THE MERLOT MURDERS

A neglected winery, a valuable necklace and a shooting accident are tied together by greed and past indiscretions.

Lucie Montgomery spent two years in France after a car accident left her with a maimed foot. After her brother Eli calls to tell her that their father has been killed in a hunting accident, she returns to their winery in Virginia, which her father neglected in order to invest in shady schemes that took all the family money. Lucie’s greedy brother is eager to sell. So is her sister Mia, who’s having an affair with Lucie’s former lover Greg, the man responsible for her accident. Fitz, Lucie’s godfather, warns her that her father was murdered by someone who is willing to go to great lengths to acquire the family estate. Fitz gives Lucie a key to a box that may hold a fabulous diamond necklace. When Fitz is found dead of carbon-dioxide poisoning, Lucie, certain he’s been murdered, considers suspects among her family, her old friends and employees like the new vintner with a dubious past. While working to learn the truth and get the harvest in, Lucie barely escapes a series of deadly accidents before unmasking the killer.

A fast-paced, intriguing debut that holds interest from cover to cover.