Book Review: The Merlot Murders

Book written by Ellen Crosby

Reviewed by Dale Ims

The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby is an interesting read for those of us who are interested in wine and winemaking. In the book, the author manages to weave a fictional story about tangled relationships and family intrigue set in a small winery in Virginia’s historic Blue Ridge region.

While the main story line is one of murder and mystery, the backdrop provided by the details of the operation of the winery—including the hazards of CO₂ evolution in commercial-scale winemaking, the sounds of fermentation in large tanks, the decisions about harvest, varieties of oak, and the varieties of grapes that should be grown—is one that we oenologists will recognize as well-researched and presented.

Crosby is also the author of The Chardonnay Charade, The Bordeaux Betrayal, The Riesling Retribution, and The Viognier Vendetta, all murder mysteries set in Virginia wine country.

The Merlot Murders is published in paperback by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster (2007); was originally printed by Scribner in hardcover (2006); and is available in hardcover, hardcover large print, paperback, Kindle and audiobook from Amazon.com.