Bitter Roots

April 15, 2021
Lucie Montgomery, owner of Montgomery Estate Vineyard in Virginia, is devastated when longtime family friend, landscape designer Parker Lord, is found dead on her property, and her sister, Mia, is a suspect in his murder. Other suspects include his husband, Ash, and Gabriel Seely, a scientist whose work Parker publicly disputed, leading to Seely's loss of funding. Or is it a reader angry over Parker's recent book on climate change? Complicating matters, Lucie deals with dying grapevines; concern over her sister's secretive boyfriend, Sergio; and her apprehension that her grandfather's relationship with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in Paris just after the war will be made public. Lucie gathers information, puts the pieces together, and ultimately identifies the killer. Richly framed with details of Onassis' life, the business of book publishing, information on the Old Mistresses (forgotten female artists who were the equal of the Old Masters), Marie Antoinette, life in well-healed northern Virginia, and the particulars of running a winery, this entry in the long-running cozy series, with its sympathetic main character, will please fans.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2022
In Crosby's latest Wine Country mystery, Lucie and fianc� Quinn's Montgomery Estate Vineyard in Virginia is thriving, but then disaster strikes. Vines they nurtured for three years after purchasing them from Landau's, a respected vine nursery, are dying. Lucie and Quinn are convinced the vines were diseased when they bought them, but when they approach vineyard expert and Landau representative Eve Kerr about restitution, she refuses to discuss the matter, arguing that the vines were healthy when Landau's sold them. Then Lucie meets an old friend at Goose Creek Bridge and sees a woman's body floating in the water under the bridge. Shockingly, it's Eve Kerr, and she is very dead. Did someone from the wine community kill her? Then, less than a week before Lucie and Quinn's wedding, a storm decimates the area, with no guarantee as to when power will be restored. Worse, the wedding venue, a garden Lucie has been tending for months, is totally destroyed. Now faced with dying vines, Eve's murder, and a wedding fiasco in the making, Lucie and Quinn need a miracle. A treat for oenophile mystery fans.

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February 28, 2022
Mary Higgins Clark Award finalist Crosby’s winning 12th Wine Country mystery (after 2021’s The French Paradox) finds Virginia vintner Lucie Montgomery and fellow winemaker Quinn Santori preparing for their wedding. Days that should be filled with joy and frizzy nerves, however, are overshadowed by dying vines in a field of new Cabernet Franc grapes. Lucie and Quinn bring in Josie Wilde, “the premier vineyard consultant on the East Coast,” to determine why they’re failing to thrive. Josie blames the grafted vines themselves, bought from local supplier Landau Trees & Vines. Landau’s partners, who include Eve Kerr, a former Californian like Quinn, deny culpability, blaming the growers and climate change. As the blame game heats up, Quinn comes to believe Eve isn’t involved and plans to meet her secretly. When Eve turns up dead, Quinn becomes a suspect, and Lucie once again turns sleuth. Astute readers may figure out whodunit before the end, but the fully developed characters and the vividly depicted vineyards and Virginia countryside make this one hard to put down. Crosby scores another compulsively readable vino-themed mystery. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary.

February 1, 2022
A much-anticipated wedding is threatened by weather and murder. The marriage of Lucie Montgomery, owner of the Montgomery Estate vineyard in Virginia, to winemaker Quinn Santori has been planned to the last detail by Francesca Merchant, who runs the retail side of the business. Their attention is diverted from the nuptials by a plot of Cabernet Franc grapes that are dying of unknown causes. Lucie and several other vineyard owners are furious with Jackson Landau, Eve Kerr, and Dr. Richard Brightman, who developed, heavily promoted, and sold the failing vines but deny any responsibility. Lucie calls in her own expert, Josie Wilde, who's sure the vines are suffering from black goo. Only a few very wealthy owners, like Lucie's new neighbor, former NBA star Sloane Everett, can shrug off the threat of bankruptcy. The beautiful Eve tries to charm the distraught owners, but Landau digs in, blaming the problem on climate change. Seeking peace, Quinn tries to meet with Eve, a fellow Californian, arousing Lucie's suspicions and launching him onto the suspect list when Lucie and her bestie, Kit, find Eve dead in a creek. The list, which includes plenty of people who were angry with Eve, is extended even further by the news of her pregnancy. Meanwhile, a vicious storm hits the area, ruining the wedding and leaving the place with no power. But the ill wind does blow some good, uncovering a crucial clue. Crosby's reliable character-driven series once more offers a good mystery and relevant social commentary.

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