When a tornado rips through Montgomery Estate Vineyard, it not only destroys some of Lucie Montgomery's newest grapevines but also unearths a grave in an abandoned field. The discovery sets tongues wagging in the small town of Atoka, Virginia, especially after the police inform Lucie that the odds are good someone in her family is responsible -- possibly for murder.
But Lucie has more to worry about than family secrets buried with the victim in her vineyard. Her charming new farm manager clashes constantly with Quinn Santori, her winemaker, and accidents, broken equipment, and injuries fuel the combustible atmosphere around the winery. Lucie's complicated feelings for Quinn -- romantic and professional -- are tested when she learns he may be involved in disturbing activities that could cost him his job.
Meanwhile, Lucie has granted permission to a group of Civil War reenactors to use a field near the grave site to stage the local Battle of Ball's Bluff, though she is unsettled by stories of ghosts who still haunt the real battlefield and its cemetery of unknown soldiers. As the day for the reenactment draws near, the ghosts of her own family's past converge for an outcome she could never have anticipated.
With an intriguing combination of colorful characters, fascinating history, and winemaking detail, The Riesling Retribution combines an entertaining mystery with luminous prose that has become Crosby's trademark.