A Vineyard Killing

Real estate tycoon, and former Olympic gold medalist Donald Fox is looking for unsettled titles for properties he can coerce out of homeowners at a fraction of their value. He is hated by many, of course, so when he and his brother stroll out of a lunch delicatesson, and his brother is shot, we wonder if Donald wasn't the intended victim. J.W. gets involved at the scene of the shooting. He starts asking questions, but soon, another member of the Saberfox family of land grabbers is found dead. What is the connection? Or is it connected? And what about the mysterious John Reilley, who was also at the opening deli scene? Why is he so shifty and secretive? I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy this well developed mystery. Of course, J.W. gets himself into some danger, complains about the paid toilets in Aquinnah (aka Gay's Head), loves Zee, and wets your appetite for more great seafood.

Recently selected as the monthly selection of the Good Morning America ® Book club, the fourteenth novel of the series picks up shortly after Vineyard Enigma. While this novel can be read separately from the series, those readers that read them in order from the very beginning will appreciate this novel more as several minor storylines are addressed.March is still cold on Martha's Vineyard and the tourists haven't started arriving just yet. This year was no exception but things are already stirred up. The permanent residents are riled up and for very good reason. Real estate developer Donald Fox is attempting to buy up local property not because the owners want to sell, but because he has the bucks to make it happen. He wants to put a large package of land together and then sell that to someone else. If folks won't willingly sell for a fraction of what their land is worth, he will force court fights over the often-dubious land deeds. He thinks he can make a killing and does not care how he does it.That is until J. W. Jackson and the lovely Zee watch from a local diner as shots are fired at Donald and his more humane brother, Paul. The shooter manages to get away in the blowing snow as Paul lies wounded in the street. Paul survives the attack and J.W. soon turns down the resulting job offer. He does not like Donald or his company and as a matter of principle wants nothing more to do with them. But soon, as he begins to investigate things on another unrelated matter, he finds that Donald and his company seem to be involved in everything and that J. W. has unwittingly made himself a target.This is another very good book from Philip R. Craig. While no new ground is covered in regards to these characters, there are no unpleasant surprises either. Everyone is back in their usual roles and as always, a couple of recipes are found in the back of the book.In a refreshing change from the last several novels, Joshua and Diana (the children) are not part of the investigation. Safely in school and off the printed page, they are not unrealistically taken to crime scenes as in recent novels. In fact, in direct contradiction to the last several novels, the children are hardly heard from at all.In addition to all but eliminating the children, this novel is tightly plotted and moves at a better pace than the last several. Craig continues the use of two ongoing storylines that crossover and link to each other frequently throughout the novel and this practice works considerably better in this one. The action moves forward at a much better pace and the twin storylines have more depth than those in recent novels. In short, this is a very good book and a definite step up from the last several. This one is more like the early ones in the series and well worth the read.

J. W. Jackson is an ex Boston policeman. He likes to live the simple life and especially to fish. He, his wife Zee, who is a nurse in the local hospital, and their two children, Joshua and Diana live on Martha's Vineyard. Paul Fox is shot outside the E and E Deli in Vineyard Haven on the island. J. W. and Zee were inside eating. J. W. runs outside to help him. Luckily Paul was wearing a bulletproof vest. It is possible that Paul's brother, Donald, who is an Olympic gold medalist who is now a ruthless real estate developer, was the intended target. Donald's company is trying to buy up fuzzy old deeds and evicting homeowners on the island. One of his agents, Albert Kirkland, recently tried to buy the Jackson's home. J. W. is a part-time PI and takes the case to find out who is trying to kill Donald. J. W. begins looking into Donald's life and finds many suspects, especially angry homeowners on the island. He begins looking into John Reilly for a friend and finds that no one knows where he lives. In attempting to follow him home, two men begin following J. W. From here things just keep getting complicated until J. W. can finally make sense of everything.I love this series. We vacationed in New England last summer and we went to Marth'as Vineyard specifically because of my reading this series. It is as lovely in the books as it is in person. Mr. Craig has really captured the life and beauty of the island.The main characters in this series are well written. Every time I read a book in this series, I feel like I'm catching up with an old friend. In each book, the new characters are constructed just as well. He has a real gift for making his characters real.The plot in each book, this one included, is so well written you cannot figure out the mystery completely.I truly enjoyed this book and love this series. I highly recommend it.

If you have read Craig before, there is both recognition of style and surprise. I've noticed the other reviewers and the Editorial reviews are partially giving away the mystery, not mentioning what a wonderful flowing who done it mystery this is. The characters are well defined, the chapters are clearly planned and separated so as not to loose even the most light hearted. I have to say, I think this is Philips best yet, and that is a heavy statement. If you enjoyed this, read Mad Light by Maddox.

After all the trauma he experienced in Vietnam and as a police officer in Boston who got shot in the line of duty, J.W. Jackson is happy living on Martha's Vineyard and making ends meet by taking odd jobs. One day while he and his wife Zee are eating at the local deli, shots ring out and J.T. rushes out to see Paul Fox lying down on the sidewalk. The shooter is nowhere to be found but Paul is not seriously injured because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.It turns out that Paul was wearing the vest in an effort to persuade his brother Donald, a real estate developer who has many enemies, to wear one also. Donald was using immoral but legal methods to force the year round residents to sell their homes to him, making the police think Donald was the intended victim. J.T. gets himself involved in the investigation and almost winds up getting himself killed.It is always great to have a new Martha's Vineyard Mystery to read and A VINEYARD KILLING proves that claim. It is fun getting reacquainted with characters we have come to like and seeing Martha's Vineyard through the eyes of Philip R. Craig is always a special treat. The hero can't stop playing cop as he tries to solve an attempted homicide, a murder, a stalking case, and figure out how all these events are connected. This is definitely a must read mystery.Harriet Klausner