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Grace Period
The high life of a hedge fund attorney was not on Grace Locke’s radar back when she was eating ramen and defending the guilty, but only fools turn down second chances, especially those that come with lots of zeros attached. When Grace rekindles her romance with her ex-husband, Manny, he introduces her to his childhood friend and hedge fund king Ricky Bustamante. Soon, Grace signs on as Millennium Capital’s new General Counsel and in no time, she’s living in a mansion, flying private jets to Europe and the Caribbean, and staying in five star hotels. Why not? She’s paid her dues. Now it’s time to reap the benefits of her Ivy League education and to leave the past where it belongs—in the past.
Maybe it’s the happy haze of romance or the lure of a life of luxury, but Grace soon forgets the fundamental fact she learned in the fog of war—nothing lasts forever—nothing good anyway. So, the first cryptic warning about her new life, she ignores. The second one, too. Words are just that—words—until one sunny day when those words become actions. When the good life turns bad, then deadly, the former soldier is left with no choice but to do what she knows best—fight like hell to save herself and those she loves.
Praise for Grace Period
“Grace Period is an outstanding novel. A bracing thriller that veers from the street-level drug trade to the deadly sins of high finance. But its ambitions are bolder and bigger. Mandy Miller has created a vivid portrait of love and loss and surviving the wreckage. She has given us something special in the relentless, if bruised, character of Grace Locke.”
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Good Night, Forever; My Detective, and The Last Dance
“Grace Period is an unflinching and impassioned novel about corruption writ large, about dirty money in the hands of the filthy rich, about a netherworld where no one is safe, and no one is innocent. Mandy Miller is at the top of her writing game here as defense attorney for the destitute, Grace Locke, gets caught up in the world of international money laundering, art forgery, shell companies, and murder. Just when you think the plot can’t take one more twist, the story turns in a strange new direction.”
—John Dufresne, author of New York Times Notable Books of the Year Louisiana Power and Light and Love Warps the Mind A Little; Storyville; The Lie That Tells the A Guide to Writing Fiction; and I Don’t Like Where This is Going
Maybe it’s the happy haze of romance or the lure of a life of luxury, but Grace soon forgets the fundamental fact she learned in the fog of war—nothing lasts forever—nothing good anyway. So, the first cryptic warning about her new life, she ignores. The second one, too. Words are just that—words—until one sunny day when those words become actions. When the good life turns bad, then deadly, the former soldier is left with no choice but to do what she knows best—fight like hell to save herself and those she loves.
Praise for Grace Period
“Grace Period is an outstanding novel. A bracing thriller that veers from the street-level drug trade to the deadly sins of high finance. But its ambitions are bolder and bigger. Mandy Miller has created a vivid portrait of love and loss and surviving the wreckage. She has given us something special in the relentless, if bruised, character of Grace Locke.”
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Good Night, Forever; My Detective, and The Last Dance
“Grace Period is an unflinching and impassioned novel about corruption writ large, about dirty money in the hands of the filthy rich, about a netherworld where no one is safe, and no one is innocent. Mandy Miller is at the top of her writing game here as defense attorney for the destitute, Grace Locke, gets caught up in the world of international money laundering, art forgery, shell companies, and murder. Just when you think the plot can’t take one more twist, the story turns in a strange new direction.”
—John Dufresne, author of New York Times Notable Books of the Year Louisiana Power and Light and Love Warps the Mind A Little; Storyville; The Lie That Tells the A Guide to Writing Fiction; and I Don’t Like Where This is Going
318 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 7, 2024
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2 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 2, 2024
Love the book.
I noticed author Mandy Miller made an appearance at my local bookstore here in Steamboat Springs and I'm sorry I missed her author talk. However, I took a chance on Grace Period to make up for that, drawn by the drugs/legal/Florida themes, and am glad I to have read it.
Miller knows the law and writes evocative, detailed descriptions of Florida locations which add greatly to the story. Grace Locke is an engaging character -- unique, capable, and full of flaws. The book is a page-turner. Recommend.
I noticed author Mandy Miller made an appearance at my local bookstore here in Steamboat Springs and I'm sorry I missed her author talk. However, I took a chance on Grace Period to make up for that, drawn by the drugs/legal/Florida themes, and am glad I to have read it.
Miller knows the law and writes evocative, detailed descriptions of Florida locations which add greatly to the story. Grace Locke is an engaging character -- unique, capable, and full of flaws. The book is a page-turner. Recommend.
April 12, 2026
Great Plot; took entirely too long to get to it though
This was hard to rate. The overall plot was great with surprising twists and turns; however, I was mostly bored with the first half of the book. It took entirely too long to build said plot, which was annoying. The ending left too much hanging, but I guess that’s to draw you into the next book when it comes out-I didn’t care for certain things being left unanswered, I could explain, but that would have to include spoilers so I won’t. And then there’s the typos! Typically typos don’t bother me, I just skim over them and I have never commented on typos before this. But these were too much. I occasionally found myself needing to reread a sentance multiple times to figure out what the heck the author was trying to say. It definitely impacted the overall reading experience. After reading the first book in this series I thought I had found my next favorite author of this genre; after the second book, I felt eh, okay; after this one, I’m not entirely sure I want to continue the series, but I’ll probably try one more to see if this was just a one off fluke.
This was hard to rate. The overall plot was great with surprising twists and turns; however, I was mostly bored with the first half of the book. It took entirely too long to build said plot, which was annoying. The ending left too much hanging, but I guess that’s to draw you into the next book when it comes out-I didn’t care for certain things being left unanswered, I could explain, but that would have to include spoilers so I won’t. And then there’s the typos! Typically typos don’t bother me, I just skim over them and I have never commented on typos before this. But these were too much. I occasionally found myself needing to reread a sentance multiple times to figure out what the heck the author was trying to say. It definitely impacted the overall reading experience. After reading the first book in this series I thought I had found my next favorite author of this genre; after the second book, I felt eh, okay; after this one, I’m not entirely sure I want to continue the series, but I’ll probably try one more to see if this was just a one off fluke.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews