Synopses & Reviews
Philippe Giroux, estimable patriarch of the Château Giroux wine empire, has tragically lost a son. Or has he? Once confirmed by the court, Alain Girouxs death will pave the way for his brother Phil to inherit Americas most storied winery. Or will it? Andy Clarkson, Alains boyhood chum, covets the Château Giroux vineyard acreage for his neighboring golf resort. Or does he? Claudia Giroux, Philippes hauntingly beautiful daughter, has proof that Alains 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 familys 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 familys private travails into box-office gold.
Amid the stately oaks and sylvan vineyards of Californias fabled Napa Valley, Jack learns 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?
Review
Past Praise:“Cleverly intermingles equestrian show jumping, insurance claims, and high-tech science in this sunny California thriller. Great readalikes for tone would be Jack Fredrickson and Spencer Quinn.”—
Library Journal (starred review) on
Hush Money“An auspicious debut. Jack would be welcome back in the winners circle anytime.” —Kirkus Reviews on Hush Money
Review
Praise for the series
“In Jack MacTaggart [Greaves] has created a likable, wisecracking lawyer-detective—Jim Rockford with a law degree.” —William Landay
“Take John D. MacDonalds Travis McGee, Jonathan Kellermans Alex Delaware, and the best of John Grishams protagonists, shake and serve, and youll have Jack MacTaggart.” —Chelsea Cain
“Jack MacTaggart is a delightful, wisecracking hero.” —Phillip Margolin
“MacTaggart is full of awesome.” —Library Journal
Praise for Chuck Greaves
“Greaves is a master of the language.” —Douglas Preston
“Greaves sports a smoking new voice in crime fiction, reminiscent of John Hart. . . . Chuck Greaves has major writing chops.” —Julia Spencer-Fleming
“Among the front rank of legal thriller authors.” —Kelli Stanley
“Greaves makes the most of his twenty-five years as a trial attorney in relating courtroom tactics. The combination of confident writing and a determined and ethical protagonist adds up to a winner.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Synopsis
Monsieur Giroux is not a happy man. Of course, who could be happy while discussing the death of their son? Without an heir, his Chateau Giroux winery in California will be inherited by another family member, its grapes plowed under to make way for a lucrative real estate deal. Yet Giroux believes that his son may still be alive and hires MacTaggart to investigate.
In The Last Heir, the third entry in the Shamus Award-nominated series of Jack MacTaggart legal mysteries, author (and sometimes vigneron) Chuck Greaves blends themes of greed and vanity, rivalry and revenge, bottles them with an unexpected murder, and pours forth a plummy magnum of page-turning mystery about a privileged but deeply dysfunctional American family.
About the Author
CHUCK GREAVES was born in Levittown, New York. He is an honors graduate of both the University of Southern California and Boston College Law School and spent twenty-five years as a trial lawyer in Los Angeles. Hush Money, his first novel, was named by SouthWest Writers as the Best Mystery/Suspense/Thriller/Adventure Novel of 2010, and won SWWs Storyteller Award. He lives in Cortez, Colorado.