The workers at Lucie Montgomery's Virginia vineyard are clearing debris from a shed destroyed during a storm when they find a skull buried outside the family cemetery. They claim it's an omen that someone will die. Lucie discounts this, but then the rest of the skeleton is found, and the forensic anthropologist concludes that a woman was murdered. Lucie becomes emotionally involved in uncovering the victim's story, sensing she must have been related to her. At the same time, DNA results reveal another living relative. While Lucie frets over family secrets, a neighboring winemaker stirs up trouble, just as a hurricane bears down on the region. Lucie feels pressure to find the actual killer, while concealing information she should share with loved ones. The ninth book in Crosby's character-driven series (after
The Vineyard Victims) features an introspective sleuth who struggles with her own insecurities as well as physical limitations.
VERDICT For admirers of the author's earlier mysteries, and readers of Ellie Alexander's Death on Tap or Joyce Tremel's "Brewing Trouble" series.
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