The Chardonnay CharadeThe Chardonnay Charade begins with a daring helicopter flight in the middle of the night. Facing a freak spring frost that threatens to kill the grapes in her vineyard, Lucie Montgomery hires a chopper to fly over the vines in order to blow warm air on them. But her thoughts soon turn from grapes to murder when she discovers the body of Georgia Greenwood, a controversial political candidate, lying near the fields. Georgia's husband, Ross, Lucie's friend and doctor, immediately falls under suspicion. To make matters worse, Ross, a renowned collector of Civil War documents, has just discovered a letter that seems to prove that Confederate president Jefferson Davis had prior knowledge of the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. In the small town of Atoka, Virginia -- proud home to the "Gray Ghost," the Confederacy's legendary guerrilla commander -- the letter is a bombshell. Three years ago Ross saved Lucie's life after she was involved in a near-fatal car crash. Now she intends to return the favor and prove Ross's innocence. As the search for Georgia's killer escalates, Lucie crosses swords with her attractive but cantankerous winemaker, Quinn Santori, and confronts her own unwelcome feelings of jealousy over his new romance and job prospects. Her worries about her kid sister's out-of-control drinking and a second vineyard-related death further ratchet up the tension. Even though Lucie believes that in vino veritas -- in wine there is truth -- she finds that the path to uncovering a murderer involves making a heartbreaking decision that will alter the lives of those she loves. |
Contents
| 1 | |
Section 2 | 14 |
Section 3 | 36 |
Section 4 | 45 |
Section 5 | 59 |
Section 6 | 67 |
Section 7 | 75 |
Section 8 | 84 |
Section 14 | 155 |
Section 15 | 167 |
Section 16 | 175 |
Section 17 | 182 |
Section 18 | 189 |
Section 19 | 195 |
Section 20 | 205 |
Section 21 | 214 |
Section 9 | 98 |
Section 10 | 109 |
Section 11 | 122 |
Section 12 | 132 |
Section 13 | 144 |
Section 22 | 221 |
Section 23 | 228 |
Section 24 | 241 |
Section 25 | 249 |
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Common terms and phrases
asked Atoka barn barrel room Blue Ridge Mountains Bobby Bonita bottle Cabernet Sauvignon called cane Chardonnay Chris clinic coffee desk dinner Dominique door drink drove Emilio everything eyes Fauquier Counties Georgia Greenwood glass going Goose Creek grapes hand head heard Hector helicopter Hugo John Wilkes Booth Judah Benjamin kids killed Georgia kissed knew last night leave Leesburg looked Lucie Manolo Marta methyl bromide Mick Dunne Middleburg mobile phone morning never nodded okay opened parking lot picked Pinot Noir police pretty pulled Quinn Randstad Randy Randy's Riesling Romeos Ross Ross's sheriff's shook Siri smiled someone sorry sounded stared stood stopped sure talk tell Thanks There's thing thought told tomorrow tonight took trying turned villa vines vineyard Viognier Virginia voice walked watched What's White's Ferry wine winery Yeah