A Vintage Murder - Hardcover

Smith, Janet L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0449908712 ISBN 13: 9780449908716

Publisher: Fawcett, 1994

Synopsis

Lawyer-turned-sleuth Annie MacPherson journeys to the vineyards of Yakima Valley to help an old friend, winery owner Taylor North, who has just thrown out her abusive husband and now is plagued by acts of sabotage and implicated in murder.

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Reviews

Seattle attorney Annie MacPherson comes to the aid of a high school friend harassed by her abusive spouse in Smith's third mystery (following Practice to Deceive). After Taylor North, a vineyard owner in Washington State's Yakima Valley, throws her estranged husband, Steve Vick, out of the house, her business is beset by a series of petty thefts. Everyone suspects Steve, who, with his well-known temper, hasn't taken his ejection calmly. Annie arrives to help Taylor with her divorce proceedings in time to attend a Wine Gala at which Steve makes a melodramatic entrance and becomes verbally abusive. Persuaded to leave, he is found dead later that evening, with Taylor at his side, cradling a wine bottle that appears to be the murder weapon. When Taylor takes an overdose of pills and is rushed to the hospital in critical condition, Annie resolves to find out if Taylor killed Steve as the evidence suggests. While Smith's descriptions of wine tasting and the Washington State wine industry are titillating, Annie solves the puzzle too easily, imparting a flat aftertaste to this uneven tale. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Is there any limit to Steven Vick's abuse of his ex-wife Taylor North? Before their marriage, he attacked and intimidated her old roommate Annie MacPherson; soon after they settled down to happily ever after, Taylor began to show up in downtown Harmony (Wash.) sporting black eyes and bruises; since she threw him out, he's turned up repeatedly at her North Faire vineyard in Yakima Valley, maybe stealing bottles and labels, and blustering his way into her tasting gala. Even now, after his death--at the tasting, naturally; he's been brained with a wine bottle found in Taylor's hands--he's still making trouble for her, as she awakens from a coma following her cocktail of aspirin and Tylenol with codeine (shock? guilt?) to find herself accused of his murder. Luckily, schoolmarmish North Faire winemaker Galen Rockwell, long sweet on Taylor, has the foresight to call Annie (Practice to Deceive, 1992) back into the fray, and together with her woman-hunting law partner, Jed Delacourt, she noses out a passel of secrets ranging from drugs to adultery to a rumored public-health menace to some surprising revelations about Taylor and Steve. Familiar stuff from beginning to end, but blessed by Smith's scene-setting alchemy, her insight into character, and the immediacy and authority of her writing. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Annie MacPherson has let her old friendship with Taylor North lapse because she couldn't stand Taylor's loud-mouthed, aggressive husband, Steven Vick. But now that Taylor's been accused of Steven's murder, Annie makes the trip to Washington's scenic wine country to try to save her friend from a first-degree murder conviction. Annie simply can't believe Taylor would have killed the man she loved, but as Annie investigates, she finds Taylor is guarding some nasty secrets. She also discovers that the wine business has its cutthroat side and that Taylor may have been as much a victim as the man she's accused of killing. Smith's plot reads like a script straight from the old TV show Dynasty, her characters seem to be suffering from an advanced case of yuppie-itis, and the dialogue often sounds trite. Still, MacPherson is a likable, smart-cookie heroine, the baddies are mildly intriguing, and there are just enough red herrings and unexpected twists to keep readers' interest. For large collections or those where the two earlier books in the series were popular. Emily Melton

The attorney author of Practice To Deceive (LJ 6/1/92) offers readers another highly entertaining mystery featuring Seattle lawyer Annie MacPherson. Attending a wine gala in eastern Washington at the request of a vineyard owner, Annie discovers her former best friend standing, dazed and bloody, over her estranged husband's body. Annie attempts to find the true murderer by investigating recent winery sabotage and reports of wife abuse. Rural surroundings, details related to the wine business, and a somewhat routine plot all lend this work credibility, but swift-moving action, an efficient protagonist, and polished prose infuse the work with its infectious bouquet.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Fawcett
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0449908712
• ISBN 13: 9780449908716
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 228