The story opens with Lucie recieving a message from one of her employees that he has found a human skull inside a shed on her property. She hurries over to look into it and then calls the sheriff for an investigation. A few days later a former neighbor returns to Virginia from France, Jean-Claude de Merignac. The Merignacs are a powerful winemaking family in both France and Virginia but they have been friends with Lucie's family for generations. Jean-Claude is a womanizer with a past history with many woman in Virginia. When he is found dead, there are plenty of suspects.
The book alternates between Lucie's investigation into the identity of the person whose skull was found in her shed and the local police investigation into Jean-Claude's murder.
While a huge suspension of belief is usually necessary with a cozy mystery, Harvest of Secrets was pretty believable. Lucie immediately thinks the skull belongs to a family member since the family cemetery, dating back to the 1700s, is located near the shed. After a DNA test proves her to be right this storyline just gets more interesting as it sheds light on an old secret in her family. Jean-Claude's murder investigation is not too exciting but the identity of the family member and why she was killed was a gripping story. In fact, I think the whole Jean-Claude plot could have been eliminated. The other storyline was interesting enough to carry this book.
You should read this one! 4 out of 5 stars.
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