Because I Could Not Stop for Death: an Emily Dickinson mystery by Amanda Flower

One of my favorite cozy mystery writers has started a new series based on Emily Dickinson! Because I Could Not Stop for Death is the first in the new Emily Dickinson Mystery series started by author Amanda Flower.

It’s January 1855 and Willa Noble is on her way to a job interview at the Dickinson home in Amherst, Massachusetts. While she’s qualified for the job, her disheveled appearance leaves much to be desired. This job will be a much-needed stepping stone up the employment ladder for Willa, allowing her to save more money for herself and her younger brother, Henry. As Willa leaves after her disastrous interview, she is stopped by the voice of Emily Dickinson, alerting her that she has been hired for the job despite the housekeeper’s reticence.

Emily sees something in Willa that intrigues her, leading the two to strike up a friendship of sorts. Not long after starting her new job, tragedy strikes. Willa’s brother Henry is found dead, killed in an accident at the town stables where he works. The police label it as a tragic accident, something that Willa doesn’t believe for a moment. She is convinced that Henry was murdered. She confides in Emily her beliefs and her reasoning. Emily offers to help and the two start on a deadly chase for the truth that leads them all around Amherst to Washington DC and back. What they thought was an intriguing puzzle at the beginning weaves the two into a web of corruption and political intrigue that could destroy Willa, Emily, and the entire Dickinson family.

This intro to a new series blew me away. It’s more than just a cozy mystery, instead it is also a historical cozy! The fact that the story is told by a housemaid in the Dickinson household was interesting as readers get to learn more about Emily’s life from an outsider. I particularly enjoyed the cast of characters in this book. They all have vivid descriptions and interact with each other fairly frequently. The setting also plays a large role in the plot of the story. Readers travel the streets of Amherst and then take the train to Washington DC to visit the Dickinson patriarch. Seeing mid-1800s Washington DC through the eyes of the character allows readers to experience briefly what time really was like in such a historical place. This book was darker than other titles written by the same author, but if you enjoy historical mysteries, cozy mysteries, and amateur sleuths, you’ll enjoy this title.

Emily Dickinson Mystery series

  1. Because I Could Not Stop for Death (2022)
  2. I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died (2023)

Cozy Mystery Reads: Magic Garden Mystery series by Amanda Flower

Amanda Flower has a clear grip on the cozy mystery genre, having published many different cozy series covering Amish mysteries, magical mysteries, and contemporary mysteries. She is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author with over thirty-five mystery novels published. Besides being a writer, Amanda was a librarian for fifteen years. She currently lives with her husband and their cats in Ohio where they own a farm and recording studio.

(Also of note, Michelle wrote a blog post about Farm to Trouble, the first book in the Farm to Table Mystery series by this same author that you should check out!)

Today I am going to be talking about a cozy mysteries series by Amanda Flower called the Magic Garden Mystery series. The first book in the Magic Garden Mystery series is Flowers and Foul Play. This book introduces readers to the beautiful Scottish countryside and the people who call it home.

Fiona Knox has lost everything. Her fiance left her for their cake decorator and not far after that, her flower shop closed. When she found out that her godfather Ian MacCallister had died and left her his cottage in Scotland, Fiona jumped on the first flight out of Nashville to restart her life. When Fiona arrives at the cottage, she is greeted by Hamish MacGregor, the cottage’s elderly caretaker. He walks her to the property’s garden and they find that it is almost completely dead with the exception of a lone blooming rose and ivy that seems to come to life in front of their eyes. As they are walking around the garden however, the two find a dead body splayed on the ground.

Police are called. Fiona finds herself being questions by Chief Inspector Neil Craig who also seizes her passport. Craig is convinced that Hamish is the killer, which worries Fiona. The more Fiona explores the town, the more she realizes just how many enemies the victim actually had. Hamish isn’t the only one who had reason to want the victim dead, but it’s up to Fiona to prove he couldn’t have done it.

Magic Garden Mystery series

  1. Flowers and Foul Play (2018)
  2. Death and Daisies (2018)
  3. Mums and Mayhem (2020)