Jeff Hawksworth
The Friday morning coffee club members were baby boomers; typical of their generation. Relatively well off, reasonably fit and relishing retirement.Two members, Annie and Sue were searching for a property in France when they were introduced to Anton Michaud. A very pleasant Cognac distiller; with a very unpleasant banker who was threatening to foreclose.As their friendship grew, Anton found two wonderful allies in the sisters; Annie for her business acumen and Sue for her libido.The vineyard had been in the Michaud family for generations, producing a cognac of sublime quality. Why then, was Anton so heavily in debt and set to lose the lot? Annie was persuaded to cast a professional eye over things and liked what she found; enough to recruit a gang of investors from the coffee morning club.Det. Sgt. Adam Harding ,retired, wasn’t a particularly willing or welcome member, until they were confronted with blackmail, extortion, collaboration and murder. He was given a new lease for life, even if the people he involved, on both sides of the Atlantic didn’t always feel the same way.