Death and Honesty (Victoria Trumbull Mysteries, 5) by Cynthia Riggs (2010-05-03)

If the first seven novels in this series were your cup of tea, you'll like what Victoria Trumbull brewed in her cook room with this one, too. People who live in small towns are fond of saying "but things like this never happen around here" when they hear of murder and other kinds of wrong doing. They usually react that way when the awful thing that triggered the comment just happened there in plain view. West Tisbury is just like small town USA everywhere in that regard. Thank goodness we have Victoria and Casey to keep the roads hot with the police Bronco and the bad guys and girls on the run. As usual, the catchy title is the name of a Vineyard plant or flower I never heard of. I read every wonderful Philip Craig Vineyard mystery at least three times and now I find myself repeating that with Cynthia Riggs' excellent books. I never had the pleasure of coming into Vineyard Haven on the ferry but Riggs makes me believe I did.

Victoria Turnbull, the favorite 92 year-old sleuth teams up with Emery Meyer for a delightful turn at detecting in DEATH AND HONESTY by Cynthia Riggs. Three bodies turn up when a property owner complains about her excessive tax bill and the property evaluators are caught with their fingers in the community's funds. The sly dry wit of Victoria and her friend Howland will keep you turning the pages and coming back for more. A must read for any island mystery or cozy mystery fan. Nash Black, author of Indie finalists WRITING AS A SMALL BUSINESS and HAINTS.

Nonagenarian Martha Vineyard deputy police officer Victoria Trumbull finds the corpse of widow Lucy Pease in the home of assessor Ellen Meadows, who is away. Victoria also finds property cards containing tax information that should never have been removed from city hall. She makes a few inquiries and soon begins to find circumstantial evidence that the three town assessors and their clerk are pulling a scam to skim money from property tax payments by placing a "personal surcharge" on many owners. She also learns that the clerk Oliver Ashpine is planning to extort money through a usury property tax from TV star Delilah Sampson, who owns island property and has a scandalous past long buried. Two more corpses are found as Victoria with the help of Emery Meyer continues her investigation. The latest Martha's Vineyard police procedural mystery (see SHOOTING STAR) is a strong entry that combines the solid investigative wok of ninety-two year old Victoria with a wonderful look at the islanders. Victoria is at her best as she begins to unravel a tax fraud that has led to murder. Series fans will enjoy DEATH AND HONESTY as the feisty heroine follows the clues while escorting the awed audience around Martha's Vineyard. Harriet Klausner