Grace Under Pressure

Manor House Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Julie Hyzy

Narrated by: Emily Durante

Everyone wants a piece of millionaire Bennett Marshfield, owner of Marshfield Manor, but now it's up to new curator Grace Wheaton and handsome groundskeeper Jack Embers to protect dear old Marshfield. But to do this, they'll have to investigate a botched Ponzi scheme, some torrid Wheaton family secrets - and sour grapes out for revenge.

©2010 Julie Hyzy (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Well-drawn characters like busybody secretary Frances, handsome landscape architect Jack, and stalking wannabe PI Ronny are supported by lively subplots, laying series groundwork to rival Marshfield Manor's own elaborate structure." ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

Secret rooms and fascinating artifacts in cozy mys

I adore Julie Hyzy's White House Chef Mysteries, then I saw that she has her first in a new series out in Audio books, so I gave it a try. This series is just as interesting and was fun to listen to also!

Grace is a new assistant curator at (fictional) Marshfield Manor. Her family is from this area and she had spent many happy days here as a child. Unfortunately, a disturbed guest causing a huge scene and then a murder, causes Grace to have to start off her job with much more involvement than she had anticipated. Her gossipy nosey assistant, Frances, seems to know everything about everybody, but she's obviously no fan of Grace. But the hunky gardener , Jack, is considerably nicer. She's helped in stepping in to help protect the rich owner from danger by her two roommates in the beautiful but decaying mansion that her grandmother has left to her.

This mystery has lots of interesting details involving curating in an old mansion. All the different rooms and secrets are especially fascinating --I love old houses and secret rooms. The characters are intensely created with great flaws and creative personalities--some you love and some you love to hate. Hyzy has created another fun cozy series for sure. The narrator for the audio book is wonderful--creating voices distinct for every character. Definite winner!

Goldilocks Would Love It!

Remember when Goldilocks was doing B&E on the Bears’ house looking for “not too ____”? She would have found it with this series - I certainly did. It pushes the “cozy” button without being too soft and syrupy, the characters are believable, the mystery in each book blends well with the overall series story arc (rather than serving as backdrop, which seems way too common these days). The thinly veiled reference to the Biltmore Estate is a really nice touch and handled well. Was sorry to see an ending, but even that was skillfully done. The dialogue could have been a touch more in tune with the area of the country, but I’m really reaching when I’m ticking that off as a “could be better”. Awesome series, and will be exploring more of this author’s work.

Outstanding

Liked the entire book. This is a new series of J. Hyzy. Will be eager to finish this.

An incredible mystery listen

Grace Wheaton, the assistant curator at the 150-room Marshfield Manor filled with priceless art in Julie Hyzy's Grace under Pressure, has just finished dealing with a troublemaker in an issue that required the use of all the security guards when a message comes over the radio that shots have been fired in Bennett Marshfield's office. Rushing up there along with Marshfield, Grace discovers that the curator, Abe Vargas, has been shot. Learning that Abe was scheduled to meet with Marshfield over a threatening letter, Grace suspects that he has been killed in mistake for Marshfield, probably by the letter writer. Then, Grace learns that Marshfield testified that morning against Taft, a man who scammed thousands of people in a giant Ponzi scheme and against which Marshfield blew the whistle. So could one of his victims, who blame Marshfield for the loss of their money, have gone after him when the perpetrator is in jail and inaccessible?

Many twists to the case arise, creating all sorts of intriguing details to make the book really fascinating. Grace has so many things come up that she must deal with, struggling to work with Francis, her hostile and nosy assistant, trying to figure out which employees she can trust, and dealing with some astonishing family business.

I like the character of Grace and really feel that I have come to know the manor personally. I think I would love to get to visit this incredible-sounding place. Grace also has a pair of well-drawn roommates, Scott and Bruce, who own a wine shop and help her cope with the difficulties of life. It is very unusual to find gay characters, let alone significant characters, in a cozy mystery, so I found this detail refreshing.

Emily Durante narrates the audio version of this book. I have enjoyed her performances in the past and appreciated it in this book too.

I thoroughly enjoyed Grace under Pressure at least as much as I have enjoyed Hyzy's other series I have read and loved. It has a strong mystery plot, great characters, and a lot of enjoyable details. I highly recommend this book and give it five stars!

Loved it!!!

This book was fun and fast paced with many twists and turns. I look forward to the next book and the progression of the different storylines. I especially want to see what happens with the sister and ex fiance. I recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries.