Description (from cover):'When Marshfield Manor hosts a charity event, Grace Wheaton, the mansion's curator and manager, is happy to lend a helping hand--until a killer makes an unwanted donation...
With the town clock in desperate need of repair, local lawyer Joyce Swedburg and her ex-husband, Dr. Leland Keay, are trying to put aside their differences to organize a benefit at Marshfield Manor to raise money for restoration of the beautiful timepiece. While Grace appreciates the opportunity to support such a good cause, the tension between the unhappy exes is giving her the urge to put both of the organizers in time-out.
But after Leland collapses onstage, poisoned during the festivities, Grace suspects there was more going on behind the scenes. Now, she's in a race to catch a ticked-off murderer, and, if she's going to prevent anyone else from getting hurt, every second will count...'
My thoughts:
I usually enjoy this series a lot more than I did with this book. For some reason, this book didn't capture my attention like the others in this series usually do. I am not quite sure why. Maybe it's the main character's indecisiveness in this one that irked me a little or maybe it just is not what I expected from this series. The ending was good, the meat of the book was good, but there was really nothing that really made me say "wow." When I read other books in this series, I felt like I got a little something more out of it than this go around. Don't get me wrong, it still was a good read. I just had a hard time enjoying it as much as other cozies I have read recently.
Grace's character in this one, irked me more than usual. Grace is normally so put together, wonderfully in charge and inquisitive. That is what drew me into her character to begin with. However, in this book, I got an indecisive Grace who was second guessing everything about her personal life and I spent the majority of the book begging for her to make a decision and move on. I understand character development, but in this, it was annoying. It just felt so out of character for one who normally knows what she wants and is not afraid to go for it. It just seems that Grace lost a part of who she was and it was just weird for me as I was reading it.
I adore the setting of a mansion that is open to the general public. It reminds me a lot of the Biltmore House in North Carolina, where I live. It just seems like a place that I would love to be a part of, seeing as I love history. The ending in this one was explosive and probably the best part of the whole book. I will say that the author does leave the ending open for the next book and I am curious to see what happens next for Grace and Marshfield Manor. I have to say that this is most definitely not the best in the series, but a good effort, just not one that really one comes to expect with this series.
Overall Rating: 3
Title: Grace Against the Clock
Author: Julie Hyzy
Series: Manor House Mystery #5
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
Pages: 304
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Get It: Amazon; Barnes & Noble
Disclaimer: This book was purchased by myself and I reviewed this book without compensation of any kind. All thoughts and opinions are solely mine.
