Tuesday, June 29, 2010

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.

33 comments:

  1. I have this book in my tbr pile..Can't wait to see what you think.
    CMash

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  2. Great teaser! I'll have to add the book to my wishlist. Here is my teaser from A Short History of Nearly Everything.

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  3. Sounds like a fun read! Enjoy.

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  4. Great teaser, and the book cover is very interesting ... looks like a nice place to hang out (except for the bullet hole in the window).

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  5. Great teaser, and I liked the review, a cozy mystery? Now I have to put it on my tbr list.

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  6. Thanks, Kaye, for featuring Grace on Teaser Tuesday. I'm delighted to know you enjoyed the book! You have a wonderful blog. Thanks for including me!

    Julie

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  7. Great teaser! I love cozy mysteries, so I'll add this one on my list!

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  8. I should use that on my son... lol

    http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2010/06/teaser_28.html

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  9. That sounds like fun. I love a good mystery!

    My teaser from The Rule of Nine is here.

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  10. Just by looking at it, I wouldn't think I'd be interested ... but, after the review, I think it definitely has to go on my TBR list. Great job! And thank you for visiting my blog!

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  11. Great teaser and review, Kaye! Have not yet decided whether to try this new series or not. I have so many going already, LOL!

    My post: Cut to the Corpse

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  12. I'm not one for cozy mysteries, I have to say, but I hope you enjoy this! Thanks for dropping by my blog.

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  13. Sounds like the start of a fun series.

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  14. Sounds great! I love cozy mystery series, so I'll have to check this one out.

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  15. Sounds like a fun book! My teasers are at The Crowded Leaf.

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  16. Sounds like a fun read. Hope you're enjoying it!

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  17. Cute teaser!

    Here are teasers this week!

    Have a great day!
    ♥Isalys

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  18. Sounds like a great, old-fashioned mystery!

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  19. Oh dear...that's just putting it out there, isn't it? I wonder how the eavesdropper responds. Great teaser!

    Thanks for visiting my blog today!

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  20. Sounds like a great book - I'm going to add this book to my TBR list.

    Here's my teaser.

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  21. Sounds like a really fun book - ive been getting into these crime/mystery books lately. Ill look out for your review

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  22. OMG, I am sug a dag. Thanks Kaye. I read it and everything and nothing twigged. I can only claim in my defense that being at work kills my brain cells :-)

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  23. Sounds like a good book! :)

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  24. I have this series in my TBR. It sounds wonderful!

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  25. Great teaser! I hope you will check out mine for Stephanie Meyer's latest novel The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner! Also, if you check back on my blog this Friday I have huge news about the novels I had been submitting to agents/publishers!

    Sincerely,
    Emma Michaels
    http://EmmaMichaels.Blogspot.com

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  26. Great teaser! Wonder who they have been eavesdropping on?

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  27. Love the name of your blog! Enjoy your book, sounds very interesting.

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  28. Fun teaser! Assistants also know more than they should.

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  29. Sounds fun!

    thanks for stopping by.

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  30. Sounds like another cozy to jump into. I think after I have read my ARCs for the summer that I'm going to dedicate November just to fast, fun, cozy mystery books!!

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