Lucie Montgomery first appeared in The Merlot Murders and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Lucie.
What is your name?
Lucie Montgomery.
How old are you?
32 years old.
What is your profession?
Vineyard owner and winemaker.
Do you have a significant other?
Yes, actually he’s my fiancé.
What is his name and profession?
Quinn Santori, winemaker.
Any children?
No, but an adorable 5 year-old niece named Hope.
Do you have any sibling(s)?
Eli, my older brother, who is an architect, and Mia, my younger sister, who is an artist.
Cats, dogs or other pets?
A barn cat named Mosby who adopted us; we named him for the famous Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby, also known as the Gray Ghost.
What town do you live in?
The village of Atoka, Virginia.
House or building complex? Own or Rent?
A five hundred acre farm called Highland Farm—my home, Highland House, was built in the late 1700s and generations of my family have lived there ever since.
What is your favorite spot in your house?
Either the kitchen, because it’s the heart of the home, or else the veranda, with its beautiful view of our gardens and the Blue Ridge Mountains, especially at sunset.
Who is your best friend?
Kit Eastman Noland—we’ve known each other since we were five years old; she’s a journalist, married to another good friend, Detective Bobby Noland.
Amateur sleuth or professional?
Amateur; things keep happening to me or to people I love, so naturally I start investigating.
Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
I tend to work alone, but I confide in Quinn and Kit.
Favorite meal?
Any meal at the Goose Creek Inn (which keeps winning awards for most romantic place to dine in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area), owned by my French cousin Dominique Gosselin.
Favorite dessert?
Anything with fresh fruit.
Favorite hobby?
Gardening—working to restore the beautiful gardens on our estate.
Favorite vacation spot?
A beach on the Côte d’Azur.
Favorite color?
Yellow, the color of sunshine.
Favorite author?
I like so many; it’s hard to choose just one.
Favorite sports team?
No one in particular, but I love watching the Olympics and European soccer (since I’m half-French and lived in France for a while).
Movies or Broadway?
Movies—preferably watching at home cuddled under a quilt with a glass of wine.
Are you a morning or a night person?
Because of the nature of my job, I’m a VERY EARLY morning person.
In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
Quinn and I are usually up before the sun is; we have breakfast at home and then drive the short distance to the vineyard—Montgomery Estate Vineyard. Every day is different—we can be out in the field caring for the grapes, in the barrel room making wine, or in the tasting room spending time with clients who come by to taste and buy our wine. Harvest is, of course, the busiest time of the year and we work long hours. When the day’s over, we head home most nights unless there is a social activity at the vineyard—usually involving music. If we’re at home, the housekeeper has left dinner for us so we just put it together. Quinn is a fanatical amateur astronomer so often we’ll head outside with his telescope and spend time looking at the stars and the planets. It’s a good life; I’m blessed!
Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Harvest of Secrets. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends November 12, 2018. Good luck everyone!
You can read about Lucie in Harvest of Secrets, the ninth book in the “Wine Country” mystery series.
The search for the killer of an aristocratic French winemaker who was Lucie Montgomery’s first crush and the discovery of dark family secrets put Lucie on a collision course with a murderer.
It’s harvest season at Montgomery Estate Vineyard―the busiest time of year for winemakers in Atoka, Virginia. A skull is unearthed near Lucie Montgomery’s family cemetery, and the discovery of the bones coincides with the arrival of handsome, wealthy aristocrat Jean-Claude de Marignac. He’s come to be the head winemaker at neighboring La Vigne Cellars, but he’s no stranger to Lucie―he was her first crush twenty years ago when she spent a summer in France.
Not long after his arrival, Jean-Claude is found dead, and while there is no shortage of suspects who are angry or jealous of his ego and overbearing ways, suspicion falls on Miguel Otero, an immigrant worker at La Vigne, who recently quarreled with Jean-Claude. When Miguel disappears, Lucie receives an ultimatum from her own employees: prove Miguel’s innocence or none of the immigrant community will work for her during the harvest. As Lucie hunts for Jean-Claude’s killer and continues to search for the identity of the skeleton abandoned in the cemetery, she is blindsided by a decades-old secret that shatters everything she thought she knew about her family. Now facing a wrenching emotional choice, Lucie must decide whether it’s finally time to tell the truth and hurt those she loves the most, or keep silent and let past secrets remain dead and buried.
Harvest of Secrets is another corking mystery from author Ellen Crosby.
Purchase Link
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About the author
ELLEN CROSBY is the author of the Virginia wine country mysteries, including Harvest of Secrets, featuring vineyard owner Lucie Montgomery, which was released by Minotaur Books on November 6,2018. Her books have been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award and the Library of Virginia People’s Choice Award; The Riesling Retribution won the 2009 Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Best US Wine Literature Book. Crosby has also written two mysteries featuring international photojournalist Sophie Medina and Moscow Nights, a standalone mystery. Previously she worked as a freelance reporter for The Washington Post, Moscow correspondent for ABC Radio News, and as an economist at the U.S. Senate. She is currently writing the 10th wine country mystery. You can learn more at ellencrosby.com.
All comments are welcomed.
Looks really great 👍
Love 💗 interviews with the characters 😄
Thanks for the chance
😍🍯🐝😍
Shared on Twitter 😍❤😍
https://mobile.twitter.com/LindaMoffitt02/status/1061182638717915136
Wow, the cover of this book is amazing! Thank you for a chance to win this!
would love to read this one. thanks for the chance to win this book.
Sounds like a beautiful setting for an intriguing mystery. I love uncovering long-buried secrets.
That cover is amazing! <3
Never read any books by this author. Love the cover and the setting to this book.I like mysteries which uncover long-buried secrets. Another author to explore with her books.
New author for me. Sounds good and I love the interview.
I’ve enjoyed this series so much. I am eager to read the latest episode.
I love the cover. Thanks for the giveaway.
This is a great series, and I’ve enjoyed each book. I would love to win a print copy of Harvest of Secrets. Thanks for the opportunity to win.
This sounds like a really good read!
Sounds like a winner!
I’m curious about that family secret.
Well you have whetted a lot of reading appetites today! The book sounds amazing and the family secret is intriguing to say the least! I look forward to reading this. Thanks for the chance to win a print copy. 😃📚
Would really like to read. I enjoy reading about wine country and wine making.
I want to win.
I love the new format with interviews of the characters. This sounds great, and I’m looking forward to it.
This is a new to me author, but one I have put on my tbr list. Thanks for the chance to win a copy to get me started on this series.
Having read all the previous books in this series, I knew the answers to most of the questions, but it was fun to read. I would love to win this book. I look forward to reading it!
Sounds like a good book! Thanks for offering a chance to win it!
This series has been on my TBR for awhile now and I have several of the first books in the series. Would love to win – thanks for the chance!
Love the author, love this series, loved the chance to get to know Lucie even better. Can’t wait to read the new book!
New to me author and series! Interesting interview. Thanks
Love to read this book. This is a new author to me. Love the interview! Thank you for the chance to win this book.
Count me in!!
Thank you for the giveaway….
I love this series! Thanks for the chance to win!
**** WINNER ****
Harvest of Secrets is Pat Dupuy
Congratulations!