“Vineyard Shadows”
J.W. Jackson abandoned Boston for the tranquil pleasures of Martha's Vineyard, hoping to leave the violence of the big city behind.
But when the past comes looking for him in the guise of two brutal thugs, the former cop knows it is time to put down his fishing pole and start opening doors he'd hoped were closed forever.
And when the man the hoodlums were searching for -- a face from Jackson's yesterday -- turns up seeking help, J.W. realizes that personal revenge should be the least of his concerns. Because the shadows darkening the island are longer and deadlier than he ever imagined.
And if he can't stem the dark tide lapping at the shores of his beloved Vineyard, the new life he loves and everyone in it will be changed forever.
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Another good
one from Craig.
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Violent crime is a rarity on the tranquil shores of Martha's Vineyard, which is why ex-cop J.W. Jackson turned in his Boston badge to retire to the idyllic isle.
And that's what makes a six-month-old murder so troubling to the perplexed locals.
But Jackson's got troubles of his own -- including a loving wife, Zee, who's becoming curiously distant ... and the arrival of a mysterious visitor who's searching for a valuable set of stolen statues, and who's certain J.W.'s the man to hunt them down.
It's an assignment that plunges the fisherman/chef-cum-private investigator into an unfamiliar milieu: the Vineyard's cutthroat world of art aficionados.
And suddenly J.W. finds himself pitted against some of the island's most powerful and unscrupulous figures, uncovering lethal threads that may connect an unsolved mutilation/slaying with those who would stop at nothing -- including murder -- to add rare forbidden objects to their collections.
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| I may go back to this author later. This book didn't measure up, but it had some good points. |
It's particularly quiet on Martha's Vineyard this summer, since a shadowy figure called "the Silencer" began his covert campaign of destruction -- disabling the audio systems in the homes and vehicles of selfish, music-blasting islanders. A respite from the unwanted noise suits fishing enthusiast, former cop, and sometime investigator J.W. Jackson just fine -- until a gargantuan new Chappaquiddick mansion is vandalized and a night watchman is thrown to his death off a nearby cliff.
Hired by the aristocratic mother of the most likely suspect to help prove her son's innocence, J.W. starts to explore some mysterious connections linking the Vineyard's most prominent families. But digging up the dirty secrets of the island elite may only inflame a murderer who's not done killing -- and hasten J.W.'s own journey to the graveyard.
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This book was a bit
disjointed, but
I found it better
toward the end.
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Philip R. Craig and William G. Tapply -- veteran mystery novelists and longtime fishing buddies -- are back with a second joint novel starring their respective series heroes, J. W. Jackson and Brady Coyne.
And something big -- something very big -- is about to happen on beautiful Martha's Vineyard.
International superstar entertainers, top politicians, a former president, and the social elite will come together at the Celebration for Humanity, a musical extravaganza to be telecast live around the world. Headlining the show is legendary singer Evangeline, who's flying in from her Scotland castle, accompanied by her young daughter, Janie.
Vineyard fisherman and sometime private investigator J. W. Jackson isn't much interested in pop music, but he agrees to take a job as the gorgeous Evangeline's driver and guide. The money is good and the company is intriguing.
J.W.'s Boston lawyer pal, Brady Coyne, also has business on the Vineyard. His old friend Mike Doyle is dying, and Mike wants to reconcile with his daughter Christa, who is rumored to be on the Vineyard, before it's too late. Can Brady find her in time?
J.W. 's assignment gets deadly serious when the Celebration's director, Odgen Warner, is found murdered just days before the show is to open. Warner was known to be gruff and demanding, but his death is a shock to the cast and crew. Was it a random killing, or is there a murderer among them who might strike again? Could Evangeline be the next victim? Or is she a suspect?
The search for young Christa Doyle also turns complicated when Brady discovers that a charismatic religious leader may be holding her on an Island compound against her will. Christa and Evangeline live in very different worlds, yet Brady and J.W. find that they must weave together every thread of evidence if they are to save both women's lives.
Filled with charming Vineyard vignettes of fishing, family life, and spirited cocktail hours on the Jacksons' balcony overlooking the sea, Second Sight is a page-turning novel of suspense from two of the most beloved writers in crime fiction today.
Includes three recipes.
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"Third Strike"
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This was a rapid-fire,
captivating book with
suspense and humor
throughout
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Eminent mystery authors Philip R. Craig and William G. Tapply team up for a richly nuanced new installment in the Brady Coyne/J. W. Jackson series that is a tribute not only to two witty, smart fictional sleuths but also to the enduring friendship of their creators.
It's late August, just when thousands of vacationers on beautiful Martha's Vineyard are preparing to go home so the kids can return to school. There's a problem, though. A union has gone on strike, paralyzing the Steamship Authority, which runs the ferries to "America," and creating panic and anger among many tourists and islanders alike.
When an explosion destroys a boat's engine room and kills the striker who apparently planted the bomb, J. W. Jackson, once a Boston cop but now an island man-of-all-work, reluctantly agrees to the widow's pleas that he attempt to prove her husband innocent of the crime.
As J.W. begins inquiries, he discovers a complex series of relationships among strikers, scabs, and boat owners, and encounters violence of his own.
Meanwhile, Boston attorney Brady Coyne gets a call from a former client now living full-time on the Vineyard, who tells him about a group of armed men loading and unloading mysterious crates at a dock at midnight.
Jackson and Coyne get together and discover that not only are their cases connected but that time is running out for them to prevent a crime that could have international ramifications -- and their only hope will be to confront dedicated killers face-to-face....
With its winning contrast of page-turning suspense and evocative Vineyard ambiance, "Third Strike" is crime fiction at its best.
It was published in 1969, when he was 35. His second (A Beautiful Place to Die) was published in 1989, when he was 55.
During the 20 years between appearances in print he wrote and submitted novels that no one wanted to publish. Every year since 1989, Scribner has published a volume of Phil's mystery novels, all of which are set on Martha's Vineyard.
