Series spotlight: The Freddie and Grace Mystery Series by Pepper Basham

   I discovered this author a year ago, and the first book I read by her was a year ago yesterday: The Mistletoe Countess. I had heard a lot about the book, and totally loved it, the characters, and the author's writing style. 

  The book came out in September 2021. I am thinking the author didn't intend it to be a series. The second book, The Cairo Curse, didn't come out until February 2023, and the third book, The Juliet Code came out at the beginning of this month.

  The series starts out in 1913. There is an arranged marriage between Lord Frederick Astley and the oldest Ferguson daughter. The younger sister, Grace ends up having to step in and marry Frederick at the last minute.

  These books are really good. Frederick is a little older than Grace - about 10 years according to the author - and they are totally opposites. He is serious and a bit stodgy, and she is the opposite. Everything is an adventure, and she almost looks for trouble, and mysteries to solve, and he goes along for the ride.

 Here is an excerpt from the newest book that had me laughing out loud:

"His attention came to her, expression softening in that endearing look he always bestowed on her.

Well, when he wasn't staring at her as if she'd grown feather from her head.

Or as if he was going to lose her forever.

Or as if he was bracing himself for some horrible revelation.

And then there was merely the confused look.

Hmm. What an odd assortment of expressions.

"Yes?"

"I was speaking with Jack yesterday about something in his book." She squeezed her hands together on her lap, and suddenly her husband's endearing look took a confused turn. Now, what on earth could have caused such a change?

"There's a chapter on self-defense that references cane fighting." His expression dipped into the "horrible revelation" category. She'd better just rush on ahead to put him at ease. "And I thought that a parasol could be nearly as effective as a cane and wondered if you minded if I asked Jack to teach me how to cane fight." His expression moved through various other looks, starting with the feathers growing from her head and ending with him pinching the bridge of his nose and releasing a long sigh. Ah, she'd forgotten about that one. She called it the "God, help me" look."

 These books are mystery/suspense, and are awesome books that are extremely well written, and have launched the author into my favorites. The back and forth between the two main characters is very entertaining, as is Freddie's reactions to his wife's outlandish antics and words. 

 I am hoping there is at least one more book. 

About the author

Pepper Basham is a best-selling author who writes romance “peppered” with grace and humor. Writing both historical and contemporary novels, she loves to incorporate her native Appalachian culture and/or her unabashed adoration of the UK into her stories. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the wife of a fantastic pastor, mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus. Her twentieth book, The Cairo Curse, came out in February. Next up is Positively, Penelope, the sequel to her bestselling novel, Authentically, Izzy. She loves connecting with readers and other authors through social media outlets like Facebook & Instagram. 

You can learn more about Pepper and her books on her website at www.pepperdbasham.com