A ghost from her past. Her sister murdered. Can Grace slay her demons and find the killer before she ends up dead?New York City, 1920. Grace Michelle has everything she wants: a home, a family, and a future career as a costume designer for famed showman Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.’s Ziegfeld Follies. Pretty good for a girl who once lived on the streets of New York City. But when her sister, Sophia, the … sister, Sophia, the star of the show, is murdered, Grace’s safe and protected life is shattered.
Battle-scarred by the war and emotionally scarred by his past, Chet Riker has made it a practice to keep his distance from others; love, after all, leads only to pain. But Chet has a problem—a big one: he’s become indebted to mob-boss Joe Marciano in an attempt to save his estranged mother’s life, and Marciano wants him to pay up or else. Desperate to get the money, he contacts former client Florenz Ziegfeld for work.
Soon, Chet finds himself playing bodyguard for introverted Grace, who has reluctantly agreed to be Ziegfeld’s new leading lady—on the condition that Ziegfeld promises to find Sophia’s killer. Upon meeting Grace, Chet quickly finds his hardened theory that love equals pain tested. Grace, meanwhile, is swept up in a life she never wanted as the Follies’ star, and as the pawn in a series of publicity stunts during a transcontinental train trip to California that puts her life at risk. Who would want her and Sophia dead? Together, she and Chet must confront publicity-hungry Florenz Ziegfeld, power-driven Joe Marciano, and their own pasts to find Sophia’s killer—and let themselves love once again.
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Highly recommend! The characters and plot are so multifaceted and interesting- it was so difficult to put down!
This book had several moments within its plot line that left me gripping the edge of my seat. I love books that leave me just needing to read the next chapter, and this book definitely caused a few too many late nights. If you’re looking for a mystery/romance/hopeful story, check this one out!
“Grace in the Wings” was one of those books that I had to stay up to finish, no matter how early I had to be up the next day! There were mystery and love and tragedy and hope and everything any romantic would enjoy. If you’re looking for a new ‘page-turner’, you’ve found it!
Grace in the Wings by Kari Bovee is the first book in the A Grace Michelle Mystery series—an engaging mystery/thriller with a healthy dash of romance. Set in 1920’s New York City and peppered with real life persons and places such as Mary Pickford, Fanny Brice and Ziegfeld Follies, the pace is swift and the story line pulls one in from the start. This is a great start to a new series– I look forward to more!
One of the previous books I read by this author – Folly at the Fair – was also a fiction story wrapped around a bit of real history. When using this approach you have the freedom of writing a fictional murder mystery, but also have to do your research to make sure you portray the time, the characters, the places and they way they behave as accurately as possible. It’s not easy, but when well done like here, it creates a great atmosphere.
This story has a lot of elements to juggle – orphan sisters taken in by Ziegfield (Sophia to become a star and her younger sister Grace to become a costume designer), the burden of old debts, the death Sophia after she weds and moves to the west coast, a distraught Grace looking for the truth (murder or suicide) and forced to try to fill her sister’s shoes on the stage (something she never wanted), a handsome detective named Chet, difficult backstage jealousies, scary interactions with the mob, a trip across the country offering a chance to continue the story in different settings and experience more of the time, a disastrous opening night, a kidnapping and a blossoming love. WHEW!
All through this, we look for answers and hope for the best. Against all odds, will Grace and Chet survive the threats surrounding them, will they find happiness together, and what really did happen to Sophia!
Note – There is one very violent, disturbing chapter in this book where a woman is beaten and keeps coming back for more. Outside of that chapter, the violence gets a lighter hand and is only what is required to tell the story.
I like every book I’ve read by this author – great writing, great characters, great story and I love the historical component !
Grace in the Wings by Kari Bovee is an intriguing historical romance novel with some mystery. Grace in the Wings is the first book in the A Grace Michelle Mystery series. I was captivated from the first page until the last. The mystery kept me turning the pages until the wee hours of the night. A very enjoyable read and a great start to a new series. Grace in the Wings is a very well written and researched book. The descriptions are so vivid that you feel and can visualize everything right down to each piece of clothing. In this book we have a lot of mystery with some romance sprinkled in with characters that are well defined and believable. This was an entertaining book that kept me guessing until the end. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.