I’m publishing my second book review this week a day later than I usually do, but for good reason – this read was too good to blow through too quickly, and I wanted to slow down and really savor it. So here I am, Friday evening, finally writing my Thursday review because I literally just finished reading Judy L. Murray’s Villain in the Vineyard.

This is the fourth addition to her Chesapeake Bay Mystery series, set in a small town in Maryland on the water and following the life of real estate agent/amateur sleuth Helen Morrissey. I’ve covered the first three before (here you can find reviews for Murder in the Master, Killer in the Kitchen, and Peril in the Poolhouse), but frankly, this installment is my favorite so far. I would recommend reading the other three first to gain some insight into the ever-growing cast of recurring characters, but this is definitely Murray’s best work.

What I love so much about this one is just how packed it is with action and intrigue. Murray’s mysteries are always entertaining, but this one really had me stumped because there were so many details that kept piling onto each other. Without revealing too much of the plot, I had no idea how all these separate dilemmas going on throughout the story would connect by the end, but she ties them together brilliantly in a way that blew my mind when a certain character’s identity becomes the big reveal. (And when you read this book, you’ll think you know who I’m talking about at a certain point, but trust me, you don’t.)

I also love how these books each have a different theme to them (the first being real estate, the second being a cooking show, etc.), and this one having to do with a vineyard was a fun touch. Although, I really wish I could’ve had a glass of wine in hand while reading it – can’t drink right now because Baby Wilde is still brewing at 25 weeks gestation.

Overall, this is a series I’ll always recommend. It’s immersive, it’s by a local author (who’s very kind, by the way – I really enjoyed meeting her in person a few years back), and the plots are always gripping. For all my Maryland readers, I really urge you to check this series out if you haven’t yet!