[.ca] Vineyard Enigma: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (ISBN 0060511885)

Vintage Vineyard:
J. W. Jackson enjoys his life on Martha's Vineyard. While his wife Zee works as a nurse, J. W. stays home and tends to the house and the children and spends a lot of time fishing for bluefish which he prepares in many gourmet dishes. Having been a Boston policeman, he accepts occasional investigative jobs such as the one in this book. He agrees to work for Abraham Mahsimba, a man from Zimbabwe who is seeking two soapstone eagles which were stolen from his country years ago and which he hopes to return to thier rightful place. He has reason to believe that an artifact dealer on the island may have sold the birds to a collector. J. W. doesn't bargain for the fact that people will be murdered because of the birds, nor does he expect his wife to be so attracted to Mahsimba. This is one of Craig's best in the series and is an interesting mystery set in beautiful Martha's Vineyard.

Martha's Vineyard Series:
J.W. and Zee Jackson live on Martha's Vineyard with their 2 children. J.W. is an ex-cop from Boston. Now he fishes and goes quahogging. To go quahogging you rake quahogs, which are basically various sizes of hard shelled clams, from the sand and mud bottoms. He gets a call from a friend asking him to assist an African, Mahsimba, search for 2 ancient soapstone eagles allegedly stolen from African ruins. Zee is acting distant since she recently shot a man and is having trouble dealing with it. So J.W. agrees to help Mahsimba. He starts interviewing all the people on the island who have an interest in African art. Through the course of his investigation he realizes he has apparently stirred up someone. He and Mahsimba continue their investigation of the island art world in an attempt to find the soapstone eagles. This series is a fast read. I highly recommend this book and the complete series. One of the things I like is the authors description of his preparation of the various seafood that he has caught and then cooks. I am not a big seafood eater and so this gives me insight into a type of food I would otherwise not hear about. I also like his description of Martha's Vineyard. Matter of fact, I like it so much that when we were recently on a 9 day vacation in New England we went to Martha's Vineyard. We weren't able to stay long, but at least I got to see some of what he describes. Having read most of the series, I also like how he builds on the relationships of the characters. I feel like I'm hearing from relatives when I read this book as I feel like I know everyone.

Losing Strength:
A third of thew way thru, you will have spotted the killer and curiosity is the only reason to finish. Strange disappearance of Zee, though she wanders through sometimes. The book is weak.

J.W.'s Getting Cranky:
This is Craig's 14th Martha's Vineyard mystery (I'm not sure what number it is in the J.W. Jackson series) and the charm of the first few books in the series is fading like a coastline sunset on a rainy day. The nominal plot concerns missing African soapstone eagles and a visiting Zimbabwe-an named Mashimba; a subplot involves J.W.'s improbably named superwoman wife Zee, her apparent fading interest in J.W., and her infatuation with Mashimba. The writing style, plot, and secondary characters are workmanlike contemporaty mystery; unfortunately Craig gives us one to really care about or be interested in. And Craig's descriptions of the Vineyard have become rote - the same sparkly ocean sunrises, jumping bluefish, and annoying tourists. There's little of the local history that enlivened the earlier books. Worse, J.W. himself has turned into something of a grouch. Every chapter (seems like every page) has J.W. railing about everything from people with more money than he (and he seems to this reviewer to have a pretty good life) to cats, small dogs, town ordinances, etc; you name it, J.W. hates it. Luksusowa martinis and Sam Adams are great but I don't need to read about them in every book. And, J.W., while you're crankin' - how about complaining about Sam Adam's "Sex with Sam" ad campaign which led a couple to have public sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral? Seems to me that's more of a matter to rail against than the size of someone's beloved pet. Maybe if J.W. were a little less cranky and a little more open to opinions other than his own, Zee wouldn't have roaming eyes. The book is redeemed somewhat in the end by a lovely exchange between J.W. and Zee about the nature of love. End quote? A (very) quick read - nothing more or less.

He's Losing It!:
This the is third book in a row that shows this series' decline. The far-fetched plot is based on two stolen carved African eagles, and Zee makes goo-goo eyes at a studly African from the moment she meets him. The reason, we find out at the end, is that she needed at that moment to love someone other than her husband...and he's cool with that. Puleeeeeeze! Mr. Craig needs to start writing for the reader again, and not for the bank...and we'll all be a lot happier!