The Viognier Vendetta: A Wine Country Mystery

Ellen Crosby´s beguiling (Kirkus Reviews) fifth mystery takes readers into Washington´s corridors of power, where Lucie Montgomery uncovers a political and financial scandal while trying to locate her missing friend. WHEN LUCIE MONTGOMERY VISITS Washington, D.C., during cherry blossom season she doesn´t expect her reunion with old friend Rebecca Natale is a setup. But Rebecca disappears into thin air after running an errand for her boss, billionaire philanthropist and investment guru Sir Thomas Asher. Also missing: an antique silver wine cooler looted by British soldiers before they burned the White House during the War of 1812. The next morning Lucie identifies Rebecca´s neatly folded clothes found in a rowboat floating in the Potomac River. Is it suicide, murder--or an elaborate scheme to disappear? A clandestine meeting in the U.S. Capitol, a startling revelation on a windy hill, and cryptic messages from Rebecca cloaked in eighteenth-century poetry are all part of the suspenseful tale of whether Rebecca is alive or dead--and the truth about Asher Investments. Featuring an absorbing plot, colorful characters, and fascinating winemaking detail, The Viognier Vendetta combines an entertaining mystery with luminous prose that has become Crosby´s trademark.