When Valerie Beauvais, author of a book on Thomas Jefferson’s travels through the wine regions of France and Italy, turns up dead near Lucie Montgomery’s Virginia vineyard, Lucie is certain Valerie’s murder has something to do with the authenticity of a 200-year-old bottle of Bordeaux Jefferson may once have purchased for his good friend George Washington. Though Lucie plans to auction off the valuable bottle at a charity fundraiser, it soon becomes apparent others want to get their hands on what’s quickly becoming a wine to die for. As Lucie and her eccentric winemaker Quinn Santori bring in the last grapes of the season, Quinn’s controversial past becomes intertwined with Valerie’s death and the rare Bordeaux. What begins as Lucie’s quiet investigation into the provenance of the Washington wine ends in revealing a web of deceit and betrayal affecting not only the international wine world, but her own world as well.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
August 6, 2008 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780792755999
- File size: 267431 KB
- Duration: 09:17:08
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Crosby's third Wine Country mystery involves the intricacies of wine making and murder. In the wine country of Virginia, Lucie Montgomery, who runs a vineyard, is in charge of a charity auction that features a bottle of Bordeaux supposedly purchased by Thomas Jefferson for George Washington. But is it real? As she delves into the wine's history, Lucie's quest is jolted by a couple of murders. Christine Marshall does a credible job of portraying Lucie and her grandfather, but the minor characters are barely distinguishable from one another. The narration is uneven--sometimes slowing to a pace that is downright irritating. Overall, Crosby's effort to integrate murder and wine making doesn't quite work. M.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine -
June 2, 2008
Harvest time dumps a jeroboam of trouble on the doorstep of vintner Lucie Montgomery in Crosby's fizzy third mystery set in Virginia wine country (after 2007's The Chardonnay Charade
). During an oenophilic supper at Mount Vernon, glamorous guest lecturer Valerie Beauvais hints there's something suspect about the prize bottle—a Bordeaux Thomas Jefferson supposedly bought for George Washington in 1790—to be auctioned at the upcoming charity fund-raiser Lucie will be hosting. But before the wine scholar can make it to Montgomery Estate Vineyard for a personal inspection, she's the victim of a fatal accident. Or is it murder? Turning detective, Lucie quickly finds plenty of bad blood—and deadly secrets—even among the horsey set she counts as friends. Despite a host of lesser players with no more dimension than a wine label and a confusing denouement, the action canters along briskly, infused with plenty of local color and wine lore.
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