The inheritance

Ross' latest is a family saga centered on the death of famous war photographer Jackson Swann. The inheritance of the title is the Oregon winery Maison de Madeleine, which is the current home of Swann's 96 year-old mother, Madeleine. Madeleine is full of her own secrets; as a WWII Resistance fighter, she fell in love with a U.S. army man who brought her and her French family's wine traditions to the Willamette Valley. Donovan, a lawyer and family friend, is tasked with welcoming the new family members as the will is being read and considered. Tess is a young TV star turned beloved series author looking to solve the mystery of a father who was never part of her life. Charlotte is a Southern socialite from Charleston married to an aspiring politician. Natalie is the French daughter of a longtime mistress and an up-and-coming photographer who grew up traveling regularly to the family vineyard. The winery, with a cast of characters all its own, is just the right setting for each sister to find herself.

Ross's moving latest (after Summer on Mirror Lake) brings together a trio of estranged half-sisters and their 90-something grandmother, a French war bride. After conflict photographer Jackson Swann dies of cancer, his daughters Tess Swann, Charlotte Swann Aldredge, and Natalie Seurat Swann are summoned to Aberdeen, Ore., for the reading of his will. Tess is a well-known writer and actress; Charlotte, an unhappily married home designer, and Natalie a photographer. To their surprise, the sisters have inherited Chateau de Madeleine, the Oregon winery their grandfather built for his French war bride, Madeleine. Handsome, widowed vintner Gideon Byrne, whom Jackson had hired to run the winery, shares in the surprise. Later, he becomes friendly with Tess, as they each open up about their respective struggles with single parenting and writing. The terms of the will are that the sisters must stay through the next harvest to inherit the business--and soon they develop the bonds of a family. Ross convincingly distinguishes each of the sisters, as well as their paternal grandmother, Madeleine, a Resistance fighter in WWII France whose story demonstrates who her granddaughters inherited strength from, and who still lives at the winery. This engrossing and hopeful story will hold readers from start to finish. Agent: Anne Marie O'Farrell Marcil, O'Farrell Literary. (Sept.)