Amanda Flower returns with a sister of a tale | Book Talk

Katharine Wright, younger sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright, shouldn’t have time to solve a murder, but in “To Slip the Bonds of Earth” by Tallmadge author Amanda Flower, she does just that.

Their father, a prominent widowed clergyman, has decreed that Katharine and the two brothers must never marry; they are too busy. With Wilbur and Orville working on their airplane, it falls to Katharine to cater to their father’s wishes while teaching high school Latin and managing the brothers’ bicycle shop (two other brothers were immune to the prohibition).

In a completely fictional plot, Katharine goes to a Christmas party hosted by a socialite who has a grievance with her. There, Herman, a snide acquaintance, teases Orville about his “delusions of grandeur” for claiming to have built a flying machine.

Two things happen: Orville is frantic because he seems to have lost his suit jacket, which contains key plans and drawings about the Wright Flyer, and Herman is found dead, with Orville’s bloody screwdriver nearby.

Fortunately for Orville, the police arrest another suspect, but Katharine is certain he didn’t do it. She sets off to clear both men’s names. Orville is oblivious to his vulnerability and is more anxious to find the plans before he has to admit to Wilbur he’s lost them. He and Wilbur are barely aware that people see them as eccentric, but Katharine is familiar with being seen as a blunt-speaking old maid.

While Bishop Wright continues to exert his stern authority, Katharine finds ways to slip into Dayton’s high society, including an exclusive men’s club, where she learns of Herman’s machinations and the double-dealings of Dayton’s upper class.

In Flower’s Agatha Award-winning “Because I Could Not Stop for Death," first book in a series, Emily Dickinson solves a murder with the help of her maid; in the second, “I Heard a Buzz Fly When I Died," also just nominated for an Agatha in the Historical Mystery Novel category, Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to call. “To Slip the Bonds of Earth” is described as part of a series, though no date has been announced for the second book.

“To Slip the Bonds of Earth” (288 pages, hardcover) costs $27 from Kensington. Flower won a 2015 Agatha Award for "Andi Unstoppable."

She will join the Main Event Many Voices series from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Akron-Summit County Public Library, 60 S. High St. She also will be the keynote speaker Saturday at the Main Street Ravenna Winter Writing Festival; see event listings below.

Along with “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died,” other nominees for the 2024 Agatha Awards are Shelley Costa of Cleveland for her short story “The Knife Sharpener” and Mark Dawidziak of Cuyahoga Falls, in the Mystery Nonfiction category, for “Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe.”

Events

Hudson Library & Historical Society: Georgia Ede, author of “Change Your Diet, Change Your Diet: A Powerful Plan to Improve Mood, Overcome Anxiety, and Protect Memory for a Lifetime of Optimal Mental Health,” appears in a virtual event at 7 p.m. Monday. Journalist Jennifer Breheny Wallace talks about “Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic – And What We Can Do About It” at 7 p.m. Tuesday. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Susannah Fox talks about “Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care.” Advance notice for an event sure to sell out: Former White House special assistant Cassidy Hutchinson talks about “Enough” Feb. 28. Register at hudsonlibrary.org.

Medina County Public Library: Thao Thai, author of “Banyan Moon,” appears in a Zoom event at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Register at mcdl.info.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Bay Village branch, 27400 Wolf Road): Kirsten Bakis, author of “Lives of the Monster Dogs,” talks about “King Nyx,” 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Register at cuyahogalibary.org.

Cleveland Public Library (Martin Luther King branch, 1962 Stokes Blvd.): Kent State University Professor Tameka Ellington, editor of “Black Hair in a While World” and “Textures: The History and Art of Black Hair,” appears with hair care experts from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Register at cpl.org.

Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County (305 Wick Ave., Youngstown) Alex Michaelides joins the Literary Society to talk about his thriller “The Fury,” 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. The $50 admission includes a copy of the book; $95 includes the book and a cocktail reception. Register at libraryvisit.org.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (North Royalton branch, 5071 Wallings Road): Burt W. Griffin, Warren Commission assistant counsel and author of “JFK, Oswald and Ruby: Politics, Prejudice and Truth,” is joined by retired Cleveland Municipal Judge C. Ellen Connally and documentary producer Todd Kwait, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Orange branch, 31975 Chagrin Blvd., Pepper Pike): Brandy Schillace talks to James Renner, author of “True Crime Addict,” about her mystery “The Framed Women of Ardemore House,” 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Wadsworth Public Library (132 Broad St.): Jane Blasio talks about “Taken at Birth: Stolen Babies, Hidden Lies, and My Journey to Finding Home,” 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday.

Loganberry Books (3015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Mycologist Brett Bunyard signs “The Lives of Fungi: A Natural History of Our Planet’s Decomposers,” 7 p.m. Friday.

Main Street Ravenna: The Winter Writing Festival features keynote speaker Amanda Flower at 10 a.m. Saturday and includes workshops on self-publishing, creative nonfiction and poetry, and book signings. Other authors include Jay Brackenrich, Janet R. Fox, Dave Daniels, Sandy Engle, Stephen Schneider and Seth Borgen. Various locations including Ravenna 7 Theater and Reed Memorial Library. Admission is $10; go to mainstreetravenna.org.

Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Amanda Flower returns with ‘To Slip the Bonds of Earth’