Not They Who Soar - (A Katharine Wright Mystery) by Amanda Flower (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Summer 1904. Katharine and her best friend from Oberlin College, Margaret Goodwin Meacham, are thrilled to attend the St. Louis Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, for the centennial celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Not only is it a grand, international event, it's also the first time the young women have seen each other in quite a while, and they are giddy with excitement--despite warnings from Katharine's old family friend, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, to be careful of the fair's less seemly side. Undaunted, the girls have a lovely time--until the exposition turns from a girls' trip to a misadventure when Katharine stumbles upon a woman in distress. It's obvious that she has been attacked. Katharine does her best to save her, but tragically, before help can arrive, the woman dies. Yet just before her last breath, she utters the words aeronautics competition. Katharine's brothers Wilbur and Orville were asked to enter the competition with their successful 1903 flyer but declined. Katharine wonders how this young woman could be connected to such a prestigious event. Now, unable to get the woman's face out of her mind, Katharine convinces Margaret to join her investigation--and it's soon clear that the race to be declared the first in flight might just be the deadliest competition of them all ..."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

The equally brilliant real-life sister of the famous flying Wright Brothers, Katharine Wright, investigates an unsettling death at the 1904 World's Fair in this radiant new historical mystery in USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower's Agatha Award-winning series.

Summer 1904. Katharine and her best friend from Oberlin College, Margaret Goodwin Meacham, are thrilled to attend the St. Louis Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, for the centennial celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Not only is it a grand, international event, it's also the first time the young women have seen each other in quite a while, and they are giddy with excitement--despite warnings from Katharine's old family friend, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, to be careful of the fair's less seemly side.

Undaunted, the girls have a lovely time--until the exposition turns from a girls' trip to a misadventure when Katharine stumbles upon a woman in distress. It's obvious that she has been attacked. Katharine does her best to save her, but tragically, before help can arrive, the woman dies. Yet just before her last breath, she utters the words aeronautics competition. . . . Katharine's brothers Wilbur and Orville were asked to enter the competition with their successful 1903 flyer but declined. Katharine wonders how this young woman could be connected to such a prestigious event.

Now, unable to get the woman's face out of her mind, Katharine convinces Margaret to join her investigation--and it's soon clear that the race to be declared the first in flight might just be the deadliest competition of them all . . .

Review Quotes

Praise for To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower

Flower transforms Katharine Wright, sister of flight pioneers Orville and Wilbur, into an intrepid gumshoe in this splendid series launch... As always, Flower's thorough historical research enables her to bring contemporary readers into a bygone era, and she has the mechanics of a satisfying mystery down pat. After this stirring maiden voyage, readers will be eager to see where the series goes next." --Publishers Weekly

"Fascinating period detail and little-known historical facts add up to an enjoyable read." --Kirkus Reviews

"Flower imagines a new role for the sister of the famous Wright brothers, equally brilliant but limited by societal norms...Flower's new historical mystery will please her many fans." --Booklist

"Fans of Flower's Agatha Award-winning mystery featuring Emily Dickinson, Because I Could Not Stop for Death, will appreciate the details...featuring a strong, often-overlooked historical figure." --Library Journal

"Informative, fun, and absorbing." --firstClue

"A fresh and engrossing historical mystery with the real-life sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright as its protagonist. Like her famous brothers, Katharine is a woman ahead of her time, intelligent, and keenly observant. Flowers pulled me effortlessly into Katharine's story and kept me turning the pages until the very satisfying end. Looking forward to seeing this series soar!" --Dianne Freeman, author of the award-winning Countess of Harleigh mysteries

"Auto-buy author Amanda Flower pens another well-paced, unexpected mystery featuring real-life feminist heroine Katharine Wright as the amateur sleuth, uncovering an exciting part of American history. The nail-biting days around the first successful flight of the Wright Brothers are brought vividly to life in this series starter." --Heather Redmond, author of the Mary Shelley Mysteries

About the Author

Amanda Flower is the USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning mystery author of over twenty-five novels, including the nationally bestselling Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series, the Amish Matchmaker Mysteries, the Katharine Wright Mysteries, and several series written under the name Isabella Alan. An organic farmer and former librarian, Amanda lives in Northeast Ohio and can be found online at AmandaFlower.com.