Clarets of Fire

Wine connoisseur Annie "Halsey" Hall must turn up the heat on a felonious firebug . . .

Halsey and the ladies of the Rose Avenue Wine Club are celebrating with newlyweds Penelope and Malcolm, who are thrilled to be opening their new winery. They're also partnering with a cherished neighborhood eatery, Rico's Pizza, which will be serving young clarets from their fall harvest. But as Halsey attempts to savor the bouquet of her Tooth & Nail Cab, a different scent intrudes--smoke. The nearby pizza parlor is going up in flames. As they rush to the scene, Halsey's rescue dog Bardot pulls a body from the burning building--the pizza delivery driver--but it's too late.

When investigators determine a rag soaked with gasoline in a bottle from the winery started the blaze, police suspect both the pizza parlor owners and Penelope and Malcolm of arson and murder. With her friends' business and freedom at stake, it's up to Halsey to smoke out the real arsonist--before somebody else gets scorched . . .

Christine E. Blum was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio. At the age of seven, her parents moved to Europe and luckily took her with them. Christine grew up in Paris, Brussels, and finally London, and along the way developed her unique brand of humor. She lives in Southern California where she's allowed to share a house and pool with her famous yellow Lab, Bardot, who just happens to be able to dive 10' underwater, has appeared on Animal Planet, and was featured in the New York Times bestseller, Underwater Dogs. When not signing paw-tographs, she can be found lounging by the pool and solving murders. Readers can visit Christine's website at christineeblum.com.