Grace Wheaton's strength has been tested with her mother's passing and the inheritance of a lovely Victorian Painted Lady home that is in desperate need of some T.L.C. A true sign of Grace's mettle just might come as she seeks answers to the mysterious happenings surrounding her new job at a stately hotel, Marshfield Manor.

Julie Hyzy starts off her new Manor House Mystery series with GRACE UNDER PRESSURE... and an exciting start it is! There's been a murder at Marshfield Manor and it soon falls to Grace to sleuth out the clues that will lead to the killer.

Grace discovers her employer, Bennett Marshfield, has been receiving threatening letters and he is one of the primary witnesses against former friends who are running a complicated Ponzi scheme. As the new Curator of the Manor, Grace begins to poke around to determine what led to the death of the former curator. Quickly, she begins to dig up secrets galore -- more than she bargained for and secrets that some one would just as soon she let lie.

Known for her White House Mystery series, Hyzy begins her second series with GRACE UNDER PRESSURE. Establishing back story, character identities, and other details take precedence in this story, but Hyzy also holds her reader's attention with a creative and stimulating story. I especially enjoyed the fledgling romance between Grace and landscape designer Jack Embers, as well as the interaction with Grace's roommates, vintners Bruce and Scott. Future visits to Marshfield Manor are sure to be greatly anticipated.