Off Season (A Martha's Vineyard Mystery, 5)

This book held my interest from the start, it's not a page turner, however, it is a nice read.

This book has animal rights protestors vs hunters, a gangster connection, a shady politician, sexual peccadillos, romance among a widow and widower, and kittens. Snow is falling all over the island during Christmas season, and Nash Cortez is stirring up trouble with the animal rights protectors. Later, a dead body is found, and our hero is hired by the girlfriend of the deceased to find the killer. He warns her, she might not like what he finds... a premonition of what is to come. This book was full of enjoyable aspects, and every chapter was a pleasure to read. As with all of Philip Craig's books, you will work up an appetite salivating over the food descriptions too. Thumbs up!

This mystery series is ivery very good. I think that they are almost as good as the Dirk Pitt series. Anyone who is a fan of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt series will like them or anyone who grew up reading and liking Nancy Drew/The Hardy Boys will like them. I sugest the series for those who have outgrown the Hardy boys or read all of the series and are looking for a new good mystery series to read.

I lived on Martha's Vineyard for several years year-round, during the bustling summers and what is known as the "off season." Philip R. Craig's novel captures perfectly the sense of community that year-round Islanders enjoy. He also gives a realistic account about how everyone knows everyone else's business in a closely-knit environment. His characters Mimi and Nash are true to life. His descriptions about how people eke out a living scallopping and fishing in the off-season are also quite accurate. Craig also mixes into his cast of characters a few professional and business people, and their interaction with the native Islanders is key to his story. The suspense in "Off Season" is great, and I could not guess the outcome until the final pages of the book. I also love this book because it contains so many evocative passages about Martha's Vineyard. I feel like I am living there again when I read Craig's (a/k/a J.W. Jackson's) descriptions of my beloved Island. I know every secluded beach and back road about which he writes. When he writes about Wasque Point, I can almost see the sun setting westward over the beach in the late afternoon and feel the salty spray on my face from the crashing waves. Reading this book was like taking another vacation on the Vineyard!

L LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE THESE BOOKS!!!!! A very dear friend introduced me to this marvelous series a couple of months ago and i'm completely, totalllllly addicted!!! i think it would be great to have a recipe section at the end of each book...i'd love to try j.w.'s bluefish pate! as i was reading the earlier fantabulous books, i wondered how martha's vineyard would be 'off season' and lo and behold, that was the very next book in the pile to read....never, ever stop writing about j.w. and zee and their crazy adventures....i'd love to have this great couple as next door neighbors!!!! thanx for so many wonderful hours savoring the incredible descriptions of places and recipes!!!!! i'm simply thrilled that i have 3 more books of this fun series in order to catch up to the present!!!! and when i'm reading something else, i actuallly miss j.w. and zee....crazy, huh???