The Viognier Vendetta

Ellen Crosby's "beguiling" (Kirkus Reviews) fifth mystery takes readers into Washington's corridors of power, where Lucie Montgomery uncovers a political and financial scandal while trying to locate her missing friend.

WHEN LUCIE MONTGOMERY VISITS Washington, D. C. , during cherry blossom season she doesn't expect her reunion with old friend Rebecca Natale is a setup. But Rebecca disappears into thin air after running an errand for her boss, billionaire philanthropist and investment guru Sir Thomas Asher. Also missing: an antique silver wine cooler looted by British soldiers before they burned the White House during the War of 1812.

The next morning Lucie identifies Rebecca's neatly folded clothes found in a rowboat floating in the Potomac River. Is it suicide, murder or an elaborate scheme to disappear? A clandestine meeting in the U. S. Capitol, a startling revelation on a windy hill, and cryptic messages from Rebecca cloaked in eighteenth-century poetry are all part of the suspenseful tale of whether Rebecca is alive or dead and the truth about Asher Investments.

Featuring an absorbing plot, colorful characters, and fascinating winemaking detail, The Viognier Vendetta combines an entertaining mystery with luminous prose that has become Crosby's trademark.