Because I Could Not Stop for Death is the first installment in a new historical fiction and mystery series featuring American poetess Emily Dickinson as an eager investigator of local murders. The story is told in first person by her new maid, Willa.

The year is 1855, and we're taken to the small town of Amherst, Massachusetts, where 20-year-old Willa Noble has just been hired as a servant in the home of Mr. Edward Dickinson. The head of the household will soon finish his term as a U.S. Representative to Congress in Washington, D.C. He, his wife and three grown children are well known around Amherst. This job will be an important one for Willa. She needs the money to support herself and her younger brother, Henry. He works with the horses at a local livery stable.

When Willa meets Emily, she's not sure what to think. She's been given instructions to clean the house and to stay out of the way of the family members. But she keeps on bumping into Emily, who seems to want to talk. Emily has an odd way of talking and of behaving, Willa sees. She's more independent than most women of her age and of her class. Sometimes Emily notices more than other people do, too.

Soon enough, tragedy strikes. Willa's brother Henry is killed by an uncontrollable horse. Willa is devastated. When Emily learns of the situation, she wants to help her maid figure out exactly what happened to her brother. Was Henry's death really an accident? Or is someone else to blame for startling the horse? And thus does Emily join forces with a reluctant Willa to snoop around Amherst and to do some investigating of their own. What was Henry doing that may have caused someone to want to harm him? Will the duo be able to find the responsible party and to turn them over to the local authorities?

I have read other mystery series that featured a famous American author who, when faced with a sudden murder, decided to step in and to take on the role of amateur detective. I've read books about the forays of Louisa May Alcott, Dorothy Parker, Henry David Thoreau and Mark Twain venturing into the investigative fray. (Individually, of course. Not together!) I'm not surprised that someone would craft a premise that would get Emily Dickinson away from her scribblings and out of the house, to take on the mantle of sleuth instead. Author Amanda Flower does a good job of keeping true to the geography and history of both Amherst and of the Dickinson family. It also seems perfectly logical for such an insightful person as Emily to be interested in ferreting out answers to nagging questions.

If you're an Emily Dickinson fan, then you've probably already read and liked Because I Could Not Stop for Death. This series should appeal to readers who like cozy mysteries as well as history-based ones. I predict that these books are going to be like potato chips. You won't want to read just one. This first title is followed by the second book, I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died.. Yes, each title is a first line from one of Emily's most famous poems. Which again, somehow, makes total sense.