“Drat!” Harriet Morrow shouted into the cacophony surrounding her. The swarm of pedestrians, buggies, carts, streetcars, other bicyclists, and the occasional motorized contraption—an invention Harriet welcomed to the roadways as a picnicker would an army of ants—made bicycling challenging enough without getting her stupid skirt snagged in the chain of her Overman. Not for the first time did she vow to extend her wardrobe of men’s shoes and a bowler hat to a full suit of gentlemen’s clothing. Doing so would intensify the scowls and jeers from passersby, but was that worse than being pitched off her bicycle onto a rutted dirt road? The incident would be vexing on any day, but she was already late to work, and her boss, Theodore Prescott, demanded punctuality along with cleverness, resilience, and toughness from his detectives. Harriet mollified herself, knowing she could deliver three of the four despite being his only woman operative.

As she knelt awkwardly, tugging her now greasy hemline from the chain’s teeth, a large rubber ball rolled to a stop against her front tire. The next instant, a loud crash was followed by shouts. A nearby streetcar had rammed a hansom cab. She hurriedly scooped up the ball and pushed her bicycle to the sidewalk, eager to avoid the mayhem.

“You nearly got yourself killed!” The streetcar conductor’s shout caused Harriet to turn back. He admonished a boy, no older than six, standing in the middle of the road. The boy, seeing Harriet, pointed and started to wail.

Leaving her bicycle, she rushed to the child, passing the hansom cab’s lone passenger, an elegantly dressed gentleman with an absurdly long beard. He thrust a finger toward the child while climbing down. “You stupid urchin! Look what you’ve done! You ought to be thrashed until Sunday!”

“Hush!” Harriet snapped.

The gentleman gasped. “I’ll not be ordered by the likes of you.” Jabbing the gold cap of his ebony cane in her direction, he fumed, “I have an important appointment. I shall now be late.”

That makes two of us, Harriet thought. She took the boy’s small hand and led him from the street. “My name is Harriet. What’s yours?”

He choked back sniffles.

“You must be more careful. This time, no harm came to anyone, including yourself. But you may not always be so lucky.” As she returned his ball, he kicked her hard in the shin. “Oww!”

“You’re not my father,” he whined before racing off with his ball.

“Ha!” shouted the man from the hansom cab. “Serves you right!”

With pain throbbing in her leg, Harriet’s ride to the Prescott Detective Agency was slow and cautious—the opposite of her usual approach to the road. Once arrived, she was never more delighted that an elevator would whisk her to the eighth floor.

“He wants to see you,” the receptionist said. Her pinched expression suggested the principal had been waiting.

“Drat,” Harriet whispered. Despite her stinging shin, she rushed down the long corridor to Theodore Prescott’s office. A moment later, his secretary tilted her head toward the open door. Bracing herself, she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

“Ah, Miss Morrow,” Prescott appraised her through familiar gold-rimmed spectacles. “Glad you could finally join us.” He gestured to the man seated, facing his desk. “I’d like to introduce our newest client.”

The man turned, calling attention to the ebony, gold-capped cane resting against the chair’s arm. Harriet watched his face redden as steadily as a stove’s gas flame. “You!” he bellowed.

Wouldn’t you just know it.

The Case of the Missing Maid, A Harriet Morrow Investigates Mystery Book 1
Genre: Historical Mystery
Release: December 2024
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

The acclaimed author of the Anthony, Agatha, Macavity, and Lefty Award-nominated Devil’s Chew Toy delights with the first in a new historical mystery series set in turn-of-the-19th-century Chicago, as America is entering its Progressive Era and Harriet Morrow, a bike-riding, trousers-wearing lesbian, has just begun her new job as the first female detective at the Windy City’s Prescott Agency . . .

Rough-around-the-edges Harriet Morrow has long been drawn to the idea of whizzing around the city on her bicycle as a professional detective, solving crimes for a living without having to take a husband. Just twenty-one with a younger brother to support, she seizes the chance when the prestigious Prescott Agency hires her as its first woman operative. The move sparks controversy—with skeptical male colleagues, a high-strung office secretary, and her boss, Mr. Theodore Prescott, all waiting for her to unravel under the pressure . . .

Only an hour into the job, Harriet has an assignment: Discover the whereabouts of a missing maid from one of the most extravagant mansions on Prairie Avenue. Owner Pearl Bartlett has a reputation for sending operatives on wild goose chases around her grand estate, but Harriet believes the stunningly beautiful Agnes Wozniak has indeed vanished under mysterious circumstances—possibly a victim of kidnapping, possibly a victim of something worse . . .

With Mr. Prescott pushing a hard deadline, Harriet’s burgeoning career depends on working through a labyrinth of eccentric characters and murky motives in a race to discover who made Agnes disappear. When her search leads to Chicago’s Polish community and a new friendship in Agnes’s charming older sister, Barbara, clues scattered across the city slowly reveal just how much depends on Harriet’s inexperienced investigation for answers . . . and the deep danger that awaits once she learns the truth.

About the author
Rob Osler writes traditional mysteries featuring LGBTQ+ main characters. His new series, Harriet Morrow Investigates, launches with THE CASE OF THE MISSING MAID (Publisher’s Weekly STARRED REVIEW), which features a lesbian detective solving crimes in Chicago in America’s Progressive Era. Rob’s work has been a finalist for the 2024 Edgar Award (MISS DIRECTION, EQMM), 2023 Anthony, Agatha, Lefty, and Macavity Awards (DEVIL’S CHEW TOY), and a winner of the 2022 Mystery Writers of America Robert L Fish Award (ANALOGUE, EQMM). After living in Boise, Chicago, and Seattle, Rob resides in California with his husband and a tall gray cat.