A Vineyard Killing (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries) [Hardcover]

March is still cold on Martha's Vineyard and the tourists haven't started arriving just yet. This year was no exception but things are already stirred up. The permanent residents are riled up and for very good reason. Real estate developer Donald Fox is attempting to buy up local property not because the owners want to sell, but because he has the bucks to make it happen. He wants to put a large package of land together and then sell that to someone else. If folks won't willingly sell for a fraction of what their land is worth, he will force court fights over the often-dubious land deeds. He thinks he can make a killing and does not care how he does it.

That is until J. W. Jackson and the lovely Zee watch from a local diner as shots are fired at Donald and his more humane brother, Paul. The shooter manages to get away in the blowing snow as Paul lies wounded in the street. Paul survives the attack and J.W. soon turns down the resulting job offer. He does not like Donald or his company and as a matter of principle wants nothing more to do with them. But soon, as he begins to investigate things on another unrelated matter, he finds that Donald and his company seem to be involved in everything and that J. W. has unwittingly made himself a target.

This is another very good book from Philip R. Craig. While no new ground is covered in regards to these characters, there are no unpleasant surprises either. Everyone is back in their usual roles and as always, a couple of recipes are found in the back of the book.

In a refreshing change from the last several novels, Joshua and Diana (the children) are not part of the investigation. Safely in school and off the printed page, they are not unrealistically taken to crime scenes as in recent novels. In fact, in direct contradiction to the last several novels, the children are hardly heard from at all.

In addition to all but eliminating the children, this novel is tightly plotted and moves at a better pace than the last several. Craig continues the use of two ongoing storylines that crossover and link to each other frequently throughout the novel and this practice works considerably better in this one. The action moves forward at a much better pace and the twin storylines have more depth than those in recent novels.

In short, this is a very good book and a definite step up from the last several. This one is more like the early ones in the series and well worth the read.

It turns out that Paul was wearing the vest in an effort to persuade his brother Donald, a real estate developer who has many enemies, to wear one also. Donald was using immoral but legal methods to force the year round residents to sell their homes to him, making the police think Donald was the intended victim. J.T. gets himself involved in the investigation and almost winds up getting himself killed.

It is always great to have a new Martha's Vineyard Mystery to read and A VINEYARD KILLING proves that claim. It is fun getting reacquainted with characters we have come to like and seeing Martha's Vineyard through the eyes of Philip R. Craig is always a special treat. The hero can't stop playing cop as he tries to solve an attempted homicide, a murder, a stalking case, and figure out how all these events are connected. This is definitely a must read mystery.

Harriet Klausner