Review - To Slip the Bonds of Earth

 Amanda Flower is the author of "An Amish Candy Shop" mysteries, "An Amish Matchmaker" mysteries, "Farm to Table" mysteries, "Emily Dickinson" mysteries, and "Magical Bookshop" plus "Magic Garden" mysteries which I've reviewed.  She is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of over thirty-five mystery novels. She currently writes for Penguin-Random House (Berkley), Kensington, Hallmark Publishing, Crooked Lane Books, and Sourcebooks.  

Of course using an actual historical figure is a high wire act but practically nobody remembers the sister of the Wright Brothers and that is what appealed to me about this book.

Author: Amanda Flower

Copyright: Mar 2024 (Kensington Books) 282 pgs

Series: 1st in Katharine Wright Mysteries

Sensuality: mild

Mystery Sub-genre: Historical Cozy Mystery

Main Character: Katharine Wright, sister to the Wright brothers and school teacher 

Setting: 1903, Dayton Ohio

Obtained Through: Publisher via Netgalley for honest review

Book Blurb:  "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 looking for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing…

Returning home to Dayton, Orville accepts an invitation to accompany Katherine 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 [screwdriver] 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."

MY Thoughts:

Katharine is a mixed bag for me: she is smart and determined, but she also tends to be bossy, impulsive, and managing everybody which rubbed me the wrong way a few times.  The historical Katharine was said to be very charming and the character could have used a dose of charm to help me warm up a bit to her.  This story was a slow burn and it wasn't until around half way that I felt the story actually took off. There were a few instances where Katharine would ignore what she just learned that was a motive for murder and focus on a completely different motive. 

The plot was initially about finding the missing airplane plans filled with notes, but somehow Katharine decides that the murder and the missing plans must be connected so if she solves the murder, she will then find the plans.  That was illogical to me since there was no evidence to suggest they were related. I would have been satisfied with her just investigating the murder to clear her student without the plans being thrown in the mix.  Perhaps that is just me, though.

The climax wasn't my favorite, but the culprit reveals themself.  The wrapup was satisfactory and unusual. The writing style served the story well. 

I did appreciate the confronting of a few social problems of the era found in the town.  I also appreciated shining a spotlight on the Katharine Wright who was a tremendous celebrity in her time alongside her brothers, and perhaps eclipsed them.  The story seemed to force its way in a few instances and it made those parts awkward.

Rating: Good - A fun read. It was good -- it wasn't great. It wasn't for me, but I would recommend based on certain tastes. Maybe read an excerpt before buying.

Here is a short video on Katharine Wright, it's fascinating.

Thank you for reading this blog and please recommend to friends and family who will enjoy it.

Review - Mums and Mayhem

Today I am reviewing the third in the Magical Bookshop mystery series by Amanda Flowers, author of the An Appleseed Creek Mystery, A Living History Museum Mystery, and India Hayes Mysteries as well.

I have reviewed the prior books in series:

1st Flowers and Foul Play (click here)

2nd Death and Daisies (click here)

Guest Post (Dec 2016) (click here)

Guest Post (April 2016) (click here)

Read on to find out how well the third book in the series does.

Author: Amanda Flower

Copyright: Aug 2020 (Crooked Lane Books) 327 pgs

Series: 3rd in A Magic Garden Mysteries

Sensuality: n/a

Mystery Sub-genre: Cozy Mystery

Main Characters: Fiona Knox, recently relocated to Scotland

Setting: Modern day, Duncreigan Scotland

Obtained Through: Library

Book Blurb: "World-famous fiddle player Barley McFee arrives in blustery Bellewick, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, for a grand homecoming concert organized by jeweler Bernice Brennan.  Fiona Knox, owner of the Climbing Rose Flower Shop, is starting to regret volunteering to help with the concert. Bernice is an exacting taskmaster, and Fiona has enough tension dealing with her parents, who have traveled from Tennessee to visit Fi and her younger sister, Isla, and to reveal a secret about Fi's birth. But when Barley is found dead in his trailer during the concert's intermission, and his death is shockingly tied to Fiona's father, Fiona discovers there are more secrets surrounding her family than she realized. 

Much to the chagrin of handsome Neil Craig, Chief Inspector of the County Aberdeen Police, Fiona delves into the case to clear her father's name. To make matters worse, Fiona learns that Duncreigan, the magical garden that she inherited from her godfather, is dying. At some point during the concert, someone broke into the garden and cut the centuries-old climbing rose--the source of the garden's magic--from the standing stone.

The stakes are higher than ever and Fiona could lose all that she's grown unless she's able to dispel this terrible curse and dig up the truth--fast."

Fiona is struggling with the magic garden dying, her parents visiting, her sister Isla hiding her boyfriend from said parents, and parents not wanting to discuss a major issue.  Additionally she is trying to get her fledgling business viable.  Chief Inspector Neil Craig is the romantic interest and I keep wishing to have him more of a sense of him. Spoiled and pampered Isla is Fiona's sister who is starry eyed in love and is waiting to the perfect moment to tell her parents she isn't going back to the States.  The notable animals included a mischievous blue-eyed fox that Fiona believes (somehow, someway) is her godfather Ian, a cat who adopted Fiona named Ivanhoe, and Hamish's companion red squirrel, Duncan, that are additional magical touches.

Duncreigan and the nearby town, Aberdeenshire, are charming and picturesque, adding atmospheric and delightful Scottish touches.  Duncreigan is isolated and can be scary for Fiona there by herself.  Aberdeenshire is where the murder takes place and all the sleuthing.   These are perfect for a cozy mystery.

There is a lot going on and Fiona's father being implicated makes even more complicated.  The murderer is murky from the start with several suspects.  This kept my interest to find out more page after page.

The killer reveal has its tense moments that I like.  I must say that I only briefly considered this character as the killer and I didn't have the full motive worked out, so kudos there. The wrap up tied up loose ends and gave boyfriends and the folks a chance to get to know each other.  Well done.

This was a little different in that I felt that the magical garden, the magical animals, and Hamish were all back-burnered.  There was only a few scenes with Hamish and Duncan, and the garden seems to take a back seat to the floral shop in town now.  Which is inevitable for Fiona to have murders to investigate.  But I felt like some of the magic was toned down. This was a cozy mystery stable with the small town populated by interesting people, a romance building, a solid murder mystery, a few splashes of magic, and some humorous parts.  This is perfect for a relaxing mystery to read on the weekend, at the beach, or by the fire.

Excellent - Enjoyed it! Solid cozy mystery novel. 

Here is a video of the author discussing this book:

https://youtu.be/ecRwlzrfhTo