The Champagne Conspiracy

September 19, 2016
Early in Crosby’s winning seventh mystery featuring Virginia vintner Lucie Montgomery (after 2011’s The Sauvignon Secret), Gino Tomassi, a member of “California winemaking royalty” whom Lucie knows by reputation, walks into the barrel room of Lucie’s winery. Gino, it turns out, is related to Lucie’s winemaker, Quinn Santori, and he wants Quinn’s help in solving the mysterious death of his grandfather’s first wife, the daughter of a Prohibition-era politician. Meanwhile, the sudden death of 92-year-old philanthropist Roxy Willoughby and a surprising last-minute change in her will shock everyone who knew her. One friend of Roxy’s is sure she was poisoned. When Lucie looks into the death of Gino’s grandfather’s wife and Roxy’s death, she discovers some striking similarities between the two. Intelligent and compassionate, Lucie is closely involved with her community. A series of cliff-hangers help propel the intriguing, well-paced plot. Like Lucie’s best wines, this story combines freshness, body, and considerable complexity. Agent: Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency.