Lucie Montgomery returns home to Virginia after living for two years in France recovering from a bad car accident that has left her leg twisted and practically useless. But this doesn't get Lucie down; it's just one more thing to deal with. She is returning home because her father, the head of the family vineyard has died from an apparent hunting accident.
Being away so long has left Lucie out of the loop and she returns to find that the vineyard, is crumbling under debt, her brother Eli is determined to sell off the whole shebang so he can build a new more fabulous home and her little sister Mia is now dating the guy that caused the accident that damaged Lucie's leg.
Not that this isn't complicated already, but when Lucie's godfather is found murdered and the rest of the twisty plot of who done its and who will be murdered next, and who has a secret past and who will save the day. Not to mention a hidden necklace that belonged to Marie Antoinette and Lucie's mother's diaries. Yes, parts do get a little confusing with multiple plot lines and some apparent useless information, but hopefully the second in the series will straighten this out. Amazon Review: http://tinyurl.com/2mj7zn
The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A few years back I read a cozy mystery involving wine, and a vineyard. when I found this book, I was afraid it might be the same book, but after reading it, I realized that it was not. It was very close, but not the same place or time or storyline.
I am not a big wine drinker, although the older I get the more I want to know more about wine and to enjoy wine. So this book has information about wine making, wine growing and history. The additional information on types of wine, the varieties, where wine is grown and how it is made is so interesting and enjoyable to read.
This story is set in Virginia, and yes, they can grow grapes there as well. We all think of france or California when we think of wine, but I live in Indiana, and we have two excellent wineries in our town, and they grow their grapes right here in the heart of the midwest.
Our lead is Luci, and she was involved in a terrible car accident about 4 years earlier, leaving her with some struggles, in fact it took awhile before she could walk again, so she took off and went to France, to a family house that was well run-down, to lick her wound and learn to live again.
An early morning phone call from her brother rocks her world and life as she knew it. Her father is dead. Her brother says it was an accident and to come home so they can sell the family vineyard. She is not so sure about the accident part, and she refuses to sell. This sets up the battle between brother and sister that carries through the book.
Luci comes home to find alot of things have changed since she left 4 years ago, yet some things are the same, and she works to discover what is going on. There are many suspects into who might want her father one, and who wants her family to sell the vineyard, and so as she works to figure it all out and what exactly is going on, she discovered the truth about people she knew.
It is a good, fun and exciting read. It took me until the end to figure out who was behind everything, in fact, when she said she knew, i was still unsure, until she told me. It was a real difference and a change and not exactly who you thought.
I so enjoyed the book, and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
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Lucie Montgomery returns home to Virginia after living for two years in France recovering from a bad car accident that has left her leg twisted and practically useless. But this doesn't get Lucie down; it's just one more thing to deal with. She is returning home because her father, the head of the family vineyard has died from an apparent hunting accident.
Being away so long has left Lucie out of the loop and she returns to find that the vineyard, is crumbling under debt, her brother Eli is determined to sell off the whole shebang so he can build a new more fabulous home and her little sister Mia is now dating the guy that caused the accident that damaged Lucie's leg.
Not that this isn't complicated already, but when Lucie's godfather is found murdered and the rest of the twisty plot of who done its and who will be murdered next, and who has a secret past and who will save the day. Not to mention a hidden necklace that belonged to Marie Antoinette and Lucie's mother's diaries. Yes, parts do get a little confusing with multiple plot lines and some apparent useless information, but hopefully the second in the series will straighten this out.
Cathy C. (cathyskye) - Lucie Montgomery is a complex character, and the plot certainly isn't short of family dynamics with her obnoxious brother Eli, his greedy wife, and their gullible little sister. There's also a head vintner on the property whose motivations aren't very clear.
Added to the first-rate mystery are fascinating snippets of the history of wine making in Virginia. Between this series and Martin Walker's series set in France, I have a feeling that I'm going to end up being a very knowledgeable oenophobe. Crosby also gives an outline of Lucie's family history as well as the house and vineyard. This information put me firmly in Lucie's No Sale camp, but it also made me wonder why no one else in the family felt the same way.
See? Although the mystery is taken care of through the course of The Merlot Murders, I'm left with questions about Lucie and her family, and this is definitely going to make me continue reading the series. Bring on the chardonnay!
Stephanie S. (punkinema) - 