Crosby, Ellen 1953-

PERSONAL: Born 1953, in Boston, MA; married; children: three sons. Education: Catholic University of America, B.A.; Johns Hopkins University, M.A.

ADDRESSES: Home— VA. Agent— Dominick Abel, Dominick Abel Literary Agency, Inc., 146 W. 82nd St., 1B, New York, NY 10024. E-mail— [email protected].

CAREER: Freelance journalist. Former foreign correspondent for ABC News Radio and former economist for the U.S. Senate.

MEMBER: International Association of Crime Writers (North American branch), Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime.

WRITINGS

Moscow Nights (novel), Piatkus (London, England), 2000.

The Merlot Murders: A Wine Country Mystery (mystery novel), Scribner (New York, NY), 2006.

The Chardonnay Charade (mystery novel), Scribner (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to periodicals, including the Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, and the Journal (now the Washington Enquirer).

SIDELIGHTS: A longtime freelance journalist, Ellen Crosby is also a mystery writer. In Crosby’s second mystery, The Merlot Murders: A Wine Country Mystery, Lucie Montgomery gets a call while overseas in France informing her that her father has died. When she returns to Virginia, she not only finds her father’s wine estate neglected but also discovers that her brother, Eli, has convinced their younger sister, Mia, to agree to sell the estate. It appears that Eli needs money to help support his wife’s frivolous spending habits and that Mia is having an affair with Lucie’s former lover, who was involved in the accident that killed her father. Before long, Lucie learns from her godfather that her father’s death was not an accident, and she sets out to solve the crime and save the estate in the process. In a review of The Merlot Murders in Publishers Weekly, a contributor wrote: “Like a fine wine, Crosby’s debut is complex and intricate.”Booklist critic Barbara Bibel commented that the book has “an absorbing plot, rich with details on the wine industry.” Calling the book “superb,” in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Oline H. Cogdill added that the author “writes. . . evocatively about wine and wine-making.”

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2006, Barbara Bibel, review of The Merlot Murders: A Wine Country Mystery, p. 24.

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2006, review of The Merlot Murders, p. 496.

Publishers Weekly, June 12, 2006, review of The Merlot Murders, p. 33.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), September 27, 2006, Oline H. Cogdill, review of The Merlot Murders.

ONLINE

Ellen Crosby Home Page, http://www.ellencrosby.com (December 22, 2006).