The Viognier Vendetta

Virginia vintner Lucie Montgomery returns in her fifth mystery. This time she begins by visiting Washington, D.C., during cherry-blossom season. Lucie is excited and intrigued to meet up with an old friend, Rebecca Natale, who is working as an assistant to a philanthropist and investment counselor. But the next morning Lucie is asked to identify Rebecca’s clothes, found in a rowboat floating in the Potomac. Is her friend staging an elaborate disappearance, or could this be suicide, or even murder? Clues include messages to be found in the writings of Alexander Pope and in the history of the War of 1812. As Lucie travels back and forth between her Montgomery Estate Vineyard and various D.C. venues, the wine business and her relationship with winemaker Quinn Santori begin to take a backseat to solving the mystery of Rebecca’s disappearance. The meticulously researched historical background—always a hallmark in Crosby’s novels—is nicely balanced by an intriguing mystery.