<b>Ellen Crosby’s "beguiling" (<i>Kirkus Reviews</i>) fifth mystery takes readers into Washington’s corridors of power, where Lucie Montgomery uncovers a political and financial scandal while trying to locate her missing friend. <BR><BR></b>WHEN LUCIE MONTGOMERY VISITS Washington, D.C., during cherry blossom season she doesn’t expect her reunion with old friend Rebecca Natale is a setup. But Rebecca disappears into thin air after running an errand for her boss, billionaire philanthropist and investment guru Sir Thomas Asher. Also missing: an antique silver wine cooler looted by British soldiers before they burned the White House during the War of 1812. <BR><BR>The next morning Lucie identifies Rebecca’s neatly folded clothes found in a rowboat floating in the Potomac River. Is it suicide, murder—or an elaborate scheme to disappear? A clandestine meeting in the U.S. Capitol, a startling revelation on a windy hill, and cryptic messages from Rebecca cloaked in eighteenth-century poetry are all part of the suspenseful tale of whether Rebecca is alive or dead—and the truth about Asher Investments. <BR><BR>Featuring an absorbing plot, colorful characters, and fascinating winemaking detail, <i>The Vintage Vendetta </i>combines an entertaining mystery with luminous prose that has become Crosby’s trademark.