cover image Grace Against the Clock

Grace Against the Clock

Julie Hyzy. Berkley Prime Crime, $7.99 mass market (304p) ISBN 978-0-425-25967-2

In Hyzy’s engaging fifth Manor House mystery (after 2013’s Grace Takes Off), eminent cardiologist Leland Keay, “widely considered to be Emberstowne’s most eligible bachelor,” is supposed to deliver the opening speech at a fund-raiser held at Marshfield Manor, but he collapses on the stage before the program begins. Grace Wheaton, the curator of the manor’s museum, rushes to the doctor’s assistance, but he soon expires, not of natural causes. The coroner determines that Keay, a recovering alcoholic, struggled with someone before that person injected him twice with a lethal dose of pure grain alcohol. An intelligent and perceptive sleuth, Grace works with the police to discover what secrets Keay hid that could have provoked his killer, while also dealing with house renovations and a former suitor. Cozy fans will be well satisfied. [em]Agent: Paige Wheeler, Folio Literary Management. (July) [/em]