"The Viognier Vendetta" by Ellen Crosby; Scribner (272 pages, $24)
Don't be surprised while reading "The Viognier Vendetta" that you begin to crave a smooth glass of viognier, an expensive French wine that Virginia vintner Lucie Montgomery is trying to cultivate. While viognier has been around for generations in Europe, it's fairly new to the U.S. because the grape variety is difficult to grow, explains Lucie, who is making her 5th appearance in Ellen Crosby's highly entertaining series.
The only difficulty that readers will have with "The Viognier Vendetta" is taking time from the brisk plot to open a bottle of wine. "The Viognier Vendetta" works well as an amateur sleuth novel that also explores the value of friendship, independence and wine lore.
Lucie hasn't heard from her old college friend Rebecca Natale for more than a dozen years. Now Rebecca's in Washington, D.C., for a black-tie gala honoring her boss, the wealthy tycoon Sir Thomas Asher. But shortly after lunch with Lucie, Rebecca disappears while on her way to pick up a priceless antique wine cooler that dates back to the War of 1812. Rebecca's clothes are later found at near a Potomac boat house. To find out what happened to her friend, Lucie joins forces with an investment analyst who has a grudge against Sir Thomas.
Crosby packs many plot threads in "The Viognier Vendetta," from D.C.'s history, culture and politics to business schemes. A primer in making wine adds to the novel's authenticity. Yet "The Viognier Vendetta" feels as light and crisp as the wine Lucie produces on her Montgomery Estate Vineyard. Much of that is due to the likable Lucie, a resourceful woman who has overcome a debilitating injury and taken over her family's failing vineyard to make it a thriving business with a future. Crosby explores Lucie's believable on-again, off-again relationship with her winemaker Quinn Santori. Crosby is careful to make Lucie's involvement in the mystery a natural action of this woman who is, above all, a survivor.
"The Viognier Vendetta" proves to be a fine vintage.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.