JACK MACTAGGART SERIES # 3 by CHUCK GREAVES
Philippe Giroux, estimable patriarch of the Chateau Giroux wine empire, has tragically lost a son. Or has he? Once confirmed by the court, Alain Giroux’s death will pave the way for his brother Phil to inherit America’s most storied winery. Or will it? Andy Clarkson, Alain’s boyhood chum, covets the Chateau Giroux vineyard acreage for his neighboring golf resort. Or does he? Claudia Giroux, Philippe’s hauntingly beautiful daughter, has proof that Alain’s death may not have been all that it seems. Or does she?
As the scions of a privileged California wine dynasty grapple for control of their family’s legacy, attorney Jack MacTaggart is caught in a cross-fire of estrangement, betrayal, and murder. To complicate matters, Jack is being shadowed by film star Ethan Scott, who hopes to spin the dross of a family’s private travails into box office gold.
Amid the stately oaks and sylvan vineyards of California’s fabled Napa Valley, Jack and his colleagues Marta “Mayday” Suarez and Regan Fife learn the hard way that while blood may be thicker than water, money is a powerful anticoagulant. As the long-buried secrets of a troubled family are finally revealed, only one question remains to be answered: Who will survive to become The Last Heir?
A FINALIST FOR THE 2015 COLORADO BOOK AWARD
“Intrigue-laden . . . oenophiles should enjoy the Napa Valley flavor, and the legally-savvy, irreverent Jack makes a fine tour guide.”
–Publishers Weekly
“If you think a case with so few suspects will be simple, think again. Very few readers will be able to identify the last heir. Without ever breaking a sweat, Greaves gives an object lesson in how to work the greatest number of permutations with the smallest number of players. Pray that the man never takes up three-card monte.”
–Kirkus
“MacTaggart is wonderful company. Jack’s basically a wise-ass, and half the fun is listening to his voice. He’s something of an unreliable narrator, not in the sense that he keeps anything from you, but that he’s as much in the dark as you are. Which is another instance of how skillfully Greaves deploys the pieces on his chess board…He’s also snort-coffee-out-your-nose funny”
“A gripping look at a world where great resources and the best intentions can go horribly wrong.”
–Booklist