most especially working-class women. Still, there is a murder to solve and there are plenty of suspects, plenty of motives, and plenty of opportunities to accompany Hattie around town as she investigates them all. A very enjoyable mystery, and one with a hint of romance as well, readers will be eagerly awaiting the next in the series to see what new adventure Hattie finds herself in.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of A Sense of Entitlement.

Acknowledgment: Kensington Books provided a copy of A Sense of Entitlement for this review.

A Sense of Entitlement
BY ANNA LOAN-WILSEY

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A mystery set in 1890s Newport, this third in series continues with the traveling secretary/amateur sleuth, Hattie Davish. Her employer, Sir Arthur, is unexpectedly called away, and Hattie travels to the ‘cottage’ with Lady Philippa, but is soon hired out as ‘social secretary’ to one of the Island’s richest residents. I felt the pace was sometimes a bit slow and the characters do rather a lot of nothing, such as tirelessly planning balls, tea parties and luncheons and trying to outdo someone else, but there’s no shortage of colorful characters and agendas. Given the location the settings are naturally lavish and luxurious. Hattie seems to attract dead bodies as lanterns attract moths but as an amateur horticulturalist, between corpses she ranges across fields looking for new specimens and tracks home all sorts of wayward seeds and prickles on her long skirts. And she often forgets to eat or sleep. I enjoyed these quirky traits, and they make Hattie an endearing heroine.

A comfortable afternoon’s read, this is light-hearted with no undue violence or gratuity, just as a ‘cozy’ should be. A fun read for fans of the previous Davish mysteries or as a stand-alone.

A DECEPTIVE HOMECOMING
by Anna Loan-Wilsey
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KIRKUS REVIEW

A sad reunion and a case of dubious identity in turn-of-the-20th-century Missouri.

Frank Hayward doesn’t look like himself. Or so it seems to Hattie Davish during his funeral at Mrs. Chaplin’s School for Women in St. Joseph. Hattie knows that Hayward was badly disfigured in the carriage accident that killed him and that the undertaker’s done his best with the corpse. But something is still off. When Hattie tries to tell her old friend Ginny, Hayward’s daughter, that the man in the coffin is missing a scar over his eyes, Ginny coldly dismisses her. Embarrassed and hurt—especially since she’s traveled all the way from Rhode Island to her hometown for Ginny’s sake—Hattie can’t shake the jitters and the sense that someone’s following her. Then she’s given an anonymous letter in shorthand that says something’s amiss at the Chaplin School and begs her to stay. She assumes the writer knows of her success as a detective, though she wishes the students of her alma mater weren’t more interested in the murders she’s solved and the glamour of her life with Newport’s finest than in her career as a personal secretary. She’s also dismayed when her childhood sweetheart and his golden trombone are served up as a surprise at a lakeside picnic. Hattie hasn’t forgiven him for abandoning her when she most needed him, and she longs to return to Newport and the young doctor she loves. But rumors of strange past incidents at the school, a runaway from the asylum where Hattie’s father died years ago, a missing account book, a couple of horticultural clues, and St. Joe’s most famous tourist attraction lead Hattie ever more deeply and perilously into the puzzle of what really happened to Frank Hayward.

Hattie’s fourth adventure (A Sense of Entitlement, 2014, etc.) provides just enough colorful historical details to compensate for a jumble of implausible plotlines.

Pub Date: July 28th, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61773-726-8
Page count: 304pp
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: May 17th, 2015

A Deceptive Homecoming

Anna Loan-Wilsey. Kensington, $15 ISBN 978-1-61773-726-8

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Poignant backstory, historical color, and expert pacing distinguish this mystery, the fourth featuring secretary Hattie Davish (after 2014’s A Sense of Entitlement) and the best yet in Loan-Wilsey’s 19th-century cozy series. Hattie receives an anonymous letter containing a newspaper obituary for Frank Hayward, father of a girlhood chum and bookkeeper at Hattie’s alma mater, Mrs. Chaplin’s School for Women. Driven home to St. Joseph, Mo., for the first time since her father’s tragic death, she finds Mrs. Chaplin’s plagued by disturbing incidents, including financial irregularities implicating Frank. Worse, lack of a characteristic scar suggests that the accident-disfigured body at the funeral isn’t his. Her investigation of Frank’s whereabouts, the corpse’s identity, and the school’s troubles winds through a local insane asylum, the site of Jesse James’s death, and her own unresolved past. As always, Loan-Wilsey’s thorough research grounds the lively plot in the era’s rich history. Agent: John Talbot, Talbot Fortune Agency. (Aug.)