Wicked Fix

I live in the area that is described in the Eastport mysteries -work in Lubec, sing in Eastport, travel the roads, frequent the restaurants, and sometimes think I recognize elements of Grave's characters in my neighbors. This is a great but disturbing read. Great, because this author writes a good mystery with relevant characters and she is a skilled story teller. Disturbing because of the reality that the themes in this book have for me as a counselor in this area. What is disturbing about this mystery for me is the number of characters who die, the violence of their deaths, and the chilling denouement. These are all appropriate to the subject matter, however, and if you view fiction as an allegory for real life, a form that is both entertaining and informative, the very intensity and scope of the violence in this work of fiction are indicative of the harm that sustained child abuse can create both in the individual psyche and in the culture at large. I prefer to have only one murder victim in a mystery; too many murders seem gratuitous and detract from the plotline (for me). As a pacifist, one of the things I like about murder mysteries is the symbolic way we can vanquish the enemy without actually harming anyone. To feel OK about enjoying a story in which people are killed, however, I need to feel a character's death is "justified." That wasn't always the case here. Throughout this book I kept wondering why a superfluous character in a bar was killed ... he didn't seem to fit. Though he appeared to be a loser and a bum, I have known many men like him who have come up hard, have lived hard, and who have no where to go. While I find it impossible to like them, I do feel compassion for them. Where is the possibility of redemption if we kill such weak and ineffectual characters off? I was also offended, a first with this author, by the description of a character as physically unattractive and hairy and ape like. Harping on physical characteristics that one has no control over seemed prejudicial and it was a jarring note in this author's otherwise wise and compassionate approach to characterization. The venomous description was out of character for the author and I wondered why this hadn't been edited out. These are minor points, however. It was the subject matter itself that left me pondering for days ... The ending was disturbing in that a child was involved in such violence; where will this lead her? I see the results of this violence in developing children. I feel uneasy about murder mysteries that involve children, though the scene with the rag doll at the town celebration was chillingly real, as were the instances of child bullying, if not the actual child murder. Also, the crime of omission, the preacher not protecting a child who desperately needed relief from ongoing abuse, this was also close enough to reality to have a tinge of despair set in. But perhaps this isn't bad. Good fiction can inform us about social problems as well a

. . .you'll know that something wicked this way comes, when you pick up this delicious book! Third in the Mainely Murder Mysteries, Sarah Graves just swoops you right into her world of Eastport Maine and doesn't let you go until she's good and ready.Wicked here is personified by Reuben Tate, a native Eastporter who's come back to visit for the annual Salmon Festival. Or, maybe just to make trouble, at which he specializes with a capital S and a capital T, as well. Actually, he doesn't really need an excuse; he just likes to stir things up. And does he ever!Jacobia Tiptree is the kind of clever, capable woman most other women would like to have as a friend, and when she hurts, you hurt, also. It doesn't take long in this book for Jacobia to be hurting in a big way. Used to standing on her own two feet, it never dawns on her that her best friend Ellie Carpenter is exactly the same kind of woman as Jake is herself, and the two of them together are formidable, indeed. Except, of course, when Reuben's evil ways have been passed along to one of his disciples, who enlarges on them in his own unique fashion. Jake and her new love Wade, her son Sam, her former husband Victor, her friends Ellie and George, plus many of the townsfolk appear in this book, and by the end, they'll all be your good friends, too. Or you'll wish they were, just because they're such wonderful people. Even Victor has some saving graces. This is not a cozy novel, however, and if you prefer non-violent, non-graphic wickedness, then maybe you won't care for it as much as I do. But then, I don't usually like those elements either. These books succeed on every level, however, the writing is purely superb; lyrical and expressive, while the characters are so strong they breathe! You'll be able to smell the sea, it's so much a part of the setting, not to mention the lobster and the salmon and the . . . just another reason for that 'delicious' in the first sentence of this book. I think I've recommended these books to everyone I know. My only grumble is that I can read the book faster than the author can write it. I tried to slow down, but I just couldn't--I HAD to know the who and the how and the why. And I had to know it, now.

Sarah Graves writes with humor and wit. Her charachters are a little offbeat and unforgetable. With a page turning plot she captures the feel of Downeast Maine (described as a world apart) to a tee. She will not only leave you begging for more adventures of Eastport's Jacobia Tiptree and friends, but will also instill a longing in you to visit this seacoast town and perhaps have a bite to eat at the Waco Diner.

Author captures the look,feel, and sound of Downeast Maine in a well crafted who-done-it complete with a hair raising finale. Did you love Nancy Drew mysteries or the Hardy Boys when you were a kid? You'll love this author. For readers already hooked on this series this book is a real treat. New readers will want all three books but they can be read in any order.

In Eastport, Maine Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree has earned the life she wanted for herself and her son and is contented with her current situation. Jake can even deal with her former husband Victor although she occasionally wishes it were from the other side of the continent rather than in Eastport.Jacobia, Wade (her significant other), her friend Ellie, Victor, and a few other people go to a restaurant where they run into the town's bad boy, Reuben Tate. Surprisingly, Victor and Tate exchange heated words. Even more shocking is when Jake and Ellie find the murdered corpse of Reuben in the town cemetery. His throat is slit open. The weapon is a surgeon's scalpel traced to Victor,s medical paraphernalia collection. The police arrest the obvious suspect forcing the loyal and responsible Jacobia accompanied by Ellie, to make inquires. They quickly learn that Reuben has no friends but a plethora of enemies elated to hear that the man is finally dead. There are so many suspects Jake begins to doubt she will ever find the real perpetrator but she keeps on searching because she believes that Victor is not a murderer.Sarah Graves captures the essence of small town Maine with an uncanny insight that turns WICKED FIX into a fun, page-turning read. The cast consists of a horde of eccentric characters that are indigenous to the region. The protagonist is a strong, down-to-earth person who the audience will identify with but they will also wonder why she goes to such extraordinary lengths to clear Victor of the charges against him. The who-done-it is an enjoyable regional cozy that succeeds because Ms. Graves makes the inhabitants of Eastport seem so genuine and alive.Harriet Klausner