I am a part of the Berkley/Penguin Random House blog/social media tour for this book! This is my honest review for a copy of the eARC.
Author: Amanda Flower
Rating: 4 stars
Publisher: Berkley
January 1855 Willa Noble knew it was bad luck when it was pouring rain on the day of her ever-important job interview at the Dickinson home in Amherst, Massachusetts. When she arrived late, disheveled with her skirts sodden and filthy, she'd lost all hope of being hired for the position. As the housekeeper politely told her they'd be in touch, Willa started toward the door of the stately home only to be called back by the soft but strong voice of Emily Dickinson. What begins as tenuous employment turns to friendship as the reclusive poet takes Willa under her wing.
Tragedy soon strikes and Willa's beloved brother, Henry, is killed in a tragic accident at the town stables. With no other family and nowhere else to turn, Willa tells Emily about her brother’s death and why she believes it was no accident. Willa is convinced it was murder. Henry had been very secretive of late, only hinting to Willa that he'd found a way to earn money to take care of them both. Viewing it first as a puzzle to piece together, Emily offers to help, only to realize that she and Willa are caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse that reveals corruption in Amherst that is generations deep. Some very high-powered people will stop at nothing to keep their profitable secrets even if that means forever silencing Willa and her new mistress....
This is not the fluffy, cutesy cozy books you might be use to from this author. This is a historical mystery so it has some darker themes. It’s set in 1855 so it’s before the civil war, there is a lot of slavery talk, those for and against. The MC’s are Emily Dickenson and her new maid Willa Noble. When Willa’s family member is killed and she doesn’t think that it was an accident like everyone else thinks, Emily decides they should investigate.
They find out that he new a lot about the Underground Railroad and slavecatchers and Willa finds out there is a lot about him she didn’t know and feels bad that she wasn’t able to protect him.
It weaves some historical real time things with some fictional things to make an interesting mystery. I will say I didn’t know much about Emily Dickenson and I am not sure if this would have been something she would have thought of doing as I know in her later years she was a recluse, but maybe in her younger years she might have been a sleuth…lol. I really liked Willa Noble and a few other characters that you meet along the way. I enjoyed the mystery. 4 stars
About the Author:
Amanda Flower is the USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning mystery author of over forty novels, including the nationally bestselling Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series, Magical Bookshop Mysteries, and, written under the name Isabella Alan, the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries. Flower is a former librarian, and she and her husband, a recording engineer, own a habitat farm and recording studio in Northeast Ohio. Learn more online at www.amandaflower.com.
I'm not a big Emily Dickinson fan so I passed on this one but I'm regretting it as I'm 2 books into Flower's Magical bookshop series and really enjoying it! Even though this isn't as light and fluffy as her other books it still looks interesting. I will have to pick this one up.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I didn't know anything about Dickenson and still enjoyed it. Willa was a fun character as well. So glad your enjoying Amanda Flowers my favorite of hers is the Amish Candy Shop series. :)
DeleteInteresting. I would never think of Emily Dickinson as a sleuth either, lol.
ReplyDeleteI know! It was interesting though. :)
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