The Bordeaux Betrayal
A Wine Country Mystery
by Ellen Crosby
Intriguing look into world
of wine but narrative a bit rushed
Publisher:
Scribner (August 2008)
While attending a lecture on George
Washington's collection of wines, Valerie Beauvais approaches Lucie
Montgomery about a bottle of Bordeaux to be auctioned at Lucie's
charity fund raiser. Valerie hints that she knows something about about
the provenance of the wines in the auction. When Lucie finds Valerie's
body the next morning, she thinks that the murder is somehow connected
to the 1790 Margaux that Thomas Jefferson procured from France for
George Washington, a bottle donated to her auction. After all, Lucie's
Virginia winery is receiving frequent inquiries from all over about the
auction and at least one auction agent plans to procure the bottle for
her client at all costs. Lucie researches the history of the wine and
Jefferson's travels in France in an effort to remove suspicion from
herself and her friends. As she investigates, several complications
muddy the waters from case of plagiarism, the victim's reputation,
early American history and later European WWII history, and an anti-fox
hunting movement. When a surprising clue surfaces and the body count
increases, Lucie herself finds herself in danger as her investigation
narrows.
Third in her cozy Wine Country Mystery series, Ellen Crosby's THE BORDEAUX BETRAYAL provides an
intriguing entry into the world of wines for wine lovers and neophytes
alike from history, to such elements as terroir and recorking, to
collecting verticals, to the business of wine futures as well as an
informative look into the the differences between Virginian and
Californian viticulture. Ellen Crosby is at her best in integrating
such terms into the storyline smoothly for multiple levels of wine
enthusiasts. A look into fox hunting adds to the general ambiance of
her Virginia setting. As the story progresses however, the multiple
threads lack continuity and the isolated red herrings detract from a
smooth flow of the plot. Once introduced, certain scenarios disappear
when their logical follow-through would give more flow to the narrative
and a feeling for both the characters and the scene. For example, the
reader discovers the local antagonism to fox hunting and an attempt to
sabotage the hunt, but the fox hunt itself is never portrayed. As this
series continues, this reader hopes to revisit some of the characters
portrayed here as well as some of the interrelationships between them.
Although this book works as a stand alone, more character development
in each book would benefit both this book and the series as a whole.
Although the prose in and of itself is pleasant to read, THE BORDEAUX BETRAYAL would be a
great read with more interconnection between various scenes and
characters. Quite simply, this book feels rushed and would benefit from
more fleshing out. While fast-paced and exciting in the quick pursuit
of clues, this book would have been better if the author had slowed the
pace a little to add the descriptive detail and interconnections so
that the reader becomes more thoroughly immersed in the characters and
scenes. The mystery itself unwinds into an intriguing ending as past
and present merge and motivations become unveiled.
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
Courtesy of Amazon Vine
