Lucie Montgomery was heading home one night when an SUV blew past her and plowed into one of the stone pillars outside of her vineyard, crashing at a high speed. Lucie tried to get to the driver, former presidential candidate Jamison Vaughn, but the engine was already on fire. She grabbed onto his door handle and pulled, trying to get him out anyway, but her neighbor (who was also passing by and saw the accident) yanked her away to safety before the car exploded in flames.
Lucie was in shock. Vaughn's crash was at the same spot as her own crash--when she was young and in a relationship with the wrong guy, they fought and he ended up driving into that pillar, causing irreparable damage to her leg. But despite Lucie's shock at the memory, she knew what she saw and heard. While she was trying to get Vaughn out of the car, he was determined to stay where he was. But he gave her a message to pass on, a mysterious apology that made no sense to Lucie. But she knew what she witnessed--a man who was not trying to save his own life.
As Lucie tries to figure out what Vaughn's last words meant and who he was talking about, she is also struggling with her own history. Politics, personal pain, relationships, lies, betrayal, and wine all collide in The Vineyard Victims, a mystery where the past and present bleed together into a story where Lucie has to figure out the ending in order to bring Vaughn some peace and to make sure her own story gets to have another chapter.
Ellen Crosby has written yet another fantastic mystery in her Wine County Mystery series (this is the eighth in the series). I have heard Crosby's mysteries described as cozies, and I guess you could make a case for that (amateur detective, "busybody" female protagonist, small community, amateur killer). But I have always felt like Crosby's mysteries were a step higher. I mean no disrespect here because I love a good cozy, but I think of the Wine County Mysteries as having a depth of feeling and of character that elevates them. The Vineyard Victims is no different. It is beautifully written, with complex characters and the texture of a well-drawn setting that creates a deep and moving story of human emotion, betrayal, love, desperation, and revenge.
I highly recommend The Vineyard Victims, as I recommend all the books in this beautiful series. Read it with a good bottle of wine, or (like me) a warm blanket and cup of cocoa.
Galleys for The Vineyard Victims were provided by Minotaur Books through NetGalley.com, with many thanks.