The Bordeaux Betrayal: A Wine Country Mystery (Wine Country Mysteries)
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'sThe 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.(Aug.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.