Crimson Shore by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

         

Crimson Shore by Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child-339 pages

With a knock on Agent Pendergasts front door comes the next mystery in the Pendergast series.  This is number 15.  A priceless wine collection has been stolen.  When Agent Pendergast and his ward Constance drive up to Exmouth, MA to investigate they find a much larger mystery that goes back a century.  I recommend the entire series.

River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz

River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz - 343 pages

Lucy comes back to Summer River after 13 years to settle her aunt's estate.  She also comes to try to get some answers about her aunt's death.  More questions arise though when she finds a dead body hidden inside the sealed up fireplace of her aunt's house.  Now she must work with Mason to find the answer's to all the questions.

I listened to this on audio.  I enjoyed the story.  However I did not like the audio version.  The narrator gave some very odd inflections to different parts of the reading.  The way she voiced the male character of Mason made him sound like a teen girl.

River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz

River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz - 343 pages

Lucy is returning to Summer River for the first time since being "rescued" from a party at age sixteen by Mason.  It was a huge cause of embaressment to her.  What she didn't realize was that she was in true danger that evening.  Danger that she finds out her aunt took care of for her and Mason -- by killing the person responsible and hiding the body in the fireplace for thirteen years.  Now Lucy is determined to discover whether her aunt's death had anything to do with the previous murder -- and Mason is determined to protect her while she goes on her search.
I always enjoy Krentz's books and this one was no exception.  I read it in less than a day.  I enjoyed that it was a standalone book.  I also liked that it didn't contain any paranormal aspects (although I do like those books of her also).  I had picked the killer out pretty early on, but it was interesting to see the investigation go through all the other suspects and how they also contributed to events.

The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace

The Billionaire's Vinegar: the mystery of the world's most expensive bottle of wine by Benjamin Wallace - 323 pages

This is the true story of a 1787 Chateau Lafite Bordeaux that was supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson that sold for $156,000 at auction which set a world's record for the most expensive bottle of wine.  Wallace examines the sale itself and all the players quite exhaustively to get a feel for wine's authenticity.  I'm not a wine person in the least but the personalities involved were very interesting and the potential for fraud in the antique wine market is astounding.  The history buff in me liked learning about Jefferson's wine habits and expertise as well. 

Drops of God, 1, by Tadashi Agi

Drops of God, 1, by Tadashi Agi, 416 pages

This is one of those books that doesn't sound very interesting, but is all around well-written, a good story, and actually makes wine sound interesting.  Publication of this actually influenced wine prices around the world, which is fascinating.  Shizuku's father was a world-renowned wine critic who hoped his son would follow in his footsteps.  Instead, Shizuku wanted nothing to do with wine.  But upon his father's death, Shizuku finds that his father left a puzzle involving wine identification and tasting, and Shizuku must unravel the mystery, or else a rival wine critic will inherit his estate.  This is just the first volume, and the series is ongoing, so reading it means investing in a long series.