Sun Valley, Idahoplayground of the wealthy and politically connectedis home to an annual wine auction that attracts high rollers from across the country, and Blaine County Sheriff Walt Fleming is the one who must ensure it goes off without a hitch. The worlds most elite wine connoisseurs have descended on Sun Valley to taste and bid on the worlds best wines, including three bottles claimed to have been a gift from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams. With sky-high prices all but guaranteed for these historic items, it's no wonder a group of thieves is out to steal them. Walt is responsible for all aspects of the glitzy event, from security of the dignitaries to the physical safety of the auction site to the transportation and safeguard of the wines themselves.
Walt is enjoying a rare afternoon of freedom, fly-fishing with his nephew, Kevin, when a passing truck catches his eye his suspicions throwing him headlong into the discovery of a complicated plan to steal the rare wine. When a bomb detonates just as the auction revs up, the investigation explodes as well, pulling Walt in a dozen different directions. It seems Walt is caught in the middle of a heist of epic proportionsand not the heist he had prepared forall orchestrated by the ingenious mind of Christopher Cantell, a man who appears to have covered everything, including the way Walt's own sheriff's office will react.
"Although his ending is a bit flat ... Pearson serves up steady suspense and a compelling setting in which members of society's underbelly prey on those living above it all." - Booklist
"[E]ven the savviest readers will be fooled as Pearson drags poor Walt and friends through a series of clever twists and turns in this fast-paced nail-biter." - Publishers Weekly
"Despite enormous plot holes, this latest in the best-selling series is entertaining and great fun for anyone who likes a well-written thriller." - Library Journal
"A throwback to the time when plotting and pacing were the detective story's sine qua non; Pearson shows once again how it's done." - Kirkus Reviews
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Ridley Pearson, born in 1953 in Glen Cove, New York, is a New York Times bestselling author of more than 50 novels, divided between suspense and young adult adventure. Over the years, his work has been published in two dozen languages, and has been adapted by network television and for the Broadway stage. His book Peter and the Starcatchers, written with Dave Barry, was adapted by Rick Elice into a play which went on to Broadway to win 5 Tony Awards.
Ridley was awarded The Raymond Chandler Fulbright fellowship in detective fiction from Oxford University in 1990 and was the Missouri Writer Hall of Fame Quill Award Winner in 2013.
His research has spanned the globe and included everything from the engine room of a cruise liner, to a nighttime visit to Walt Disney World's It's...
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