TT & Review: Grace under Pressure by Julie Hyzy

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading and asks you to:


1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a random page
3. Share 2 "teaser"sentences also citing the title of the book and the author and in that way people can have great recommendations if they like the "teaser.
4. Please avoid spoilers

This week my teaser is from Grace under Pressure by Julie Hyzy. Here's the teaser:

As Bennett made it through the doorway, he addressed my assistant. "How's the eavesdropping business today, Frances? Learn anything new?"

This is the first in Julie's new Manor House Mystery series and it starts off with a bang! Literally. When a short disturbance in the manor's tea room is followed by a gunshot, recently hired curator, Grace Wheaton, immediately goes into action to see what all the hoopla is about. Abe, the mansions head curator /director has been fatally shot. The crime's location was in an upstairs private study. Grace comes to the conclusion that the shot may not have been meant for Abe but for Bennett Marshfield, the manor's owner.

Within the first two chapters we are introduced to the key players, there's a disturbance in the "Birdcage" and then a murder. Phew! Needless to say I was hooked immediately. Now Grace's years long dream to be in charge of the manor may come true . . . . but at what price? Grace finds out there is a lot more involved than she had anticipated; not just a murderer but also a swindler has cropped up. Hopefully after Bennett's exposing testimony, that will be one less thing to worry about. Or, maybe not! There are some family secrets to be unearthed and a lot of relatives wanting a piece of the Marshfield pie. Can Grace sift through all this and solve the crime before someone decides to take a pot shot at her?

The mystery was well plotted with Hyzy playing fair with her readers supplying some good motives and clues. Grace's two roommates added some delightfully quirky characters to the mix. I really liked Hyzy's new lead character. Grace is a strong protagonist and I look forward to more of her adventures. Grace Under Pressure is a great start to an exciting new series.

For more info on Julie and her books such as the White House chef mysteries, visit her website.

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by the author, Julie Hyzy.