To Slip the Bonds of Earth is the first in a new series by Amanda Flower. The book/series will spotlight Katherine Wright, the sister of the Wright brothers and keeper of the clan. When Katherine, AKA Katie, is 15 her mother dies--leaving the household management to her as well as her father and brothers. When her father' s health declines and brothers Orville and Wilbur devote time to building their flying machine, Katherine picks up the slack by also managing the family bicycle shop, keeping the books and teaching high school Latin.

Though Katherine is a go-getter, she is frustrated with the bias of other male teachers who believe women aren't suited to work outside the home. Quite by accident she is present at a holiday party when another guest is found murdered. In the course of finding the culprit in order to protect her student, she discovers that sleuthing is challenging and that she is good at that.

Though I uncovered the killer early on, the story was interesting and entertaining. I have enjoyed biographies on the Wright Brothers but their sister received only a mention, or two.

This historical fact and fiction blend was an enjoyable read. I recommend this read to those who enjoy cozy, historical, light mysteries, clean reads.

I appreciate the e-ARC that I requested and received. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #KensingtonBooks # #ToSliptheBondsofEarth #NetGalley #AmandaFlower

TO SLIP THE BONDS OF EARTH (Katharine Wright Mystery Series Book #1) by Amanda Flower is the perfect mash-up of biographical fiction and cozy mystery featuring an overshadowed and forgotten sister finally being recognized for her strengths and accomplishments and weaving into the facts of her life a smartly plotted cozy murder mystery. This is the first book in the series, and I am thoroughly hooked.

Katharine Wright is a brilliant scholar, teacher, and suffragette who also runs the family household of her reverend father since the death of her mother at the age of fifteen. Besides all these personal accomplishments, she also assists her brothers, Wilbur and Orville, with their books in their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. While disappointed when she is passed over for a head teaching promotion, she is very excited by a telegram received from her brothers in North Carolina stating that they have flown their motorized flying machine.

When the brothers return for the Christmas holidays, Katharine talks Orville into attending a Christmas party given by the head of the PTA. Orville’s coat goes missing and when the siblings find it, it is in the billiards room with a dead man stabbed with a screwdriver. One of Katharine’s students is in the room with blood all over his shirt and the design papers for their flying machine Orville had in his coat pocket are missing. Katharine’s student is arrested, but Katharine is not satisfied with the detective’s conclusions.

Katharine begins asking questions that lead to the prominent men of Dayton having secrets that are worthy of blackmail, but do they lead to murder? And the flying machine design papers are still missing, could they be worth killing over?

I loved this story for so many different reasons. I knew nothing about Katharine and was happy to be introduced to a strong, independent, educated woman who was so accomplished in a time when it was not common. She lends herself to being a perfect protagonist in a mystery plot with her curiosity and tenacity. The depth of research into Katharine’s life, the Wright family, and all the history of the period is evident and intertwined seamlessly throughout the book. The cozy mystery plot has all the red herrings and twists that keep the reader guessing, and it gives believable resolutions to all questions by the end.

I highly recommend this engaging historical cozy mystery and I cannot wait for more mysteries to follow in this series.

What a marvelous historical cozy mystery! I have read several books by Amanda Flower and am partial to the Farm to Table Series but To Slip the Bonds of Earth is by far now my favorite written by her. I did not even know that the Wright Brothers had a sister, let alone one so inspiring.

In this story the Wright family come to life. Before this book they were figures of history, in rather cut and dry books. Now they are real in my mind eyes and with unique, strong personalities. Katherine stands out as on strongminded, loyal dedicated teacher who can become tenacious when searching for the truth. That is exactly what happens in this story as she tries to clear one student being accused of murder, searching till she finds the whole truth not settling until she does. My new favorite sleuth, Katherine Wright, teacher extraordinary and amateur sleuth. Please let there be more stories to come!

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In To Slip the Bonds of Earth, the author pulls real historical figures into a mystery. I had never heard of Katherine Wright prior to reading this book. She is a strong woman who blessed her family. She taught Latin and Greek at a school in Dayton and helped Wilbur and Orville with their bicycle shop, which funded the flying machines they built.
This was an interesting mystery involving lost drawings and a death. Herman Wheeler was stabbed by Orville’s screwdriver. Despite the description, Orville was never really a suspect, but one of Katherine’s students is. Katherine investigates to find the papers and the real murderer.
The story is well developed. I enjoyed reading the book. I suspected the killer but still kind of wish it had been one of the other main suspects simply because I didn’t like him much. Not fair but hey, I can have an opinion.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book by Amanda Flower. It is about the Wright Brothers and their family. The story centers around their younger sister, Katherine. The Wright Brothers are trying to get a plane to fly and have discovered the missing link that makes it possible. However, when their drawings and notes regarding this discovery come up missing along with a dead body being discovered, Katherine takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of both. Katherine is a high school teacher of Latin and a very independent woman that takes care of her father and brothers as her mom passed when Katherine was only 15. I highly recommend this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.

This was a historical mystery surrounding Katharine Wright, the sister of Orville and Wilbur Wright. It was an interesting story and I like that the characters are based on real people. I enjoyed learning a bit more about Katharine who was a big influence on the success of her famous brothers. However I was expecting the Wright brothers to be more prominent in the story but they were more background characters which was a little disappointing. Even though I normally read more thrillers/suspense this was a nice change of pace and I would recommend it to cozy mystery readers. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

To Slip the Bonds of Earth, gave some background on the brothers, Orville and Wilber Wright, as told through their sister Katherine. Yes, Katherine was a real sister to the Wright brothers and taught school. One of the first 'career women' .

This 'Cozy Mystery' was a fun look at a fictional loss of the patent papers the Wright Brothers brought back with them from Kitty Hawk. We have the murder of a Herman Wheeler, who taunted Orville during the Christmas party and Katherine's student who has the murdered mans blood on his clothing, charged with the murder.

With her brother asking her to find out who took their papers and her student (although not one of her favorites) charged with murder, what can she do but try to solve this murder and hope it leads to her brother's papers and the exoneration of her student.

A fun mix of historical fact, historical fiction, the suffragette movement, women's inequality in just about everything, and other issues in the early part of the 20th century. I had an issue with the first part of the book dragging a bit, but after that, it was a great cozy mystery. I liked being able to learn a bit more about the whole Wright family.

4 stars since it did take me until about the first quarter of the book to get totally invested in continuing.

“To Slip the Bonds of Earth” is the wonderfully done first book in Amanda Flower’s Katharine Wright Historical Mystery series. This book focuses on Katharine Wright, sister of Orville and Wilbur – while I knew nothing about her before reading this book, I am now fascinated by her life and want to read more about her. Katharine is a wonderful (and from what I can tell historically accurate) character who chafes at some of the restraints of being female yet is totally devoted to the men in her family. She is so well done a character that I sometimes forgot that the mystery was fictional and didn’t really happen. The mystery was well done (if a bit sad in places) with just the right amount of suspects however I figured out pretty early on who the killer was (Flower was a bit heavy handed, in my opinion, with pointing a finger towards the guilty party). Still, despite this, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books in the series (and reading more about Katharine Wright).

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley.

In December 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright were in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, making history by flying an airplane they had built. Back at home in Dayton, Ohio, their sister, Katharine, teaches introductory languages at Steele High School. She hopes to achieve her goal by requesting to teach Greek III to upper-level students. Not to mention that her teaching is just one aspect of Katharine’s life. She also cares for her father at their family home and ensures her brothers’ bicycle shop runs smoothly, ordering supplies, checking accounts, and balancing the books. It’s almost Christmas, her brothers are coming home, and Katharine never suspected another role, a high-stakes role, will soon take priority.

I was not aware of the Wright brothers' sister. I was fascinated to learn of Katharine Wright. To learn of the reliance by her father and brothers for her care of the family home since the loss of her mother at 15 and the brothers for their business when out of town, her intelligence, independence, and strong work ethic, her interest in moving beyond gender inequality, is inspirational and revealing of a woman moving the benchmark of men's thinking and habits forward in her quiet way.

I loved the combination of unveiling a woman in history who deserves as much respect and recognition as her brothers and a fictional mystery woven by a master storyteller, which is a delight to read. Although I had read from the start that the mystery was fictional, the author’s meticulous research of history made the mystery seem entirely plausible.

Don’t miss meeting Katharine Wright! Highly recommended.

The "Author Note" and “Discussion Questions” are available at the end of the novel.

Thank you to Amanda Flower, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

Katharine Wright is home in Dayton, Ohio, minding the bicycle shop her brothers, Orville and Wilbur, have temporarily abandoned while in North Carolina with their flying machines. She is a full-time Latin teacher who becomes frustrated with the gender inequality she encounters at work and in society in general. When her brothers come home for the holidays and the plans for their flying machine are stolen, it falls to Katharine to solve the crime. But when her primary suspect is found dead, she has a bigger crime to solve – to keep her brothers out of jail.

This is what I hope is the first book in a new series by one of my favorite authors. I like Katharine; she is intelligent and doesn’t let her being a “mere woman” stop her from doing much of anything. Her family and friends are sometimes aghast at her behavior, but she perseveres. The background story of the Wright brothers’ first flight was a fun addition, and the steps needed to obtain a patent gave me something to think about.

Although the police seemed to think they had the murderer in custody, there were actually quite a few possible suspects to think about. I was glad when some of them were ruled out, but kept waffling between two or three of the remaining characters. One person stood out in my mind as the most likely killer, and I was eventually proven correct, but I had not figured out the motive, although it should have been obvious. The identity of the person who stole the plans for the flying machine should also have been obvious, but I was so wrapped up in the murder investigation, I forgot all about the theft until it was revealed in the book.

If this is to become a series, I look forward to reading the next book when it is released.

1903 Dayton, Ohio

Orville and Wilbur Wright are well known. This novel's heroine is their younger sister Katharine. The mystery is fictional, but many details about the family are factual. Katharine was a Latin Teacher at a local high school and took care of the brothers' bicycle shop while they were away testing flight ideas.

When the Wright Brothers plans go missing and a young man is found murdered, Katharine works to find the missing plans and suss out the murder's identity. She takes a no nonsense and no hesitation approach to solving the mysteries.

It was fun to simultaneously solve the mysteries while learning more about the Wright Family. Loving the historical mysteries with a factual base the author is writing.

Katie Wright is the lesser known Wright but she's a firecracker, It's 1903, someone's stolen her brothers' plans, and then there's a murder and she turns intrepid investigator. It's a unique cozy with a good heroine. And I learned a bit. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

To Slip the Bonds of Earth
A Riveting Mystery Based On a True History
by Amanda Flower

My Thoughts
Characters
Katharine Wright is the younger sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright. In To Slip the Bonds of Earth, Flower brings this little-known figure to life in this lively historical mystery. Katharine is a Greek teacher in Dayton’s Steele High School, runs the home she shares with her brothers and widowed father, and oversees her brothers’ bicycle shop when they are in Kitty Hawk working on their flying experiments. She’s an intelligent, independent woman. She isn’t afraid to speak her mind and is often frustrated by the constraints placed on her because she is a woman. I love this character.

Mystery
Word is out that the Wright Brothers have achieved the unthinkable-they’ve flown an airplane. Now competitors want to get their hands on brothers’ flight plans before they are patented. Wilbur takes them to a party rather than leave them unattended at home, where they are stolen. When Katharine’s chief suspect is found murdered, it is up to her to solve the case, recover the plans, and clear her brother’s name. There are plenty of viable suspects, legitimate motives, but only one solution.

Publishing Info
Publisher: Kensington
Genres: Fiction/Mystery & Detective/Historical
Pages: 288
On Sale: 03/26/24
ISBN: 9781496747662

Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Such a delightful and unique story! I know very little about the Wright brother's (and you don't need to know anything to read this) let alone that they had a sister! I loved how this was very truthful in historical facts but then the fun twist of Katharine solving a mystery.

There are so many historical fiction or romance books written during the World Wars, Wild West or Victorian times, it was great to read a book from a time that isn't greatly written about.

The characters were interesting (some I liked more than others obviously).

My only negatives were that it was a little dry or dragging in some spots (sounded a little too much like a history book) & that I couldn't connect the title to the book.

I have been looking forward to reading this book as I really enjoy Ms Flower's series based around Emily Dickinson's maid. Like that series, the author does an amazing job setting up the history, the time and place, and making you see it as it was. I will be honest and say it took me a while to warm up to Katherine Wright, Orville and Wilbur's younger sister. She definitely had an interesting and demanding life, head of the household since her mother's death when she was 15, dealing with her father the Bishop, supporting her famous brothers by helping to run their bike shop while they were in Kitty Hawk working on their "flying" machine and working full time as a teacher of Latin and Greek. She was outspoken and took no nonsense. In this story, she is supporting a friend when she manages to get herself and her brother Orville in the middle of a gruesome murder at a Christmas party. Since valuable papers of her brothers experiments disappear at the same time, Katherine is convinced there is a connection between the thief and murder and she is on the case. It's definitely a multi-layered mystery. Thanks to #NetGalley and #Kensingtonbooks for the opportunity to read.

I liked the premise of this book. Wilbur and Orville Wright are well known, but what about their sister? The one who kept the family together as their father was not well, ran their business (a bicycle shop), kept the books, and taught Latin? Katherine comes to the forefront in this book, and I admired her greatly.

This book shines an unrelenting light on how women in that time were put down and kept down, no matter how talented. When the family was invited to a party, where a person was murdered, and Orville was a suspect (and also lost the improved plans for the brothers' flying machine), it is Katherine who steps up and investigates.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher Kensington books via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

Amanda Flower writes a lively mystery. Interesting characters, not easily to guess the bad guy, but I missed some depth. The Wilbur brothers add a nice touch to this story. Katie is going great lengths to find the murderer and to retrieve that what was stolen from her brother. If you like a historical mystery then this book is for you.

I love seeing new characters in history brought to life! I've been to the Wright's house before I read this book, and this really brought it to life.

Really excited to read more from Amanda Flower. P.S. if you aren't following her on Instagram for the cute cat pictures... do it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Katharine Wright is the younger sister of Wilbur and Orville Wright and she's more excited than anyone when she receives a telegram from her brothers announcing their first successful flight. The plans they used to the build their flying machine are top-secret. If the plans fall into the wrong hands, someone else could copy the plans and patent the invention themselves. When the plans go missing and the thief turns up dead, Katharine must find the plans and save her brothers' invention.

I absolutely loved Katharine, she was the perfect combination of traditional and progressive woman. I love that she's willing to fight for equal rights, but doesn't look down her nose at taking care of her family. I love that she's a creative problem solver and willing to keep pushing to save the day for her brothers. The mystery was great, actually quite simple in the end but there were so many clues and red herrings that I had not guessed the killer correctly.

This is definitely my new favorite historical cozy series and I look forward to reading future books in the series!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.