Murder Napa Valley (Margaret Barlow Mysteries) [Paperback]

David Osborn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 6, 2000 | Series: Margaret Barlow Mysteries

At a hot-air ballooning rally in northern California, free-lance journalist and amateur sleuth Margaret Barlow accepts a request from Elissa Seldridge to investigate a series of accidents at L'Abbaye Ste. Denise.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Effervescent 50-ish photojournalist Margaret Barlow returns from her well-received first appearance in Murder on the Chesapeake to investigate untoward doings at a California winery. Arriving at the L'Abbaye de Ste. Denise to do a harvest story, Margaret finds herself in the middle of a family feud among the estate owners, brothers John and Bryant Selfridge and John's ex-wife Hester. Successive years of sabotage, including pesticide found in the vats and arson, have led the abbey to the brink of foreclosure. Then a migrant grape picker is deliberately run over; a family member is shredded in the stemmer-crusher machine; and the employee in charge of PR is drowned in a vat of cabernet. Margaret's detecting includes a clandestine investigation of the office files in search of wills, divorce papers and tax returns. But not even the help of the local newspaper editor, a cherubic octogenarian who becomes her cohort, nor the action of the extremely unpleasant homicide chief can save her from being trapped in the cloister cellars in the fast-paced finale to this intriguingly intricate entertainment.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Freelance journalist Margaret Barlow (Murder on the Chesapeake, etc.), in California for a hot-air ballooning vacation, agrees to write a magazine piece on a Napa Valley winery--and is soon ensconced in L'Abbaye Ste. Denise, jointly owned by brothers John and Bryant, plus John's ex-wife Hester and his adopted daughter Lureen. The winery, in deep financial trouble after a yearlong series of accidents/sabotage, could be sold, but only if all the partners agree to it--which, of course, they don't. Then Hester is ground to bits in the grape-crusher; the p.r. woman drowns in a fermenting tank; and the death last fall of a migrant worker may be connected to the winery's current problems. Plucky Margaret enlists the aid of a local newspaper editor, and the two eventually unmask a Swiss pretending to be a Frenchman, as well as unearth a few secret love affairs, before wrapping up the case. Amateurish writing, a dull heroine, and a slap-dash rendering of winemaking--all make for a less-than-memorable third outing for Osborn's fiftysomething sleuth. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (October 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743212940
• ISBN-13: 978-0743212946
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,780,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fog, June 12, 2006

By 

Mary E. Sibley (Carneys Point, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Murder Napa Valley (Margaret Barlow Mysteries) (Paperback)

Fog flows up the Napa Valley. There is a hit and run death of a grape picker. Margaret Barlow meets a wine salesman at a party. The valley is thirty five miles long.

Margaret, a writer, is to stay at an old winery there. Clearly the host and his brother are quarreling when she arrives. The winery is a family concern, and the vintner, John, has been making wine since childhood. He does not want to make the effort to talk with Margaret. It is the harvest season.

Creating more of a problem is the fact that sabotage has taken place during the previous two years and John wonders if it is fair to Margaret and her story to give her information. He feels he may not be able to continue in the business. It seems the dead picker may have had knowledge of the sabotage.

John's first wife, Hester, a part owner of the property, becomes a murder victim. Police order Margaret to remain at the house. She is contacted by a local journalist to collaborate on an article. Snooping in offices at two AM, Margaret confronts an employee who becomes another victim.

Margaret determines that each death has savage touches. Eventually she does help to solve the mystery. It is a page turner.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book i've ever read, huge fan., August 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder in the Napa Valley (Mass Market Paperback)

Dear Amazon.com, I purchased this book from your company a month ago and have not put it down since . An action packed thriller and wonderfuly written. I was so awestricken that I took it up to find more about Mr. Osborn. It turns out his family has been struck with an awful desise and his 11 year old son may never walk again, so in buying this book you may help pay for his expensive intrervenous medication . So please I request the sight of compassion and charity on your parts and buy this book .