Manor House Mystery Series

Everyone wants a piece of millionaire Bennett Marshfield, owner of Marshfield Manor, but now it's up to new curator Grace Wheaton and handsome groundskeeper Jack Embers to protect dear old Marshfield. But to do this, they'll have to investigate a botched Ponzi scheme, some torrid Wheaton family secrets-and sour grapes out for revenge.

Civil war reenactors have set up camp on the grounds of Marshfield Manor. The group is very believable, especially when the unrest spills out of the barracks and inside the sumptuous mansion. Grace Wheaton, the curator and manager of the manor, manages to settle a minor squabble but loses the war when actor Zachary Kincade is found stabbed to death.

When Grace Wheaton's former professor calls to warn her that there have been a rash of thefts at various historical sites, Grace isn't surprised, because Marshfield Manor has been targeted, too. She wonders if it has something to do with the film crew roaming the grounds, digitally immortalizing the manor, but then she gets distracted by an incident much more dire: the shooting of one guest and the murder of another.

When Grace Wheaton and her boss, Bennett Marshfield, turn up at the Italian villa of one of his oldest friends, they're troubled to discover that most of his friend's impressive art collection - including a prized bronze skull crafted by Picasso - is fake. Someone has been selling the real deals and replacing them with skilled forgeries. Unfortunately, Grace and Bennett have to fly home the next day, so there's no time to investigate. But their troubles are hardly over.

With the town clock in desperate need of repair, local lawyer Joyce Swedburg and her ex-husband, Dr. Leland Keay, are trying to put their differences aside to organize a benefit at Marshfield Manor to raise money to restore the beautiful timepiece. While Grace Wheaton, the mansion's curator and manager, 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.

When Grace's estranged sister, Liza, shows up on her doorstep, the timing couldn't be worse. Grace's beloved boss and benefactor, Bennett Marshfield, has finally gotten her to agree to a DNA test to establish if he is, in fact, her uncle. If so, Grace would move from being the trusted curator and manager of Marshfield Manor to Bennett's heir. And her duplicitous sister would be right behind her in the line of inheritance.

Grace Wheaton, curator and manager of Marshfield Manor, and her benefactor, Bennett Marshfield, are discussing how to help her roommates Bruce and Scott with their wine shop troubles when Grace's trusted - if testy - assistant, Frances, calls, saying she needs some assistance of her own. Arriving at the address Frances has given them, they find a coroner's van and police cars parked outside an upscale assisted-living facility called Indwell.

Now that Grace Wheaton has officially been named heir to Bennett Marshfield's fortune, her usually busy schedule has become a juggling act. In addition to her duties at Marshfield Manor, she's bankrolling her roommates' refurbished wine shop, Amethyst Cellars. Grace is excited to check out the rustic space with Bruce and Scott. But that excitement turns to dismay when they stumble upon the body of the banker involved with the sale.