Vineyard of Lies by Deborah Dakins centers on Gina, a journalist living in Idaho. Her career and reputation have been shaken up a bit. After being offered a chance to get away from the tension around her, she joins a friend on a wine tour along Italy’s southern coast. While there, she is drawn into the breathtaking vineyards, delicious food, and encounters with new people from around the world. An unexpected incident in her tour group raises questions and suspicions that refuse to leave her alone. While chasing the story, Gina finds herself torn between her instincts, her relationships, and the possibility of love. Ultimately, she must decide what path forward she truly wants.

This book blends mystery, personal growth, and a touch of romance in a page-turning, heartfelt tale. We all must face hard choices, and after reading Deborah Dakins’s Vineyard of Lies, I found myself appreciating how Gina's struggles mirrored the reality that circumstances rarely fit neatly into one box. She was relatable since many people know that their judgments may not lead to ideal outcomes, yet they make decisions anyway. I enjoyed how the romance was present without being the focus. I couldn’t put the book down until I found out what the next chapter could hold. The settings in wine country added richness, reminding me how places can shape both identity and opportunity. I also liked how the secondary characters felt real, each pushing Gina in a different direction without overshadowing her journey. This novel left me reflecting on resilience and how even flawed decisions can lead to unexpected growth.

Vineyard of Lies by Deborah R. Dakins is a good, old-fashioned mystery that takes readers on a journey from Idaho to the beautiful vineyards of Italy. Gina Pagliaro is a journalist working for a local wine magazine. She knows she has talent and is determined to gain the promotion she seeks. However, when she decides to publish a hit piece on a suspicious vintage from the biggest winemaker in the area, without seeking her editor’s approval first, she is absolutely floored to find herself fired and her reputation in tatters. A wine tour of Italy with her best friend Richard seems like the perfect salve to her wounded pride as well as an opportunity to escape the gossip of the close-knit Idaho wine community. A tragic “accident” on an Italian island leaves Gina with a tough choice: does she accept the official findings that this death was almost certainly an unfortunate accident, or does she follow her journalistic gut feeling that this was foul play and investigate it?

Vineyard of Lies was a gentle change of pace for me as a reader, and I thoroughly appreciated the laid-back vibe of this story. Author Deborah R. Dakins has done a great job of setting the scene for the unfolding possible murder mystery. Her lead character in Gina Pagliaro was perfectly shaped into the role she now found herself in. As the daughter of a winemaker and someone who had grown up in the industry, she had a deep love for and appreciation of wine and all the accoutrements of the wine community, including its snobbishness and somewhat elitist attitudes. Gina was easy to identify with and find empathy for, although, like her friends, it was easy to question some of her emotional decision-making at times. I particularly appreciated the opportunity the author used to educate less knowledgeable readers about the various types, varieties, processes, and pairings of wines and the industry. That gave the story great interest and depth. The author’s descriptive prose transports the reader to Italy’s vineyards to feel the salt air on their cheeks and smell the grapes. This is an enjoyable read that I highly recommend.