Agatha Award-Winning Series!

Mary Higgins Clark-Nominated Series

Historical Mysteries

Emily Dickinson and her housemaid, Willa Noble, realize there is nothing poetic about murder in this first book in an all-new series from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Amanda Flower.

Emily Dickinson plays sleuth in this sprightly series launch from Flower (the Magical Bookshop mysteries). One night in 1855, Henry Noble, a stable hand with a tendency to get into trouble, tells his sister, Willa, a shy, insecure maid who’s just been hired to work for the Dickinsons, a well-to-do family in Amherst, Mass., that he’s about to make enough money to change both their lives—but he won’t tell her how until this coming Sunday. When Henry dies in a seeming accident at the town stable before Sunday, 25-year-old Emily, moved by Willa’s grief, insists that she and Willa launch their own investigation, starting with the stable. Courageous and intelligent, Emily asks uncomfortable questions of those with money and power, not just in Amherst but in Washington, D.C., a trip that the Dickinson family actually made by train in 1855. This mystery works best when it delves into the complexities of the Dickinson family, particular its depiction of Emily’s cold father, Congressman Edward Dickinson, and her controlling sister, Lavinia. This is a good start to what could be a rich historical series. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Because I Could Not Stop for Death is USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower’s first foray into historical mystery, and she acquits herself beautifully. She brings beloved American poet Emily Dickinson to life in a nuanced portrayal, giving us glimpses of the brilliant literary mind at work, turning over ideas and phrases, even as she teams up with an able and sympathetic maid to solve a murder. Well-researched, richly textured, and skillfully plotted, readers will fall for Flower’s lyrical mystery—word, verse, and stanza.” –Anna Lee Huber, USA Today bestselling author of A Perilous Perspective

“Amanda Flower captures the culture of mid-19th century American society in the absorbing and well-written Because I Could Not Stop For Death. Flower adds her plotting and pacing skill to make this book hard to put down.”- Charles Todd, New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Fear

“A fascinating glimpse into the life of beloved poet Emily Dickinson as she and her maid solve a murder together. You will be delighted by this clever premise set in a little-explored historical time period.”—Victoria Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Murder on Madison Square

“Historical context adds excitement to the twin mysteries of murder and the poet's hidden life.”-Kirkus

“Amanda Flower does an exemplary job of extrapolating from the real Ms. Dickinson’s life to construct a clever, socially-conscious historical mystery…It is a superlative effort, and entertaining to boot.”-Criminal Element

“[A] sprightly series launch…a good start to what could be a rich historical series.”—Publishers Weekly

Set amid the lavish environs of Gilded Age-era Washington, this dazzling historical mystery series debut features the capital’s most influential women as they band together with a common goal—solving the suspicious murder of the First Lady’s young maid . . .

1894, Washington: This is not the kind of homecoming Nellie Grant hoped for. The only daughter of former President Ulysses S. Grant, Nellie has left England after being granted a divorce from her abusive husband. She plans to hide away with her three children at the home of her mother, Julia Dent Grant. However, Julia, the unofficial queen mother of Washington’s elite, has other ideas—and convinces Nellie to attend a White House dinner in honor of the current president, Grover Cleveland.

The lavish event turns somber when First Lady Frances Cleveland discovers that her prized Tiffany brooch is missing. Young maid Kitty Thorn is accused of theft and dismissed on the spot. The next morning, Kitty is found drowned, her death ruled a suicide.

Frances calls upon Nellie and Julia to implore them for help. She doesn’t believe Kitty stole the brooch—or committed suicide. She believes Kitty was framed and murdered. For while the authorities deem the victim a woman of no consequence, despite her lowly status, Kitty saw and knew a great deal. She was a keeper of secrets—and in the capital, every secret has a price.

Nellie especially feels a tie to Kitty, who years ago did her a kindness that she hopes to repay by finding her killer. But the risks will be great, for this crime has ramifications for all the First Ladies . . .

Katharine Wright Mysteries

December 1903: While Wilbur and Orville Wright’s flying machine is quite literally taking off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with its historic fifty-seven second flight, their sister Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and looking after the family. A Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to finish college. But at twenty-nine, she’s frustrated by the gender inequality in academia and is for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing…

Returning home to Dayton, Wilbur and Orville accept an invitation to a friend’s party. Nervous about leaving their as-yet-unpatented flyer plans unattended, Wilbur decides to bring them to the festivities . . . where they are stolen right out from under his nose. As always, it’s Katharine’s job to problem solve—and in this case, crime-solve.

As she sets out to uncover the thief among their circle of friends, Katharine soon gets more than she bargained for: She finds her number one suspect dead with a letter opener lodged in his chest. It seems the patent is the least of her brothers’ worries. They have a far more earthbound concern—prison. Now Katharine will have to keep her feet on the ground and put all her skills to work to make sure Wilbur and Orville are free to fly another day.

Emily Dickinson Mysteries