Grace Among Thieves

Grace Among ThievesIn Kari Bovée’s Grace Among the Thieves, Grace finally gets to meet her father. Why had her father waited so long to contact her? She thought he was dead. Many years dead. When had he remarried? When had he become a heroin addict, and why?

Who would beat Anna Ivanova almost to death for a mysterious package? Valentina Baklanova, Ivanova’s niece, draws Grace into the investigation. Baklanova works at the same Hollywood studio as Grace.

The pressure on Grace and her friends ramps up when Madeleine, her father’s second wife, is kidnapped, and a note left about the same mysterious package.

Grace and Chet, her husband, are faced with keeping their circle of family and friends safe as murders and break-ins abound. Will they be successful and find the package? And learn what it contains? Will they succeed and beat the clock?

Why does Grace remain fixated on her sister four years after her death? Including still wearing Sophia’s dressing gown in the evenings and mornings. Grace now has a loving husband, a promising job as a clothes designer and as a costume designer for Ambassador Studio. As well, she and her husband care for a few teenage orphans.

Likeable Characters

In this third entry in the Grace Michelle Mystery series, Kari Bovée succeeds in growing Grace in confidence and likeability. The plot moves along at a fair pace. However, the supernatural aspect, in the form of Grace’s dreams and voices initiated by Sophia, her deceased sister, leaves a lot to be desired. Those aspects slow the plot and are not really believable. Sophia’s ghost does a lot of the heavy lifting in the hunt for the package and the crime’s solution. She provides connections and hints that could have been better provided through other, natural, means.

I have read the first and third installments in Grace Michelle Mystery series. I’m not sure I will read other books in this particular series. Although I like the characters more in this book than in Grace in the Wings, the plot in Grace Among Thieves had aspects that were less than credible.

See my review of Grace in the Wings, here.

I received a free copy of Grace Among Thieves from ireadbooktours.com in exchange for an honest review.

Grace in the Wings

Grace in the WingsFlorenz “Flo” Ziegfeld, Jr., Fanny Brice, Mary Pickford, Hedda Hopper. These are a few of the famous Broadway and Hollywood names from the early 20th century mentioned in Kari Bovée’s Grace in the Wings. But this name dropping gets the story off to a very sluggish start.

Grace Michelle, the smart, beautiful, younger sister of Sophia, one of Ziegfeld’s stars in the eponymous Follies, works as an assistant costumier there. After Sophia’s death, Grace is thrown into a number of unusual circumstances, including trying to determine if, and how, Sophia was murdered.

Flo Ziegfield masterminds making Grace the star of his Follies to replace Sophia. He also masterminds sending her on a whistle-stop, cross-country train trip to drum up business for his show. The publicist, Donovan Green, sent along to assist, nearly gets Grace killed during this trip. “How did I get into this mess? All I want to do is design and sew costumes.”  Thus muses Grace to Chet Riker, her bodyguard and new love interest. Did Sophia commit suicide or was it murder? And why would Chet mislead Grace when she asked questions about her sister’s death and the police report?

Change in the Wings

Also, Grace is innocent and naïve at the beginning of Grace in the Wings. For someone orphaned and homeless at a young age, and who then led a life in the theater, she’s too innocent and naïve. Did Grace never wonder what Sophia did to keep them alive while they lived on the street and after Flo Ziegfeld took them under his wing. However, Grace does change and mature as the novel progresses.

I was gradually drawn into Grace in the Wings, even though the plot was sluggish in spots. But tension and suspense did ramp up. Bovée provides great characterization of Grace, Flo Ziegfeld, Fanny Brice and some of the minor characters. Grace, especially, comes into her own.

I look forward to reading other installments of the Grace Michelle Mystery Series.
I received a free e-book copy of Grace in the Wings from ireadbooktours.com in exchange for an honest review.

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $35 PayPal gift card, autographed copy of GRACE AMONG THIEVES, and gift basket containing mouse pad, mug, and tote bag courtesy of the author of the Grace Michelle Mysteries! (one winner/USA only) (ends April 4)

https://gleam.io/0V9S1/grace-among-thieves-grace-michelle-mysteries-tour-giveaway