Vineyard Prey: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (A Martha's Vineyard Mystery, 16)

I was very saddened to read about the death of Philip Craig. I have enjoyed this series since I came across the first or second book many years ago. I like very much the recipes in the end. I will be reading the other series J. W. and Brady Coyne stories. I will miss this author.

The spooks from the intelligence community descend upon a winter Martha's Vineyard and put J.W. and his family in a bit of jeopardy, as he is trying to help his old Vietnam buddy, Joe Begay. A sinister terrorist known as "the Easter bunny" seems to be after Begay and one of his spooky associates. J.W. is dodging bullets and bombs in this excellent story. I was very impressed with the research the author did to make this story exciting.

December on Martha's Vineyard means more than holiday preparation. It means deer hunting season. A killer can hardly pick a better time to commit murder than during hunting season when people don orange clothing and walk around openly carrying guns. So it is in the sixteenth mystery in the series Craig set in his home of Martha's Vineyard. Retired cop J. W. Jackson is visited by old-army-buddy-turned-covert-operations-guy Joe Begay. Begay shares enough of his past with Jackson to tap Jackson's curiosity--and get Jackson's help--in confronting a killer from Begay's past. Begay is one of five on a secret team who worked together, but three of the five die within a short time. Suspecting he and the remaining member of the team, the man-hungry Kate MacLeod, are next in the killer's murder plans, Begay sends his family away, gets Jackson to help him bait the killer, then waits for the killer to appear. MacLeod shows up at Begay's door instead, and the plot's twists and turns begin as Craig takes us down one possible road only to switch us to a more plausible path, then to an even more probable trail on our way to discovering the killer. As you make the journey, you'll be comparing notes with local law enforcement, the FBI, the DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency), and J. W. to figure this one out. As if that isn't entertainment enough, you'll also enjoy the humor the author slips in. Even more good news is you don't have to have read the first fifteen in this series to like this one. Armchair Interviews says: Prolific author Philip Craig does it again, and we are the lucky readers who benefit.

Most of Philip Craig's Martha's Vineyard Mysteries take place in the warmer months, but in a change of pace, this one takes place in December. Just as J.W. Jackson and his family are contemplating the Christmas season, J.W. receives a visit from his old Army buddy Joe Begay, who needs some help. He wants to be picked up on Cape Cod and brought back to Martha's Vineyard without anyone seeing him. J.W. agrees to the task, without understanding why. Joe explains to him that he once did an undercover government job with a team of five people. Three of the team members have died and he is afraid that he may be next, a potential target for an assassin whose nickname is Easter Bunny. Things become even more complicated when the fifth member of the team, a woman named Kate, shows up on the Island, and there are now two people to protect. Author Craig spins a good yarn, complete with a car chase, explosions, and undercover intrigue. This is a welcome addition to the Martha's Vineyard series.

J.W. Jackson moved his family to Martha's Vineyard to get away from big city life and crime although at times the island resembles the mean city streets. As an ex-city policeman, Jackson takes care of himself which is why Joe Begay, his sergeant when they served in Vietnam, comes to him when he needs help. Jackson smuggles Joe back onto the island after he leaves it and meets up with him at a designated place in Cape Cod. Joe works for one of the black ops organization and he and five other members of a trade delegation were able to kill two terrorists code named Rudolph and Scarecrow. The Easter Bunny got away and since that mission three of the group has been killed. Begay believes the Easter Bunny is coming after him and Kate, the other surviving member of the mission. Kate left her home after finding poisoned needles on pillows in her home. She came to Martha Vineyard's to work with Joe in taking the Easter Bunny down. Unfortunately Jackson becomes involved in their mission because the killer has linked him to Kate and Joe, putting all three of their lives in danger VINEYARD PREY is an exciting and fun reading experience because the protagonist keeps getting pulled into a situation that he really wants no part of all the while protesting. He is happy to stay out of the fiasco and just go on with his life. Phillip K. Craig's latest work is more action-packed than usual and it is so easy to become absorbed in the plot that the everyday world fades away. Harriet Klausner