Because I Could Not Stop for Death by Amanda Flower is the debut of An Emily Dickinson Mystery series. The author takes us back to 1855 in Amherst, Massachusetts where Willa Noble gets a position as a maid in the Dickinson household. Not long after she begins her new position, Willa learns that her younger brother, Henry is dead. The police are calling it an accident, but Willa does not believe it. Willa receives Henry's diary from his friend at the livery. When she reads it, Willa knows that Henry was murdered. Emily Dickinson believes they should look into Henry's death. The pair team up to learn the truth. The author's vivid descriptions bring Amherst to life as well as Washington, D.C. I especially enjoyed the depictions of the Washington Monument and Mount Vernon. The Dickinson family travels to Washington to visit their father and Emily brings Willa along. I thought the story was well-written with developed characters. I did find it to be a slow-moving story. I can tell the author did her research for this story. The story does include the subjects of slavery, differences between social classes, and gender roles. The mystery was nicely laid out. There are a couple of suspects, misdirection, and good clues. I appreciated the epilogue that nicely wrapped up the whodunit. I was able to solve the mystery early on. However, it was interesting following Willa and Emily's investigation to see what information they would uncover. I did find this book to be very different from the author's other novels. It is missing the lighthearted humor that is normally present in Amanda Flower's stories. Because I Could Not Stop for Death is a dark tale with a departed brother, a revealing diary, a threatening note, a helpful employer, tasty strawberry ice cream, a trip by train, and a revealing arrest.

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I enjoyed this story very much.

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