To Slip the Bonds of Earth is the first book in the Katharine Wright Mystery Series by Amanda Flower. The amateur sleuth is Katharine Wright, the brilliant sister of the equally brilliant but more famous flying Wright Brothers.

Katharine Wright is a teacher and a modern woman who takes care of the Wright family and manages the family bicycle shop. She gets mixed up in a mystery involving an unfortunate death and her brothers' stolen and unpatented flyer plans.

Amanda Flower is an amazing mystery writer and a top-notch researcher who gets to show off both skills in this story. To Slip the Bonds of Earth is well-written, thoughtfully crafted, and impeccably researched.

I knew very little about Katharine Wright going into this story and felt much more knowledgeable and happy to know her by the end. Katharine is an unsung hero in the Wright Brothers' success. Her story is important and needs to be told.

The fictional aspect of the story (i.e., the mystery) was compelling and suspenseful throughout. Author Amanda Flower always does an amazing job of sprinkling in the clues and creating suspects that are so plausible, you don't know who the culprit is for sure until the final reveal.

I am so glad that I read this book and can't wait to read more Katharine Wright Mysteries!

Thanks to Net Galley and Kensington for the ARC.

To Slip the Bonds of Earth: A Mystery in the First Days of Flight

By Amanda Flower

Most books on flight focus on the famous brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright. At a time when women were frequently shown disrespect, the Wright brothers’ college educated sister Katharine was outspoken and independent all while caring for her father and brothers after the death of their mother. She also was in charge of the business end of their bicycle sales and repair shop and worked as a Latin teacher.

When one of her students is accused of murder, Katharine moves into high gear to prove his innocence and discover who the real murderer is. Ironically, she had dismissed that student from her class a few days prior for his disrespectful behavior. There are many interesting threads along the way including a men’s only club in Dayton, Ohio, frequented by the political leaders of the city. The treatment of women and various social classes is also highlighted. Orville Wright took the plans for their airplane to a party and they disappeared resulting in another mystery. Katharine needed to determine if the murder and the stolen papers are related crimes.

I enjoyed the mix of history, fiction, and mystery. It is well written and interesting and kept me guessing to the end.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 4/5

Category: Historical Fiction, Mystery

Notes: #1 in the Katharine Wright Mystery series

Publication:  March 26, 2024—Kensington

Memorable Lines:

When I was younger, there had been times when I’d lamented—if only to myself—my unremarkable appearance, but now, as an adult, I found it served me well. Those who had been lulled by the relative dullness of my looks had been disarmed by the sharpness of my wit.

“Poor decisions always come late in the day, Katie. I want you to remember that. As the day goes on, thoughts become muddled, because so many choices have to be made. A man’s willpower lags, and he makes mistakes, some of which may be the most costly of his life.”

“What did I teach you?” she asked in a hushed voice. I paused. “That sometimes doing the right thing is the wrong thing in the eyes of the law. That sometimes justice and mercy don’t coincide. That sometimes mercy is the better choice.”

I really like this book it was a great tale with good characters and settings. I received a review copy from NetGalley but the views and opinions expressed herein are my own.

I loved this new storyline by Flower. She’d dipping into historical tales now with the Wright brothers (and sister) and it was a treat! I like that while fiction, there is enough of historical reality researched to keep a lot of the main storyline authentic enough for me to not want to constantly fact check — my normal issue with fiction based on real people and situations. Flower has hit the sweet spot of fiction/history with both this new series and her books about the family of Emily Dickinson and her maid in I heard a fly buzz and others.

This meticulously researched historical and well-planned cozy mystery by Amanda Flower was one of my favorite reads this year! I never knew the Wright Brothers had a sister and I'm so glad I got to meet her in this book. She is intelligent, loyal, and knows how to get the job done. Especially when it involves clearing the name of her brother in a murder investigation. So many twists and turns kept me guessing until the end. I can't wait to read the next book in this series. 5 stars but wish I could give 10!

This is another historical mystery from Amanda Flowers. In this one the amateur sleuth is Katherine Wright, the sister of the Wright Brothers. Katherine lives with her father and brothers in Ohio and is a school teacher in the small town. It is Christmas time, her brothers are home and she is on break. During a Christmas Party Katherine and Orville discover a guest's body and the evidence points to Orville. She sets out to investigate. I enjoyed the small town setting and the characters. The mystery was good but I found it easy to solve. The book is well written and researched. I look for word to reading more. Enjoy

A great start to a new series! Wonderful characters in an incredible setting. This book will keep you guessing until the end.

While Wilbur and Orville Wright’s flying machine is quite literally taking off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with its historic fifty-seven second flight, their sister Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and looking after the family. A Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to finish college. But at twenty-nine, she’s frustrated by the gender inequality in academia and is looking for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing…

Returning home to Dayton, Wilbur and Orville accept an invitation to a friend’s party. Nervous about leaving their as-yet-unpatented flyer plans unattended, Wilbur decides to bring them to the festivities . . . where they are stolen right out from under his nose. As always, it’s Katharine’s job to problem solve—and in this case, crime-solve.

As she sets out to uncover the thief among their circle of friends, Katharine soon gets more than she bargained for: She finds her number one suspect dead with a letter opener lodged in his chest. It seems the patent is the least of her brothers’ worries. They have a far more earthbound concern—prison. Now Katharine will have to keep her feet on the ground and put all her skills to work to make sure Wilbur and Orville are free to fly another day.

Another fantastic book by one of my favorite authors.
Held my interest throughout, loved the characters, especially Katherine.
It was an interesting and fast read.
Highly recommend

To Slip the Bonds of Earth is a wonderfully written, historical cozy mystery. With around 300 pages, it is a quick and easy read.

I was unfamiliar with Katharine Wright until reading this book. Of course, everyone knows her brothers, Wilbur and Orville. Flower took her time researching Katharine, which is shown in this novel. Katharine is a woman who was ahead of her time in 1903. She wanted to be treated equally in her career as a teacher. She wanted to be independent of her brothers while running the Wright household after her mother’s passing at an early age.

While this book is set around the Christmas holidays, they are not the story’s focal point. They are more of an addition to the setting. I like that because I don’t always want to read a book full of Christmas. Does that make sense?

While To Slip the Bonds of Earth is not Amanda Flower’s first book, it is her first historical cozy. I am eager to visit with Katharine Wright again!

To Slip the Bonds of Earth
A Riveting Mystery Based on a True History
by Amanda Flower
Pub DateMar 26 2024
Kensington Books |Kensington
Historical Fiction| Mystery & Thrillers| Women's Fiction



Netgalley and Kensington Books sent me a copy of To Slip the Bonds of Earth to review:


As the Wrights' flying machine takes off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with its historic fifty-seven second flight in December 1903, Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and caring for her family. As a Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine Wright is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to graduate from college. However, at twenty-nine, she is frustrated by gender inequality in academia and is looking for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing…It never occurs to her that it will be sleuthing...



A friend invites Wilbur and Orville to his party after they return home to Dayton. Afraid of leaving their yet-unpatented flyer plans unattended, Wilbur decides to bring them to the festivities. However, they are stolen right under his nose. As always, it’s Katharine’s job to problem solve—and in this case, crime-solve.As always, Katharine's job is to solve problems, in this case, criminal cases.



She finds her number one suspect dead with a letter opener lodged in his chest when she sets out to uncover the thief among their circle of friends. Her brothers seem less concerned about the patent than she is. Prison is a far more earthbound concern for them .In order to keep Wilbur and Orville safe, Katharine will have to use all her skills.


I give to Slip the Bonds of Earth five out of five Stars!


Happy Reading!

What a wonderful new historical fiction series. I don’t know that I knew the Wright Brothers had a sister. But to discover that she exists and is such a force to be reckoned with was entertaining. As a resident of NC, I have adored the fact that Wilbur and Orville Wright accomplished the first flight on the dunes of Nags Head. Getting to know Katharine and her perky and strong personality was informative. Acknowledging her many accomplishments and how actual facts regarding the Wright family are woven through the cozy mystery aspect makes for a delightful read. The characters come alive on the pages and you appreciate the fact that they are normal human beings and have the same type of issues most siblings have. I can’t wait to discover the next adventure that awaits Katharine. I am hooked!

The author’s notes at the end is a wonderful addition and worth spending the time reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

To Slip the Bonds of Earth is the first cozy mystery in the new Katherine Wright series. Katharine is the older sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright who teaches Latin at a high school in Dayton, OH. When one of her students is accused of murder and her brothers’ planes for an airplane engine go missing, she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of the mystery. Based on the real sister of the Wright Brothers’, this cozy mystery does a great job of tying fictional mystery with the historical characters we have all heard about.

I am a huge fan of Amanda Flower’s and love everything I have read by her. I was so excited to read this book because it ties in a historical time that is of interest to me with the cozy mystery style I’ve come to love. This book did not disappoint. I loved all of this history that was pulled into this book as well as the characters and the story that was told. Katherine was the perfect lead for this book and I loved how she was a strong, independent woman in this time where this wasn’t the norm and the fact that she is based off of a real person makes this even better. I really look forward to seeing what else is going to come out of this series. If you are a fan of historical cozy mysteries this book is worth picking up!

I like the setting so much for this book since it was definitely unique. Who knew that Orville and Wilbur Wright's sister Katherine was an amateur sleuth.

Katherine really admired her brothers and their flying attempts. She thought them so intelligent and carefree, but who knew that the drawing and information they had would lead to a murder.

This book took awhile to get going, but once the murder mystery started, I enjoyed it a lot more. I was definitely guessing a lot along the way. I think the beginning was a bit rough because it felt more a biography that the cozy mysteries that I love. I do understand that the scene needed to be set, but I knew enough about the Wright Brothers to have it jump in a lot faster.

Overall, I enjoyed the unique setting and mystery even with the slow start.

Thank you to Kensington and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

Amanda Flower in To Slip the Bonds of Earth looks back to the first days of flight with the Wrights. Wilbur and Orville have had their first flight but their diagrams that will allow patent claims go missing. Their sister Katherine is a Latin teacher and determined to recover the drawings. Meanwhile a murder implicates one of her students and her friends. How can she find the murderer and the papers?

I enjoyed being introduced to a fictionalized version of the Wright family, and choosing Katherine, sister of Orville and Wilbur, as the main character and sleuth was a fun choice. I am hopeful that in future books, Katherine experiences more character growth than in this first book, as at times I found her grating. The book’s pace was rather slow for my liking, but I do intend to continue the series to see how Katherine grows.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

To Slip the Bonds of Earth is book #1 in the A Katharine Wright Mystery series by Amanda Flower.

I’ve always been interested in the Wright Brothers and an a fan of Amanda Flower so I was excited to read this book. It did not disappoint! Katherine was a likable character and a bit ahead of her time. I enjoyed following along as she investigated. The book was an entertaining read and I look forward to the next installment.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Amanda Flower gives us another great historical mystery. This book is based on Wilbur and Orville Wright, focusing on their sister Katharine.

When the brothers come home for Christmas, their airplane plans disappear and they have to find them as they are not yet patented and anyone could use them and claim the idea was theirs.

Katherine helps solve the mystery when her prime suspect in their circle of friends ends up stabbed to death. There are many people who could have been the thief. You will be surprised at the end when you learn who the thief is.

This is a very good book that you will not want to put down until you know the solution to the mystery. I thank Kensington Publishers and NetGalley for the copy I received. The opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed this very much! Having lived my entire life in the Dayton,OH area, I was excited to read this, and it didn't disappoint. Amanda Flower gives us a well researched story filled with vivid historical detail and a gripping mystery. She does a wonderful job bringing the time period, the city of Dayton, and the Wright family to life in this intriguing historical mystery.

Katharine Wright is the book's protagonist. She is a strong-willed, smart, and capable woman. In To Slip the Bonds of Earth, she is trying to solve a murder and at the same time help her brothers when one of them loses something of importance.

This was an entertaining read with a well plotted mystery. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with accurate historical details.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Did Not Finish @20%

I didn't like the MC from page 1 [which is really difficult to enjoy what you are reading when you want to smack the MC; her disrespect and mouthiness and inability to see ANYONE'S view but her own makes for a very frustrating read] and that just increased as her treatment of her "best" friend is shown [Full props to Ag to staying friends with Katharine; I would have bailed years ago]. Add in the now inevitable [it would seem] rehashing of what has already happened or has already been said [we find out the MC's view on men, love, and marriage no less than THREE times in the first FIVE chapters] and a very over-dramatic narrator [which just adds to the irritating MC] and I find I just cannot finish. I am deeply disappointed as I really enjoy this author and was really looking forward to this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.