GRACE in the WINGS by Kari Bovée – 20th Century Historical Romance, Historical Thriller, Hard-boiled Mystery

Grace Michelle never asked for stardom or fame. Content to sew costumes with her mentor Lucile, Lady Duff Gordon, Grace doesn’t need adoration from anyone. Still, when her sister Sophia, a rising starlet in the Ziegfeld Follies, begins a rapid downhill spiral and then ends up dead, Grace is thrust into the spotlight by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.

Florenz, or Flo, was her savior, rescuing Grace and Sophia from a life on the streets when they were mere children. He enrolled the girls in dance, voice, and acting lessons, too. Now, Grace feels obligated to take up the reins and save his floundering Follies. Grace knows her sister’s death was no accident and definitely not the suicide those around her believe. However, the only place to find the truth is California, where her sister was last seen alive with her new husband, Jack Pickford, brother to the famous actress Mary Pickford.

When Flo sends Grace to Hollywood on a promotional tour, Grace reluctantly agrees, even though it means traveling with Chet Riker, a private investigator indebted to mobster and Flo’s financier, Joe Marciano.  Haunted by Sophia’s death and overwhelmed by the pressure to bring Flo success, Grace doesn’t need to fall for the handsome stranger, but neither can deny the longing they feel. As Grace gets closer to the truth, she realizes everyone is keeping secrets, even Chet, and the only person she can rely on is herself. But will she be enough?

A significant issue raised within the novel is that of female independence. At twenty years old, Grace is just beginning to understand who she is and what she wants from life. Having moved from seamstress to junior designer, she is finally on the path she most desires, one spent in the shadows of the stage, not in the gleaming gel lights her sister so loved.

As Grace finds her voice literally and figuratively, she knows she cannot follow in her sister’s footsteps, neither on stage nor in life. As she investigates Sophia’s death, she becomes emboldened and more sure of herself. Grace learns to challenge those in power, people who would have terrified her before. The more strength she finds, the more righteous anger develops. Though she will fulfill her obligatory role in Flo’s latest scheme, Grace vows to fight for freedom once the promotion trip is over and to never again allow a man to take care of her but to put her own feet on the ground when and where she chooses.

Chet Riker is more than just a pretty face. Tall, dark, and handsome, he fits the image of most romance heroes; however, Chet’s story adds another layer to this period thriller. Chet is haunted by his memories of World War I, a man with a complicated past, but not in the expected “brooding hunk” way. Chet was given up by his mother when he was a boy. Old enough to remember her, Chet spent his life wanting to find her again someday, but when he does, he discovers she is dying and in need of an expensive operation. Money is needed, and that need leads him indebted to a vicious mobster. That debt takes him to Flo, who then attempts to use him in an illegal scheme and eventually sets him up as an unwitting conspirator in his machinations to use Grace. He knows he must pay off his debts or risk his PI career–and possibly his life. Torn between his anger at being used by these two men and his newfound love of Grace Michelle, Chet will have to decide between honor and honesty or ruthlessness and reputation. His story, much like Grace’s, will force him to fight for independence or to remain a captured pawn in a game of titans.

Set against the glamorous stage of the Roaring Twenties, this star-studded whodunnit will not disappoint fans of mystery and history. Grace in the Wings won First in Category in the CIBA 2019 Chatelaine Awards for Romantic Mysteries.