As someone who lived in Northern Virginia and loves wine and cozy mysteries, the Wine Country Mysteries series has long been a favorite. Ellen Crosby does a great job combining charming settings, small-town dynamics, and genuinely interesting information about winemaking and regional history.

In this thirteenth installment, vintner Lucie Montgomery gets involved in a mystery involving the sudden deaths of two local activists fighting a road expansion project. Their deaths, though seemingly accidental, raise enough red flags to send Lucie digging for the truth—before she becomes the next victim.

The pacing is steady, the characters familiar, and the mystery strong enough to keep my attention throughout. These books never feel like fluff; Crosby always weaves in just enough real history and research to add substance to the story.

Fans of the series will be happy to return to Atoka, and newcomers could easily jump in here and enjoy it, too.

Book: Deeds Left Undone
Author: Ellen Crosby
Format: Digital
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Food/Wine
Places Featured: Virginia, United States
Review Score: ★★★★

This latest in the genial long running series sees Lucie grappling with issues in the vineyard, a new marriage, and murders old and new. Real estate development always brings trouble to small towns and rural areas (and of course to urban areas as well) and here it leads to serious villainry. The deaths in the present might be connected to a death 80 years ago, a plot element I thought was unnecessary since there is quite enough going on in the present. Regardless, it's always nice to spend time with Lucie and her pals. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Ellen Crosby's Wine Country Mysteries are the perfect blend of lighter investigation, balanced side stories, complex stories, and beautiful character portraits. No gimmicks or exaggerated situations, generations of conflict exist in this small Virginia town, ripe with political and American history. I always look forward to reading them, and Deeds Left Undone is the latest release coming out in about a week. How could an 80-year-old fire and current local town political rivalry be connected? Three deaths, all within the same families, and no one truly understands the layers swept between the generations. So many great possibilities... loved it!

Winemaker Lucie Montgomery is having a rough harvest season. An employee is seriously injured in a vineyard accident leaving her short-handed. To make things worse, wine manager Frankie’s husband Paul Merchant is found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool, leaving Lucie yet another employee short. Both deaths happen just as all hands are needed to harvest and process delicate Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, a task that can’t be left to the untrained.

Was Paul’s drowning accidental? Lucie starts to wonder when she realizes that Violet Rossi, Paul’s predecessor as leader of Don’t Pave Paradise, also died under mysterious circumstances. Could someone want the rural roads paved badly enough to kill? And why does the name of socialite Eleanor Blake keep popping up? Is there a connection to her death eighty years ago in a theater fire?

Lucie unravels the case with help from Thelma Johnson, “sassy octogenarian” owner of the General Store, while trying balance work and life with her new husband, Quinn. Since this is the first book I’ve read in this series, I feel like there’s a lot more about these two characters I’d like to know! (Yes, I’ve already added the series to Mount To-Be-Read.) An usual aspect of Thelma’s character is that she uses a Ouija Board to talk to the dead. We don’t get to see that in this book but it adds a fun woo-woo possibility. I also get the impression that California-born Quinn has been adapting to life in wine-horse-and-hunt Virginia, perhaps not always easily.

Besides the characters, I really like the vineyard setting. I knew little about wine or winemaking before reading this book and learned a lot along the way. Did you know that Oenology means “the science and study of wine and winemaking”? That wines contain tannins? I also learned how delicate Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are and how to process them to make wine. In addition to wine, Virginia is horse country, so Lucie also attends a race where she find more clues about the mysterious deaths. The clues are well-paced but an astute reader might piece together the solution before Lucie does. Even so, the ending is satisfying.

Fun facts: the plot is based on a real-life plan to save rural roads in Loudoun County, VA and the movie theater is based on the real Hollywood Theater in Middleburg, VA which, sadly, no longer exists.

I recommend this book (and series) to anyone interested in rural Virginia, wine, or horses. You can read this book without reading the rest of the series. Or do what I’m going to do: read this book, then start from the beginning!

I am so grateful Lucie, Quinn, and all the Atoka crowd are back. Reading about the northern Virginia wine country, local lore, weather, romance, and mystery makes me so happy! Deeds Left Undone has it all. Pour a glass of Virginia Cabernet Franc and jump into the story!

When is a tragic accident (or three) not accidental but carefully crafted murder. Lucie has a difficult time sorting through the politics and confrontations that make up conservationists against concrete progress. The plot twists were so sneaky and diabolical! Really enjoyed this mystery but want to go back and dig around in some of the earlier ones, too.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital galley from Severn House via NetGalley.
#DeedsLeftUndone by @ellencrosbyauthor #WineCountryMysteriesBk13 @severnhouseimprint #NetGalley ***** review #goodreads #bookbub #storygraph #librarything
#cozymystery #friends #investigation #secrets #lies #winecountry #mystery #series #virginia #wine #murder #virginiaisforwinelovers #virginiawine #virginiawinecountry #mysteryseries
#amateursleuth #murder #investigation #conservationistlobby #rural #localcops #oldcase

Another engrossing mystery in the Wine Country series, set in Virginia and featuring winemaker Lucie Montgomery and her husband Quinn.

They are in the midst of grape harvest when multiple crises intrude. One of their top men is seriously injured and requires emergency surgery, and then they receive word that their tasting room manager's husband has been found drowned in a swimming pool. The victim had just taken over a local action committee dealing with blocking the paving of historic roads in the horse and hound district, thus setting the stage for some major development. And conveniently, several months before the previous leader of the group had died in a single car accident.

It's hard for Lucie, or the families, to believe the deaths aren't related to their campaign. When she starts digging, Lucie also discovers a link to another tragic death decades earlier. How are all these events connected?

These stories are intertwined with some history and some interesting winemaking tidbits. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I didn't realize how much I'd missed Lucie Montgomery and the Wine Country mysteries until I picked up "Deeds Left Undone". Crosby weaves an engaging story to connect two sudden deaths with a contentious paving plan and a suspicious fire from the past. Totally worth your time to read!

In this thirteenth title in the Wine Country Mysteries series, vineyard owner Lucie becomes suspicious when the husband of the vineyard manager dies in an apparent pool drowning. Paul was heading up a conservationist group advocating to keep local country roads unpaved; his predecessor died mysteriously just six weeks earlier. Coincidence, or is someone willing to stop at nothing to halt the conservation efforts?

I liked the inclusion of the conservationist group; I had no idea there were historical unpaved roads in that part of the country, or that individuals would lobby to keep them that way.

I did not like the inclusion of the historical element (a gorgeous local heiress died tragically in a fire eight decades earlier, is she somehow connected to the present-day deaths?) as a major part of the plot---it seemed incredibly far-fetched. It's also grating the way that Lucie's family members are just insanely talented. Her half brother isn't just a photographer, he's a photographer for National Geographic. Her cousin doesn't just own a restaurant, she owns a Michelin-starred restaurant. It's a little much after awhile. I didn't get the immersive feel of being in the vineyards/part of the winemaking process with this book that I did from other titles in this series, and the accident with her employee near the book's beginning was a very convoluted way of getting Lucie to interact with another character in the story. Recommended for series completionists only.

Deeds Left Undone, the excellent continuation of the murder mystery series set in the wealthy wine country of Northern Virginia, continues to captivate readers. As always, Ellen Crosby weaves a rich tapestry of history, showcasing the unspoiled beauty of the small towns and vast farms. The story revolves around Lucie, her friends, and her family, who must unravel an intriguing mystery. I am thrilled that this captivating series has resumed, promising more thrilling adventures in the enchanting region.

It has been three years since book 12 of the Wine Country Mysteries, so long that I thought maybe the series was over. To my great delight, Book 13, Deeds Left Undone, will be published in August 2025. To my even greater delight, I received an ARC of the book from NetGalley. And to my greatest delight of all, the book is as good as I remember the series being!

Having lived in Northern Virginia, many of the areas and descriptions in the series are familiar to me. Knowing the location even a little bit makes the story more enjoyable, and Crosby does a great job of describing the Leesburg area. And the setting plays a big part of this mystery, with a debate over how much development is good and how much is bad seeming to set in motion a murder--or maybe two murders.

Both of the leaders of the opposition group to paving more local roads have died recently--ruled accidents by the police. But Lucie Montgomery, owner of a local vineyard and lifelong resident of the area, suspects that these deaths were not accidental at all.

As she begins to investigate, she uncovers secrets some of her friends and neighbors would prefer to keep hidden. She also learns more about the ongoing development debate and ends up taking over for the latest victim. With the previous two leaders already dead, will Lucie be the third victim?

Deeds Left Undone continues the excellent storyline about murder in the wealthy wine country in Northern Virginia, and as always Ellen Crosby does a great job of incorporating the history of the area, the (somewhat) unspoiled beauty of the small towns and large farms, and an engaging mystery to be solved by Lucie, her friends, and her family. I'm so happy this series has resumed!

Worthy Addition.,
The thirteenth outing in the Wine Country Mystery series and harvest time brings major issues for Virginia winemaker Lucie. An accident has already left her an employee down but when the managers husband is discovered dead in his swimming pool, Lucie is pulled into an investigation proper. Police have ruled the death accidental but his wife and Lucie think differently - things are about to get very dangerous indeed. A deftly plotted mystery with a well drawn and credible cast of characters in a well imagined setting. A worthy addition to this series.

#DeedsLeftUndone #NetGalley is an intense cozy mystery that had so many twists and turns, I kept reading until the last page.
Lucie and her husband Quinn are harvesting the grapes at their vineyard when tragedy strikes.
First, their employee has a horrible accident, keeping him out of work for an extended time.
Then their manager receives a devastating call, her husband has been found, unresponsive, at the bottom of their pool.
While Lucie tries to help Frankie through this horrible time, she can't believe his death was an accident, and she's determined to find the truth.
As the story goes on, horrible secrets are revealed and Lucie finds the answers she's looking for, but if she's not careful, she may be grieving her own loss.
I really loved this book and I'm happy to recommend it to other readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to read an advanced copy of this book.