I had begun calling it “The Summer of MacGyvering” after the guy on the eponymous cult television show who could disable a missile with a paper clip, make tear gas out of kitchen spices and vinegar, or put together a defibrillator out of candlesticks, a rubber mat, and a microphone cord. Once he’d even used rosary beads to help launch a catapult.

For the last few months almost every piece of equipment we relied on during the frantic, fraught months of harvest seemed to break or required parts that were unavailable or backordered for weeks since everyone who owned a vineyard apparently needed that same damn part. So we got clever—because what are you going to do, right?—jerry-rigging whatever it was, putting it back together until it worked just like MacGyver would have done. Duct tape, hair scrunchies, paper clips, playing cards, Q-tips, matches, an eyeliner pencil, and once, gummy bears, but the less said about that the better.

So when Antonio came to me, and said, “Lucie, I’m sorry, but . . .” I held up my hand because I did not want him to finish his sentence.

Anyway, he didn’t need to. The look on his face said enough. Either it was going to be “the pump is broken” or “the chiller conked out . . . again” or “the destemmer just stopped.”

He threw me a you-just-shot-the-messenger look, with enough reproach to make me feel guilty for snapping at him, even though all of us had been irritable and on edge these last few months.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have cut you off. What is it?” I managed not to tack on this time.

Antonio takes these things personally, as if it’s his fault because he’s the manager at Montgomery Estate Vineyard and believes he’s responsible for making everything run like clockwork even though he knows better. We may grow grapes and make wine, but the bottom line is that we’re also farmers living at the whim and mercy of Mother Nature who can be kind or churlish in the flash of an instant. And now that climate change has become part of our daily lives, she can also be moody and unpredictable in the “never-have-I-ever” way. So Antonio believes the least he can do is make sure the equipment—which he figures he can control—is working.

He shot me an unhappy look. “It’s not what you’re thinking. It’s not the equipment.”

“Then, what . . . ?” The question died in my throat. Not what: who. “Antonio, is it one of the crew? Please, no.” I said as he nodded.

Our worst nightmare. What we did could be dangerous, though you might not think so because, after all, we make wine. But the process involves using equipment with long, lethal-looking blades and swiftly whirling parts, pruning knives so sharp they could slice off your finger in the blink of an eye, floors that could be slick and wet, rooms that could quickly fill with enough carbon monoxide to knock you unconscious if you weren’t careful, or even kill you if no one found you fast enough. There are more accidents at vineyards—including a lot of fatalities—than any of us would like our clients to know about. Because, frankly, a lot of people figure what we do all day is toddle up and down rows of grape-laden vines, glass of crisp Chardonnay or an exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon in hand, beaming with pride as we admire God’s handiwork. Let me tell you, it’s nothing like that.

Deeds Left Undone – A Wine Country Mystery, Book 13
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 2025
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

It’s harvest time and trouble is fermenting for Virginia winemaker Lucie Montgomery in this warm-hearted, twisty mystery featuring small-town rivalries, buried secrets and full-bodied murder.

When a vineyard accident during harvest season leaves Lucie Montgomery without a valuable employee, it’s her worst nightmare. But before she can search for a replacement, there’s more bad news: Paul Merchant, her winery manager’s husband, is found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool.

Police rule Paul’s death an accident, but his wife insists he was murdered because of his leadership of Don’t Pave Paradise, a conservationist group lobbying to keep the region’s beautiful country roads unpaved. And six weeks ago, Paul’s predecessor also died under mysterious circumstances.

As Lucie is drawn into investigating Paul’s death, she discovers more than one motive for the crime—and more than one person in their close-knit community who wanted Paul dead. And when she finds an old photo of a beautiful local heiress who died tragically in a fire eighty years ago among Paul’s papers, she starts to wonder if the modern-day crime might have roots in the past.

Either way, someone is determined to make sure Lucie, who’s agreed to continue the work of Don’t Pave Paradise, hits a dead end before she even gets started. Even if it means committing murder. Again.

About the author
Ellen Crosby is the author of 18 books, including 13 in the Virginia wine country mystery series, 4 in the Sophie Medina series, and Moscow Nights, a standalone. Her books have been nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award and the Library of Virginia People’s Choice Award. The French Paradox was named one of the top 20 books of 2021 by The Strand Magazine. She lives in northern Virginia where she’s currently writing Lost in Time, the 14th wine country mystery which will be published in 2026.