I always enjoy July Hyzy's writing and Grace Sees Red wasn't an exception, even if the mystery plot relied completely on the "friend in peril" trope.
The mystery in this one is the murder of an old cantankerous goat of a man at a very posh assisted living facility in a neighbouring town. We learn about Grace's assistant's long-standing secret about where she spends her weekends at the same time we learn she's the number one suspect in the murder. The basis for suspicion felt a bit weak to me from the start, and I've always thought Frances needed her ears boxed - the author takes cranky a bit too far to be loveable - but otherwise I love the characters, so it was easy enough to overlook. I didn't figure out who the real bad guy was though, and I count that as a win. Hyzy never goes the expected route with romantic interests so Grace is still a free agent and we are introduced to a new possible romance, one that has potential to be interesting.
So even though it looks from the last line of the book that we're going to be recycling a previous plot (the sister - she's back!), I'm still firmly on board for book 8.