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Summary
Summary
When residents clash with a powerful development agency, year-round islander J. W. Jackson becomes embroiled in the conflict. After one company executive is shot at and another is stabbed to death, J. W. has to take action to restore peace.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This absorbing yarn, the 14th in Craig's series set on Martha's Vineyard, portrays an island unknown to most visitors, cold and raw with a March wind biting instead of fish. Retired Boston policeman and part-time PI J.W. Jackson and his wife, Zee (whose head was turned by another man in last year's Vineyard Enigma), are enjoying an off-season lunch with friends at a Vineyard Haven deli when shots ring out in the street. Someone has tried to kill Paul Fox, brother of unscrupulous real-estate tycoon Donald Fox. The odd thing is, Paul was wearing a bulletproof vest, as if he were expecting serious trouble. Donald Fox, who's been buying up land with questionable titles and threatening island residents, may have been the intended target. In his search for answers, J.W. encounters some nasty thugs among the familiar cast of diverting locals, from the "keep out of this" police chief to the chief's sassy assistant. Island incidentals include fencing, fishing and firearms, along with the usual complaints about tourists. J.W.'s homely philosophy and a subtle theme of loyalty add depth. Well-constructed and well-paced, with humor and suspense, this outing shows Craig in fine form. (June 1) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
J. W., Zee, and their children live year-round on Martha's Vineyard, and J. W. always seems to be finding trouble. The retired cop prefers fishing and his kids to his old life, but when Paul Fox, brother of a much-despised real-estate broker for the firm Saberfox, is shot directly in front of J. W., his curiosity is more than roused. Paul is courting a local lass, Maria, and her mother, Dodie, a victim of Saberfox's hard-sell approach, wants J. W. to find out more. Maria, meanwhile, wants to know about the handyman on the island who is courting Dodie. These investigations turn into connections, and a Saberfox employee is murdered. The art of fencing, unsavory business practices, and what constitutes loyalty combine with the Vineyard lore, geography, and custom that saturate this series. J.W. is a bit more ruminative in this one, letting readers see some of how he works things out. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido
Kirkus Review
Martha's Vineyard in the off-season: the bluefish aren't running, but two real-estate developer brothers are when someone takes a potshot at them. Which Fox brother was the target, Donald or Paul? Former Olympic fencer Donald and Brad Hillborough, his gimpy right-hand man and former teammate, ruthlessly sue landholders who turn down their bids. But the kindlier Paul, who is courting won't-sell Dodie Donawa's daughter Maria, not only has grief from his future mother-in-law but flack from Maria's former beau, the beefy Rick Black. In the week or so after ex-Boston cop J.W. Jackson, now a laid-back odd-jobs man (Vineyard Shadows, 2001, etc.), first lays eyes on the brothers, first Paul and then Donald resorts to body armor, one of their agents is murdered, two of their more inept employees tail J.W., and the lovesick Black attacks him. Furthermore, John Reilley, who's been keeping company with Dodie, seems to have no past--no family, no credit rating, no proof he is who he claims to be, although he emerged 40 years ago just as Spain's Olympic hopeful, fencer Juan Diego Valentine, disappeared. In sorting through everyone's history, J.W. stays a step ahead of Vineyard cops Agganis and Otero, but only a sidestep away from a fatal encounter with a saber. Moderately savvy readers will nab the baddie early on, but will undoubtedly hang around for bluefish season, seafood casserole (recipe included), and J.W.'s low-key island philosophizing. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
This latest visit to Martha's Vineyard begins with a bang: an unknown assailant shoots someone outside the delicatessen where series private investigator J.W. Jackson (Vineyard Enigma) is eating with his wife. Jackson is soon embroiled in a murder case involving grabby real estate developers and recalcitrant islanders. Off-season atmosphere and the usual high-caliber sleuthing. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
A Vineyard Killing Chapter One Our children, Joshua and Diana, were over on the mainland for two days, being spoiled by Zee's mother and father, and Zee and I were having lunch in the E and E Deli with John and Mattie Skye. It was a sunny but chilly March day, with a cold wind blowing from the north. Outside, the traffic at the dread five corners Vineyard Haven was moving smoothly along. Such would not be the case when summer arrived and the street would be a slow-moving parking lot. "Too bad the twins couldn't make it down with you," said Zee, wiping her lips. "The girls have more interesting ways to spend their long weekend than being with their parents said Mattie. "They're college women now." I could remember when John and Matti's daughters, Jen and Jill, were little girls, about the ages our children were now. I hadn't been able tell them apart then, and I still couldn't. "They don't make a quesadilla as good as this one up in Westock," I said. "But Weststock has college men," explained Mattie. "Compared to that, even E and E food has insufficient appeal." "You're brave to leave them alone up there for three days," said Zee. I suspected that she was thinking of our Diana who would be of interest to young men in another ten years or so. I shared her view, having begun worrying about just such boys shortly after Diana had been born. "They're eighteen," said John, who made his living teaching medieval lit at Weststock College. "They're supposed to be grown-up enough to stay out of trouble." I had never grown up that much, so said nothing about John's fantasy. The front door opened and let in both some cold air and John Reilley, who looked carefully around the room, nodded slightly to me, and went to the counter to order. I knew a folk song about a sailor named John Riley, but I didn't know much about this John Reilley. Two things I did know were that he always took a survey of a room before he entered it, and that he was a carpenter with the reputation of being good with his hands. It was an excellent reputation to have on an island that was awash with money being spent by people buying old houses, tearing them down, and then building massive new ones. John Reilley would never be out of work as long as he lived on Martha's Vineyard. Almost immediately the door opened again an three other men came in, one limping slightly and carrying a silver-headed cane. After sweeping the room with their eyes, they followed John Reilley to the counter. Apparently today was a day when everybody was checking out delis before they came in. Strange. "Well, well," said John Skye in a quiet voice. "I see that even evil real estate developers are allowed in this joint." My face apparently revealed my ignorance because John added, "The one in the middle is Dot ald Fox, the boss of Saberfox. The one on his right his little brother Paul. I don't know the guy with the cane." "Ah," said Zee, straightening and frowning as she looked at Donald Fox. "The Savannah Swordsman himself, eh?" I now glanced that way, too, for Fox's name was headliner in the local press. The Fox brothers wes tall, handsome men wearing expensive winter coats, hut Donald's face was as hard as his brother's was gentle. "The very same," said John. "Did I tell you that one of his minions has contacted us and made the now famous offer to purchase our place?" "No, you didn't," said Zee, glancing at Mattie's angry face, "but Jeff and I have also been honored by a similar visit. The rep was a Mr. Albert Kirkland, complete with coat and tie and one of those little lap top computers that people carry around instead briefcases these days. Jeff told him to take a hike." "I was much nicer than that," I said. "I just told him we weren't interested in selling any land." "And he said that it might be wise to reconsider since a lot of Vineyard land titles are pretty fuzzy and that Saberfox was doing extensive research in the Registry of Deeds." "He left before any shots were fired," I said. "What's scary," said Zee, "is that Saberfox has more money and lawyers than God and can out spend almost anybody who has land he wants ... A Vineyard Killing . Copyright © by Philip Craig. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from A Vineyard Killing by Philip R. Craig All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
