Third Strike

This J. W. Jackson mystery lived up to Philip Craig's excellent writings. Loved the suspense and mystery all through the book.

In this, the third entry in the Brady Coyne/J.W. Jackson adventures, after the earlier "First Light" and "Second Sight," Brady has been called to Martha's Vineyard, where J.W. presently makes his home. Larry Bucyck, a client who he hasn't heard from in years calls him when he fears his life is in danger, and implores Brady to help him. J.W.'s help is enlisted when the steamship strike on the island has idled the ferries which are virtually the only way to get to the island from what they term America [i.e., the mainland]. J.W. has his own problems: His wife, Zeolinda ["Zee"], has prevailed upon him to investigate the death of her friend's husband, who is believed to have died while trying to blow up the engine room of a boat, all part of the growing tensions arising from the strike. It soon appears that two men have died from seeing what they should not have seen, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is not apparent at first in what manner these two threads will come together, but the reader knows it will happen at some point and in some way as the book progresses. The tale moves at a measured pace, unhurriedly, much as life itself does on a summer's day in Martha's Vineyard, I imagine, and with equal pleasure. The authors alternate chapters with their respective protagonists moving the plot along, Mr. Craig's JW Jackson, the former Boston cop and Vietnam vet, happily married after ten years and with two young children. The steamship company has till now been the only viable lifeline between the Vineyard and America; now men are using their own boats, making two, three trips a day, ferrying eight cars at a time, and it was just such a boat that was destroyed in the attempted torching which resulted in the man's death. There are others who are making good money during the strike, ferrying people and cars and freight night and day, for whom the strike is a boon. Meanwhile Brady, who describes himself as a wills and estates lawyer from Boston and a trout fisherman, must find out who killed his former friend and client, who he describes as a "shy, private guy, living like Thoreau down there in the Menemsha woods. He said he just wants to be left alone," an innocent enough man who had managed to find a simple life on his own. Had indeed "carved out a little Walden for himself in a patch of woods on Martha's Vineyard, how he raised chickens and pigs...how he built stone sculptures that I guessed would stand there for eons, the Stonehenge of future generations..." The island at the moment is inundated with "pilgrims who came seeking the Promised Land, found it, and now can't leave because of the strike. The gods are Jesters." "The island cops were already stretched thin by the strike and by Larry Bucyck's murder, to say nothing of maintaining law and order among 100,000 August people who were rowdier than usual because they didn't like being trapped, even though they were trapped in Eden." It would appear that the first ma

Philip Craig's character, J.W. Jackson, lives on Martha's Vineyard where a strike has halted the ferries from crossing over to "America". A man is killed in a boat explosion and police assume that the man was trying to blow up the boat. J.W. is asked by the man's widow to investigate and to prove that her husband died innocently and accidentally. Meanwhile William Tapply's character, Brady Coyne, is called by one of his former clients to come to the Vineyard and help him with a problem. Brady is transported to the island by his old friend J.W., and they soon find that their two cases are related. Craig and Tapply were close friends when Craig was alive, and their collaboration is smooth and seamless. They write alternate chapters from their characters' point of view and the result is a well-told tale of mystery with the wonderful background of Martha's Vineyard. J.W. is devoted to his wife Zee and his children, as Brady is to his girlfriend, Evie, which adds a refreshing dimension to this book. The world lost a good writer when Philip Craig died, but fortunately his many fans have this book and another one, "Vineyard Chill", to look forward to in June.

When Philip R. Craig and William G. Tapply team up, there's bound to be a good yarn. Third Strike is an exceptional collaboration by two mystery writers at the top of their game. Martha's Vineyard is isolated by a strike involving the ferries. The August visitors can't get off the island with their cars except by paying outrageous prices to private boats. Food and fuel are running low, and tempers are running high. One of the private boats is blown up and one of the striking workers is found in the wreckage. Everyone assumes that this was an act of sabotage that went wrong. One of J.W. Jackson's children knows the daughter of the dead man, and the mother asks J.W.'s wife, Zee, for help in clearing her husband's name. J.W. reluctantly agrees but finds few leads. Meanwhile, Brady Coyne is enjoying August in Boston with Evie in the back yard when an old client calls and begs Brady to come to Martha's Vineyard immediately. Brady can't get any answers out of the client on the telephone but is sure the man is scared. Because of the strike, Brady asks J.W. for help in getting to the Vineyard. J.W. agrees to pick Brady up in his boat, and they begin to share stories. Heading off in Zee's Wrangler, Brady is fascinated by Larry Bucyck's rock sculptures. Larry himself proves to have become a hermit who has a fascinating story to tell. Events quicken when Larry's story gains credibility after an unexpected act of violence. J.W. finds that he's pursuing a secret so dangerous that people are willing to be violent to keep it. As the story develops, the pace and action get faster and faster. By involving the two lead characters, there's also room for much more dialog and shared detection. The combination works well. For fishing lovers, the two authors provide lots of bait and schools of interest to whet your taste for the deep sea fishing. There's even a good fictional Red Sox story in the book. Those who love the Vineyard will be pleased to revisit their favorite haunts. I thought that the result was the best novel involving Brady Coyne that I've read in over a decade. Don't miss this one!

The drivers who operate the ferry entering and leaving Martha's Vineyard are on strike stranding vacationers who have to pay higher prices for goods and services. The first death having to do with the strike is Eduardo Alvarez who got killed when he supposedly blew up the Trident that was crewed with scabs. Alvarez's wife tells Zee Jackson that her husband was a militant pacifist who would have nothing to do with blowing up things. Zee asks her husband detective J. W. to investigate what really happened. In Boston, lawyer Brady Coyne gets a call from client Larry Bucyck asking him to come to the Vineyard because he needs help. When he gets there, Brady is shown a house where Larry saw a boat running without lights unloading crates and the men were carrying uzis. Brady sleeps over at Larry's house and the next morning leaves the house with his client still sleeping. When he returns, Larry is gone; he finds him in the pigpen, a bullet in his body and obvious signs of torture on the corpse. Brady stays at the home of his friend sleuth J.W. The two men working separately realize both investigations are linked by terrorists who have the same goal. Now J. W. and Brady have to figure out the logistics, the target and the location and then stop them using deadly force if necessary. Due to the recent death of Phillip R. Craig this is probably the last J.W. Jackson-Brady Coyne collaboration, but this superb tale pays homage to the great author. Readers will feel the loss because this was an exceptional series and THIRD STRIKE is a fantastic who done it. The regional mystery captures the ambience of Martha's Vineyard and makes readers aware that not all who live on the island are rich. The natives who live there year round get much of their bounty from the sea. The pairing of Brady Coyne and J.W. Jackson is well done as each brings something special to the investigation. Harriet Klausner