| The Merlot Murders ((Wine Country Mysteries, Book 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Ellen Crosby
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 62260
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.5 x 4.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 1416536043
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781416536048
ASIN: 1416536043
Publication Date: July 31, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
"Finely ladled suspense," says the Sun-Sentinel about the complex flavor of Ellen Crosby's debut mystery set in the wealthy Blue Ridge wine country of northern Virginia, where vineyard heiress Lucie Montgomery must find a killer or lose her cherished family heritage.Leland Montgomery's death was deemed accidental, but when his daughter Lucie returns home from France, she finds the once-thriving family vineyard run down, collapsing under huge debt. Lucie's godfather warns her that Leland's demise may have been the result of an attempt to force the sale of the vineyard. Her extravagant brother and rebellious sister are determined to sell the estate, and there's something suspicious about the vintner her father hired right before he died. When another oenophile turns up dead, asphyxiated in a tank of Merlot, Lucie -- the lone holdout preventing the vineyard's sale -- realizes she's next in line for an "accident." Can she trust in the proverb in vino veritas -- in wine there is truth -- as she attempts to survive a very bad year for Merlot?
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 It's Going to be a Bumpy Ride February 19, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I started this out on audio, didn't much care for it, then switched to the book and enjoyed it much better.
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.
 Merlot Murders January 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great book especially if you live in or around VA. The characters are really interesting and you learn a lot about wine making. The book is the first in a series of four books and the second one is even better (The Chardonnay Charade). Recommended to anyone who likes murder mysteries.
 Wine country Mystery October 20, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is deep with history and wine. The action is a bit meladramatic and predictable. The main character seems like a bit of a push over and her brother is a jerk.
Wonderful combination of history, winemaking & murder September 8, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Crosby has topped her first novel, Moscow Nights, by exchanging the bleak Soviet landscape for the luscious hills of Virginia. Other reviewers have reiterated the plot, so I'll confine my comments to the feel and breadth of the book. When I pick up a contemporary murder mystery (not so often these days) I don't expect to be wowed by the historical and technical detail in it. Somehow the author works Virginia, Civil War and wine making history into the story without interfering in the unfolding events of multiple murder. By the end of the book, I felt I needed to know how wine is processed and aged in order to fully grasp what was happening. I found myself rereading the descriptions of the barrel room and surroundings instead of skimming over them. I agree with the reviewer who thought Lucie was the only likeable character in the book. The first person narrative had us inside her skin and her paranoid, askewed perceptions. The old adage, "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you," certainly applies to Lucie's predicament. Crosby expertly evokes Lucie's combined anger and grief over her injury, heart break and familys deaths. Somehow the character reaches into herself to get the strength to hold onto what was dear to her mother, the person most beloved by her. The oppressive heat and humidity only compound the heavy atmosphere of the book. The many (quirky)characters suggest a real community and also offer a cast for future stories. It will be interesting to see if and how Crosby develops Lucie's personality and allows her wounds to heal.
A PROMISING DEBUT FOR A NEW MYSTERY SERIES August 25, 2006
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
"Murders don't happen in Atoka, Virginia. People don't even litter there."
At least that's what Lucie thought when she returned to her family's vineyard after two years in France. She had gone to Europe in order to recuperate from a near fatal auto accident which left her with a badly disfigured leg and dependent upon a cane. Greg had been driving the car. He not only left her physically injured but also heartbroken. So, escaping to Grasse where she worked as a perfume institute guide had seemed like an excellent idea.
She is coming home after a telephone call from her brother, Eli, informing her of their father's death. She is told he died in a hunting accident. Losing her father so suddenly is trauma enough but Lucie is all but devastated when she sees the state of her family's home and winery - utter disrepair. Further, Eli has already made funeral arrangements for their father without consulting her. It's going to be quick, too fast for Lucie.
Eli isn't at all the brother she remembered. He's now the picture of sartorial elegance, married to Brandi who reminds all of a Playboy centerfold, and eager to get his hands on cash by selling their vineyard. Selling is out of the question as far as Lucie is concerned: "My mother had been excited by the renaissance in Virginia wine making that took place in the 1970s, among the first to see the possibilities of converting some of our acreage from growing hay to growing grapes. To give up now on her dreams, when our vines were just coming into their best production years, was unthinkable."
Greg still has the burnished good looks of a Greek god and is dating Lucie's younger sister. Her godfather, Fitz, has taken to the bottle far too often. When he's found dead in a vat of Merlot some would like to say he fell in during a drunken stupor. Two mysterious deaths are two too many, and when Lucie realizes that someone would like her out of the way she determines not to be the third. She finds an ally in a most unlikely man.
Ellen Crosby, a reporter for the Washington Post, enriches her story with information about wine making and descriptions of the verdant Virginia countryside. She builds suspense with a practiced hand, keeping readers turning pages until the mystery is solved. A promising debut!
- Gail Cooke
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