The Riesling Retribution (Wine Country Mysteries) [Kindle Edition]

Ellen Crosby (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Lucie Montgomery stumbles across a skull in her vineyard—just after the tornado that almost kills her—little does she suspect the skeletons in the family closet to which the discovery will lead in Crosby's sprightly fourth Virginia wine country mystery (after 2008's The Bordeaux Betrayal). But who can blame the amateur detective for being a bit off her game, with the hurricane of headaches already buffeting Montgomery Estate Vineyard? Hot-tempered winemaker Quinn Santori and handsome new manager Chance Miller (Lucie is attracted to both) are at each other's throats—and hundreds of Civil War buffs are due in days to re-enact the 1861 Battle of Ball's Bluff. Expect plenty of fireworks as Lucie pursues her own investigation into the old, but no longer cold, homicide and a fast-paced sprint to what proves a rather slapdash finish. Until then, however, Crosby serves up a wine cooler that goes down easy even if it's hardly vintage. (Aug.)
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Product Description

Colorful characters, fascinating history, and winemaking detail blend with luminous prose in Ellen Crosby’s “sprightly” (Publishers Weekly) new tale of suspense set in Virginia’s lush wine country.

When a tornado rips through Montgomery Estate Vineyard and unearths a grave in an abandoned field, police inform Lucie Montgomery that the odds are good someone in her family is responsible—possibly for murder. But she has more to worry about than buried secrets.A clash between her charming new farm manager and her winemaker, Quinn Santori, tests her complicated romantic and professional feelings for Quinn, fueling the winery’s combustible atmosphere. Meanwhile eerie ghost stories make her think twice about allowing Civil War reenactors to use a field near the grave site—until the spirits of her own family’s past converge for a most unexpected outcome.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 568 KB
• Publisher: Scribner; 1 edition (August 4, 2009)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002I1XPYC
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,678 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Ellen Crosby is the author of Moscow Nights (Piatkus, UK) and five books in the Virginia wine country series: The Merlot Murders, The Chardonnay Charade, The Bordeaux Betrayal, The Riesling Retribution and The Viognier Vendetta. The Riesling Retribution was a fiction finalist for the 2010 Library of Virginia People's Choice Award and is the 2010 US winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Wine Literature. Before writing fiction, Crosby was a freelance reporter for The Washington Post, Moscow correspondent for ABC Radio News, and an economist at the US Senate. After living overseas for many years, Crosby now resides in Virginia with her family.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No resolution, October 17, 2009

By 

Judy Ann M. Jablonski "jjabs27" (Independence, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Riesling Retribution: A Wine Country Mystery (Wine Country Mysteries) (Hardcover)

After finishing this book and thinking about the total story, I was dismayed that nothing was resolved. The villian wasn't caught, the brother (not even sure of why he was introduced) did not grow as a character, Lucie showed more emotion over a situation that couldn't be resolved then the loss of grapes and even the potential loss of her entire years production of Riesling (which I may add you don't know if it was fixed or not). It seemed like this author got tired and ended the book, ever corner she backed herself into she conveniently changed the scene. It was a very unsatisfying read for me.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There Is Always Another Skeleton In The Closet, March 10, 2010

By 

Nancy "Stepfordmomto2" (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Riesling Retribution: A Wine Country Mystery (Wine Country Mysteries) (Hardcover)

After a tornado barrels across the Montgomery Vineyards, Lucy soon discovers a skull in the muddy trench left in the wake of the destruction. Unfortunately, it's not just any skull. With so many things currently going on, Quinn and Chance, a new addition to the Vineyard, are at odds, an apparent thief after any credit card they can get their hands on, and Civil War aficionados reenacting the 1861 Battle of Bull's Bluff on her property, this is truly the last thing that she needs. Lucy must once again dive back into the family closet and soon sets out to discover which "skeleton" this is.

Could Lucy's much beloved father really have been responsible for the death or is that just want people to believe about man that the town loved to hate, or does this mystery go deeper?

In this rich blend of southern charm and lovable characters, Crosby once again brings to life the day in and day out conflicts that Lucy Montgomery must deal with in an attempt to bring a well bodied wine to the table.

Though this book could be read as an independent, it's best to start at the beginning to fully understand Lucy, her injury and her deep need to bring back the vineyard to it 's once pristine condition.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit thin with a poor finish, February 25, 2010

By 

Jeanne Tassotto (Trapped in the Midwest) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Riesling Retribution: A Wine Country Mystery (Wine Country Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is the 4th in Wine Country series of cozy mysteries. The series features Lucie Montgomery who has settled into the family's Virginia estate and taken over the vineyard that her parents had started when Lucie was a child. Now in her late twenties Lucie has struggled with her own problems during the earlier novels in the series, the loss of her parents, the physical aftermath of a car accident, her love life (or lack thereof) as well as the day to day struggle to keep the family vineyard going despite the occasional dead body or two that appear. As this latest installment opens Lucie is caught out on the estate by a rare Virginia tornado, although she manages to escape relatively unscathed the twister has uncovered a skeleton. The investigation of these bones leads to revealing a few skeletons in the family's past and present. As if this is not enough for Lucie to cope with she is also faced with problems among the Winery's work force, yet more family troubles and, once again Lucie has problems in the romance department.

There is a reasonable strong overall arc to this series so for maximum enjoyment it would be best to read these in order beginning with The Merlot Murders. As is often the case with cozy mysteries the true appeal here is with the subplots concerning Lucie's personal life and those of her family and friend. There will undoubtedly be a fifth in this series, or at least it is strongly hoped that there will be because there are many loose ends left with this one.