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Fredrickson Winery #2
Crushed
Creating the perfect wine can sometimes be murder... When Adam Fredrickson shows up at his sister’s California winery, footloose and carefree, looking for a temporary job and a chance to play his music, he doesn’t expect to find the winery struggling financially, or that the girl next door might just be the girl of his dreams. Margaret Parker, a single mom, newly hired as Chief winemaker at Fredrickson's, finds her simple world put to the test when her father is unexpectedly released from prison, and the man who got her pregnant at fifteen, shows up from Italy wanting to play daddy nine years too late. It's crush time at Fredrickson Winery and everyone is working feverishly to get the grapes in and ensure a great vintage. No one expects murder to be part of the joyous harvest season. Entangled (A Fredrickson Winery Novel) Vol 1 Crushed (A Fredrickson Winery Novel) Vol 2
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 8, 2011
1062 people are currently reading
971 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Ellen Brink
25 books120 followersBarbara is a multi-published author of mystery, suspense, and young adult. Her Fredrickson Winery Novels have been on the best-seller lists multiple times, and her Christian thriller, Split Sense, won the Grace Award in 2012. Again in 2016, she won the Grace Award with the 2nd book of her Double Barrel Mysteries, Much Ado About Murder.
Barbara grew up on a small farm in Washington State, but now lives in the mean "burbs" of Minnesota with her husband and their pups. With their adult kids now pushed out of the nest and encouraged to fly, she spends much time reading, writing, collecting books, riding motorcycles, and keeping one step ahead of AARP. She also really likes black licorice.
Barbara grew up on a small farm in Washington State, but now lives in the mean "burbs" of Minnesota with her husband and their pups. With their adult kids now pushed out of the nest and encouraged to fly, she spends much time reading, writing, collecting books, riding motorcycles, and keeping one step ahead of AARP. She also really likes black licorice.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
August 10, 2011
More like 4.5 stars.
I love how Brink writes and how she crafts her suspense stories. There is just enough realism and angst from the suspense element and a little romance to warm everything up. She does a fantastic job with romantic tension, too. I was feeling it and it was enjoyable indeed. I appreciated how this story tied into the first book, though you could probably read this book as a stand alone and still enjoy it very much. I've learned a lot about making wine and vineyards from reading this series.
The romance developing between Adam and Margaret (Meg) was yummy indeed. They were good for each other and needed to be together, but like any good romantic suspense, that has to get all jacked up to make the story an intriguing one. I loved seeing the characters from the previous books and experiencing the twists and turns in the story. There was also a bit of amateur sleuthing by Adam, which is always entertaining. The ending was killer too. This author has hooked me into the series and I'll be looking for the third installment. Bring it on!
I love how Brink writes and how she crafts her suspense stories. There is just enough realism and angst from the suspense element and a little romance to warm everything up. She does a fantastic job with romantic tension, too. I was feeling it and it was enjoyable indeed. I appreciated how this story tied into the first book, though you could probably read this book as a stand alone and still enjoy it very much. I've learned a lot about making wine and vineyards from reading this series.
The romance developing between Adam and Margaret (Meg) was yummy indeed. They were good for each other and needed to be together, but like any good romantic suspense, that has to get all jacked up to make the story an intriguing one. I loved seeing the characters from the previous books and experiencing the twists and turns in the story. There was also a bit of amateur sleuthing by Adam, which is always entertaining. The ending was killer too. This author has hooked me into the series and I'll be looking for the third installment. Bring it on!
February 22, 2017
Book 2 in the Frederickson Winery series brings back Billie and Adam's evil dad who has been paroled from prison. He ends up in cahoots with Billie's son Davy's father. But the biggest bombshell is one from within the winery itself. The past once again invades the present with twists, turns and unexpected surprises. The suspense keeps your interest and the characters are believable. I liked Book 1 better but will finish this series as Brink definitely left the reader hanging at the end of Book 2.
Favorite Quote: "Having the opportunity to live your dream is more than most of us ever realize."
Favorite Quote: "Having the opportunity to live your dream is more than most of us ever realize."
May 18, 2011
Reviewer: Judy Nickles
Source: ebook provided by author for review
Blurb: When Adam Fredrickson shows up at his sister’s California winery, footloose and carefree, looking for a temporary job and a chance to play his music, he doesn’t expect to meet the girl of his dreams. But the best things in life are usually unexpected.
Margaret Parker, a single mom, newly hired as Chief winemaker at Fredrickson’s, finds her simple world put to the test when her father is allowed an early release from prison, and the man who got her pregnant when she was fifteen, shows up from Italy wanting to play daddy nine years too late.
It’s crush time at Fredrickson Winery and everyone is working feverously to get the grapes in and ensure a great vintage. No one expects murder and kidnapping to be part of the joyous harvest season.
Review: Ms Brink sets up the suspense immediately and continues to up the ante throughout Crushed. Two parallel love stories add unexpected twists. The characters are well-drawn and believable, and the setting in the lush California Napa Valley is described with enough detail to bring the reader into it, but not over-written. The author weaves the details of wine making through the story narrative, providing bonus information to readers unfamiliar with industry.
Her villains are villainous enough for the most discriminating suspense reader—a father convicted of child molestation but released too soon from prison; an ex-lover who took advantaged of a rebellious teen struggling to get past her early years in a dysfunctional family. Her heroes and heroines are heroic enough for the most discriminating romance reader—a loyal brother and first-class attorney; a woman who has moved from victim to victor; a free-spirited young man searching for his place in life; a young woman who, as a single mother, has had to grow up too soon.
This novel is one of those stories that you enjoy most— short enough to promise a quick resolution, long enough to provide all the action (romantic and suspenseful) that satisfies the reader’s soul.
Source: ebook provided by author for review
Blurb: When Adam Fredrickson shows up at his sister’s California winery, footloose and carefree, looking for a temporary job and a chance to play his music, he doesn’t expect to meet the girl of his dreams. But the best things in life are usually unexpected.
Margaret Parker, a single mom, newly hired as Chief winemaker at Fredrickson’s, finds her simple world put to the test when her father is allowed an early release from prison, and the man who got her pregnant when she was fifteen, shows up from Italy wanting to play daddy nine years too late.
It’s crush time at Fredrickson Winery and everyone is working feverously to get the grapes in and ensure a great vintage. No one expects murder and kidnapping to be part of the joyous harvest season.
Review: Ms Brink sets up the suspense immediately and continues to up the ante throughout Crushed. Two parallel love stories add unexpected twists. The characters are well-drawn and believable, and the setting in the lush California Napa Valley is described with enough detail to bring the reader into it, but not over-written. The author weaves the details of wine making through the story narrative, providing bonus information to readers unfamiliar with industry.
Her villains are villainous enough for the most discriminating suspense reader—a father convicted of child molestation but released too soon from prison; an ex-lover who took advantaged of a rebellious teen struggling to get past her early years in a dysfunctional family. Her heroes and heroines are heroic enough for the most discriminating romance reader—a loyal brother and first-class attorney; a woman who has moved from victim to victor; a free-spirited young man searching for his place in life; a young woman who, as a single mother, has had to grow up too soon.
This novel is one of those stories that you enjoy most— short enough to promise a quick resolution, long enough to provide all the action (romantic and suspenseful) that satisfies the reader’s soul.
March 21, 2011
This is the second book in my Fredrickson Winery Novels. "Crushed" is mystery/suspense with a sideline of romance. It follows the lives of the characters from "Entangled" and adds some new ones to the mix.
Creating the perfect wine can sometimes be murder...
When Adam Fredrickson shows up at his sister’s California winery, footloose and carefree, looking for a temporary job and a chance to play his music, he doesn’t expect to find the winery struggling financially, or that the girl next door might just be the girl of his dreams.
Margaret Parker, a single mom, newly hired as Chief winemaker at Fredrickson's, finds her simple world put to the test when her father is unexpectedly released from prison, and the man who got her pregnant at fifteen, shows up from Italy wanting to play daddy nine years too late.
It's crush time at Fredrickson Winery and everyone is working feverously to get the grapes in and ensure a great vintage. No one expects murder to be part of the joyous harvest season.
Creating the perfect wine can sometimes be murder...
When Adam Fredrickson shows up at his sister’s California winery, footloose and carefree, looking for a temporary job and a chance to play his music, he doesn’t expect to find the winery struggling financially, or that the girl next door might just be the girl of his dreams.
Margaret Parker, a single mom, newly hired as Chief winemaker at Fredrickson's, finds her simple world put to the test when her father is unexpectedly released from prison, and the man who got her pregnant at fifteen, shows up from Italy wanting to play daddy nine years too late.
It's crush time at Fredrickson Winery and everyone is working feverously to get the grapes in and ensure a great vintage. No one expects murder to be part of the joyous harvest season.
August 19, 2015
Different.
Most of the book is like romance novel, that I don't like and at the end the murder. Vineyard and workings, dysfunctional family, teenager love and pregnancy. All this and more characters and their stories of love and heart breaks.
Most of the book is like romance novel, that I don't like and at the end the murder. Vineyard and workings, dysfunctional family, teenager love and pregnancy. All this and more characters and their stories of love and heart breaks.
March 1, 2020
The main characters were just a little too perfect for my liking and I thought this was going to be another cheesy “romance mystery,” but the story line got meaty enough to satisfy me as a decent mystery. A huge pet peeve of mine is to read a book and then have it not conclude. You have to buy the sequel to read what happens next. This book ended so abruptly and left me pissed. What?? There were 20 pages left in the eBook version and I wasn’t prepared for it to end just like that. The remaining pages were the beginning pages of Book 3. These characters were not memorable in any way, and because I feel cheated out of a proper ending, I will not invest in any more of this series. There should be a warning on these type of books that cheat us out of a conclusion; like on a pack of cigarettes. WARNING: THIS BOOK DOES NOT HAVE A PROPER ENDING. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! This book was a waste of my time. I give it 3 stars only because the story line had some promise.
December 29, 2017
Clean, suspenseful read
This series deals with some darker issues than a lot of books that fall under “clean romance” and even clean romantic suspense. I got this one free via BookBub, so I haven’t read the first in the series, but was able to infer from this story (a fine standalone) enough. The pace was good, with some good twists and turns and red herrings. Chemistry between characters is excellent for the romantic elements.
I did find that it was a bit dated. The list of songs and use of technology felt a lot more very-early 2000s, but copyright shows 2011.
Possible spoilers below, no specifics:
A word of caution for those who are sensitive—in addition to mentioning a main character’s childhood rape (which I believe is discussed in bk 1), there is a kidnapping, allusion to revenge murder, as well as minor swear words.
This series deals with some darker issues than a lot of books that fall under “clean romance” and even clean romantic suspense. I got this one free via BookBub, so I haven’t read the first in the series, but was able to infer from this story (a fine standalone) enough. The pace was good, with some good twists and turns and red herrings. Chemistry between characters is excellent for the romantic elements.
I did find that it was a bit dated. The list of songs and use of technology felt a lot more very-early 2000s, but copyright shows 2011.
Possible spoilers below, no specifics:
A word of caution for those who are sensitive—in addition to mentioning a main character’s childhood rape (which I believe is discussed in bk 1), there is a kidnapping, allusion to revenge murder, as well as minor swear words.
January 29, 2018
2.5 star. It was ok. Obviously a second book in a series with the first being about Bilie & Handel. Overall the story was interesting enough to keep me reading but I am still a little uncertain about what type of book it is supposed to be. Maybe a family saga? At first I thought it was sa rom,ance but can you really call it 1 dinner and a kiss between Adam & Maggie a romance? Then there is a murder but it is not really a mystery as its all ‘oh there’s a body. Oh xxx killed them’. Anyway as I said the story itself had enough going on that I was curious enough to keep reading to see what happened. Unfortunately I just didn’t really care about any of the characters (didn’t hate them, just didn’t care) with the exception of Maggie’s brother Handel who was the only one who had any personality.
December 27, 2017
This is second in a series, but it seemed to stand up pretty well without having read the first book in the series. The relationships between the two main romantic pairs are pleasant, although the one which developed in this book seemed a bit sudden. The suspense part was more intriguing and kept my interest. It definitely could have done with better editing though, primarily things that get through spell-check because they are real words, although not the right words (poor for pour for example). Still, I liked the characters well enough to go on to the next book in the series, if it's not too expensive.
January 6, 2018
Book 2
This is book 2 of a series so I don't really know exactly what happened in the first book but the characters are well fleshed out and are settled in the story. We have two families that have blended into one family. There is a conniving rich man that has decided he wants his son that he has never seen. The story involves a murder, a kidnapping, wine grape gathering, and the involvement of a child molester. And beginning love. What more could you want!? I would suggest starting with book one called "Entangled" but wherever you start you will enjoy it.
This is book 2 of a series so I don't really know exactly what happened in the first book but the characters are well fleshed out and are settled in the story. We have two families that have blended into one family. There is a conniving rich man that has decided he wants his son that he has never seen. The story involves a murder, a kidnapping, wine grape gathering, and the involvement of a child molester. And beginning love. What more could you want!? I would suggest starting with book one called "Entangled" but wherever you start you will enjoy it.
June 26, 2018
Quick read. Characters realistic. Margaret, mother of Davy; sister to attorney Handel; neighbor to winery owner Billie (nickname) Fredrickson. Adam comes to town looking to play some music, help sister, Billie out at winery. He arrives at beginning of harvest i.e. Crush. At same time, Davy's absentee dad, Augusto Salvatore flies in from Italy to claim son; so he can proof manhood to his dad. Sean Parker dad to Handel n Margaret gets released from prison. He was rapist of young girls, including Billie.
December 30, 2017
I expected a mystery (probably cozy) but instead it read more like romance. I got 18% in before disliking the attitudes about women and men expressed, the POV of the abusive male who talks about seduction as if it's rape, and the broadcasting of who will most likely fall in love with whom made me quit.
The writing is good. If you're into creepy romance (disturbing elements of the story) this may be for you. Not me.
The writing is good. If you're into creepy romance (disturbing elements of the story) this may be for you. Not me.
March 13, 2019
The story was okay but I was distracted by the poor editing: Lots of grammatical (e.g., plurals are NOT made by adding " 's ") and punctuation errors as well as inconsistencies in descriptions. In one case a dog was described as "a giant black Lab" and two paragraphs later it was a "wriggling black Labrador puppy". A good editor would have caught these things. Unfortunately, an otherwise good book was brought down a couple of notches (or stars) by this.
December 22, 2017
Margaret meet her neighbor's brother, thought he was a jerk. Her son thought he was like a new wine, he needed time to soak up the flavors around there. Her son's father, decided to come to the states, for personal gain. Gave up rights, and has never seen him. But, his father won't let him have the business, so time to introduce one grandson.
January 27, 2019
The story was compelling enough to finish, but early on I was reminded how much I was annoyed by the lack of editing from the first book. This could have used more editing as well.
Cliffhanger ending as she’s setting up for book 3. If there’s a long enough lag, I might forget about the editing issues and want to know what happens with the characters.
(Free Kindle version)
Cliffhanger ending as she’s setting up for book 3. If there’s a long enough lag, I might forget about the editing issues and want to know what happens with the characters.
(Free Kindle version)
February 11, 2019
A GREAT read, thank you
A really fun, engaging read. The setting in Napa is too beautiful and the story was engaging. I read it beginning to end in a couple days, looking forward to crawling into bed at night to finish it. It was also heart breaking and sadly realistic, a story of our times. Definitely worth reading if you blow thru books like I do. Thanks Barbara.
A really fun, engaging read. The setting in Napa is too beautiful and the story was engaging. I read it beginning to end in a couple days, looking forward to crawling into bed at night to finish it. It was also heart breaking and sadly realistic, a story of our times. Definitely worth reading if you blow thru books like I do. Thanks Barbara.
February 25, 2019
Great , easy, fun read. Got it for free, but worth paying for if you like your romance mixed with a good mystery and some suspense. The description of wine country is lush, and the characters well fleshed out.
Did not feel I was lost without reading the first in the series, but that would be worth a read as well I would imagine.
Did not feel I was lost without reading the first in the series, but that would be worth a read as well I would imagine.
November 27, 2020
2.5 stars rounded up because it did create some intrigue for me about who was going to be murdered (didn't happen till 3/4 into the story), winemaking details were interesting and I did like the character Adam. Otherwise, neither the romance nor the murder were convincing and the back story, presumably from book 1, was peculiar to me. I think I'm "one and done" with this series.
May 23, 2017
Another good story.
This is the second book in this series. I enjoyed this one just as much. I love how the author introduces her new characters and then brings some mystery into the story.
This is the second book in this series. I enjoyed this one just as much. I love how the author introduces her new characters and then brings some mystery into the story.
October 25, 2019
Great story
This book keeps you intrigued by the happenings at a vineyard including a murder of someone you wouldn't miss. It has a sad background story within it. It's an interesting read.
This book keeps you intrigued by the happenings at a vineyard including a murder of someone you wouldn't miss. It has a sad background story within it. It's an interesting read.
May 11, 2021
Wine and suspense
A little love, suspense and family intrigue. The interplay of siblings and friends and lovers make the story interesting and a bit unpredictable. The setting of wine country and harvest time gives an authentic flavor.
A little love, suspense and family intrigue. The interplay of siblings and friends and lovers make the story interesting and a bit unpredictable. The setting of wine country and harvest time gives an authentic flavor.
January 3, 2018
3.5 is a more accurate rating. Liked the characters but editing required to tighten up the narrative. Some plot points seem contrived but all in all, a fun read.
April 7, 2018
Cap
This is a very romantic suspense novel. Funny, enjoyable, at times slapstick. Would recommend to everyone who has sense of humor.
This is a very romantic suspense novel. Funny, enjoyable, at times slapstick. Would recommend to everyone who has sense of humor.
January 10, 2018
People like wine
The fact that some is like a universal language, it seems to be the universal drink. Seem to be enjoyed by all whether it's French or Spanish.
The fact that some is like a universal language, it seems to be the universal drink. Seem to be enjoyed by all whether it's French or Spanish.
January 12, 2018
It was a good yarn that takes place during harvest in Napa. Entertaining but it could’ve used an editor.
February 5, 2018
Could see what was coming, easy read
May 4, 2018
Breath read.
It was very hard to put down. Read the book in two days. Keep up the good work. Would read from this author any time.
It was very hard to put down. Read the book in two days. Keep up the good work. Would read from this author any time.
June 1, 2018
Cute. Read as a stand alone and believe enough backstory was given that I didn't feel I was missing anything by starting with book 2.
June 15, 2018
It was an interesting story and I enjoyed it.
September 16, 2018
Like the series
This is the second book in the series. The story continues with new unexpected twists and turns. The writing is superb. Characters are alive.
This is the second book in the series. The story continues with new unexpected twists and turns. The writing is superb. Characters are alive.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews