I Died for Beauty is a well written historical mystery. I throughly enjoyed the plot and the characters. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased.review.

Amanda Flower weaves an intriguing mystery for Emily and her maid, Willa, to solve and as the story unfolds the reader is quickly drawn in.

I Died for Beauty takes place during the Cold Storm and Great Freeze of 1857, and it is known to be one of the worst ever in the recorded history of New England. This historic element is weaved perfectly with the plot and gives an atmospheric setting of time and place. The tragedy of the Dickinson’s neighbors losing their lives due to the house fire is heartbreaking and the Dickinson family and Willa's concern of the care and safety of the child is admirable.

I love the idea of Emily Dickinson and Willa being sleuths and that is what caught my interest when I first discovered this story. It wasn’t until after I finished reading that I realized this book is part of a series. I enjoyed the portrayal of Emily and her family and how they interacted with each other and the town folk. Emily’s personality in this story is what I’ve imagined it might be, and it really worked with the premise. She has her own mind about things and isn’t afraid to speak up. I also like how she questions people - no matter who - to better understand them or to better understand any given situation. In my view, that is what makes her a great writer and a great sleuth!

An intriguing mystery and wonderfully written. I will be adding the first two books to my to-read pile!

This was another winner in the Emily Dickinson mystery series, it had what I enjoyed from the previous book. The mystery element worked well in the historical period. I enjoyed how strong the characters felt and enjoyed how everything worked overall with them. It uses the period in a way that worked overall and glad Amanda Flower kept the series going.