Review by Booklist Review
When winery workers find a female human skull buried just outside the Montgomery family cemetery in Atoka, Virginia, Lucie Montgomery believes the young woman must be one of her ancestors. So she begins to research her family's past, hoping to uncover the dead woman's identity and learn how she died. Meanwhile, the winemaker at a neighboring winery, aristocratic lothario Jean-Claude de Merignac, a teenage crush of Lucie's, is murdered, and the chief suspect is Miguel, a worker who argued with him and then disappeared after the killing. Lucie is pressured into investigating Jean-Claude's death when her workers threaten to boycott the harvest unless she clears Miguel. Complicating matters further, Lucie receives explosive information from the results of her DNA test. Through researching family and library documents and talking to people, Lucie identifies the dead woman, learns troubling things about the family's past, and unmasks a killer all while a major hurricane bears down on the winery. The winery frame story supports the multifaceted plot, as do details layered into the tale about genealogical research, forensic anthropology, and DNA testing.--Sue O'Brien Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The discovery of a skull on the property of vintner Lucie Montgomery in Atoka, Va., kick-starts Crosby's well-crafted seventh Wine Country mystery (after 2017's The Vineyard Victims). Besides trying to determine the origin of human remains on her family land, Lucie must deal with the emotional impact of the appearance of a previously unknown half-brother. Meanwhile, French winemaker Jean-Claude de Marignac, to whom she was attracted 20 years earlier in France, arrives to take over as head winemaker at a neighboring winery. De Marignac's subsequent murder once again puts Lucie on the sleuthing trail. The action is complemented by thoughtful, nuanced considerations of Virginia's history of rocky race relations, modern agriculture's dependence on immigrant farm labor, and fascinating digressions into the history of slavery-era textile design. Crosby is a steady hand in unraveling the tangled subplots, and she populates Lucie's world with sympathetic secondary characters who come fully alive. Fans of contemporary regional mysteries will be well satisfied. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary. (Nov.) c Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
The workers at Lucie Montgomery's -Virginia vineyard are clearing debris from a shed destroyed during a storm when they find a skull buried outside the family cemetery. They claim it's an omen that someone will die. Lucie discounts this, but then the rest of the skeleton is found, and the forensic anthropologist concludes that a woman was murdered. Lucie becomes emotionally involved in uncovering the victim's story, sensing she must have been related to her. At the same time, DNA results reveal another living relative. While Lucie frets over family secrets, a neighboring winemaker stirs up trouble, just as a hurricane bears down on the region. Lucie feels pressure to find the actual killer, while concealing information she should share with loved ones. The ninth book in Crosby's character-driven series (after The Vineyard Victims) features an introspective sleuth who struggles with her own insecurities as well as physical limitations. VERDICT For admirers of the author's earlier mysteries, and readers of Ellie Alexander's Death on Tap or Joyce Tremel's "Brewing Trouble" series.-Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Genealogy, history, and murder combine in a tale of passion and hatred.Lucie Montgomery's day starts with a bang when one of the workers at her Virginia vineyard finds a human skull while cleaning up a damaged shed. The medical examiner who checks the site identifies the skull as that of a young woman long dead and recommends getting an expert to examine the site. Lucie, who has a feeling the dead woman may be a family member, resolves to check the family Bible and records to see if they hold a clue. Meantime, a hurricane is due to hit the area before part of the grape crop is ready to harvest. Lucie's fiance, winemaker Quinn Santori, makes the decision to pick the grapes if they can get help from the workers, who fear immigration raids. Even bigger trouble arrives in the form of Jean-Claude de Merignac, a Frenchman whose wealthy, aristocratic father has bailed him out of trouble with women throughout his life. Lucie's mother's family were friends of the de Merignacs, and Lucie had a crush on Jean-Claude when she was a teenager. As he settles into his job as winemaker for La Vigne, the neighboring estate, he's accompanied by rumors about his affairs. Another secret Lucie's hiding from Quinn is a DNA test that shockingly reveals that she and her siblings have a half brother, David Phelps, who's asked to meet and talk with her. David's mother is a well-known African-American politician who wants nothing to do with him. When Lucie does meet him, their talks about past history offer hints about who the unknown woman, now ascertained to be a murder victim, may have been. But Lucie's deepest crisis still awaits the moment when Jean-Claude is found stabbed to death.A corker of an entry in a series (Vineyard Victims, 2017, etc.) that often pairs fascinating historical mysteries with clever modern ones. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
