Since I read my first book by Pepper Basham, I will pick up almost anything she writes. I've had a dearth of good ARC books to read lately and I was thrilled to see her newest novel come up in my potential books to read. Pepper's style runs toward a literary inclusivity, with references to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austen, and others. Books play a huge part of the plot and enhance the characters' attractiveness.
Frederick Percy, Earl of Astley, has made a deal with Mr. Ferguson to marry one of his daughters in exchange for a sum of money that will save his home. The promised daughter is Lillias Ferguson, but she's not mentioned specifically in the contract. When Gracelynn finds out Lillias' secret, she offers to stand in for her sister in the marriage contract.
At times I was confused about the timeline of the events happening in the novel, I thought that the wedding was supposed to happen right at Christmas, but it seemed to have been a few weeks earlier, because when Frederick and Grace get back to England, Grace is given free reign to decorate Havensbrook for Christmas to her heart's content.
The most important line in the whole book is this: "There's no need to ponder what ifs. They steal the truth of what is." This seems to be what Grace lives by. As events unfold over a short period of time, Frederick and Grace have to put on their sleuthing hats to find the truth, and get caught up in a web of greed, deceit, and murder. The intrigue of those events keep the reader involved until the very last page.
Pepper has included in her cast of characters a very embittered mother/mother-in-law who would make most other monsters-in-law look kind by comparison, a greedy and power-hungry wench who stoops to murder to get her way, a cast of minions who follow orders a little too exuberantly, and a household staff that falls in love with their new mistress because they simply cannot resist her winsome and caring ways. I asked Pepper where she came up with Lady Moriah, Frederick's mother. I wondered if she'd been reading reddit stories about women who live to make their in-law children's lives miserable. She said that Lady Moriah's past figured into her present personality and mood, that she was a broken woman in need of redemption. And she truly is.
There is one character that needs his own book, Frederick's friend, Blake. He seems to have all kinds of knowledge about marriage for someone who has never been married himself. He always shows up at just the right time to save the day. He needs someone to shake up his life and make him see what he's missing.
This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a Deerhunter hat for sleuthing. 
Barbour Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
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