[.ca] Vineyard Shadows: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (ISBN 0380820994)

VINEYARD SHADOWS - Fun in the island sun with some mobsters:
Ah summer. Sunshine, lazy days and another Philip Craig novel about the charm and easy pace of Martha's Vineyard. Retired Boston cop J. W. Jackson moved to the island of Martha's Vineyard for a lifestyle change, only to find that trouble always has a way of finding him there. A couple of Beantown mobsters show up at his home and try muscling his wife, Zee, for some information about one Tom Rimini, an apparent missing gambler who is in deep hawk with the loan sharks. The thugs get physical with Zee, so she manages to modify their behavior by grabbing her pistol and shooting. With one dead and one wounded, the mystery begins to unfold about who Tom Rimini is and why the Soprano types are looking for him on the island. Once a cop, always a cop. J.W. Jackson's instincts lead him to a series of clues that allow him to piece together the puzzling story of Tom Rimini and his myriad of problems, including those involving the Boston crime family. All this while taking his kids out for an occasional ice-cream, and playing with his two cats, Velcro and Oliver Underfoot. Philip Craig's books, about the adventures of J. W. Jackson and his family on Martha's Vineyard, are fun and laid back. Yeah, there is usually a mystery to solve, in between getting stuck in the traffic jams at the A & P supermarket, or the long queues at the standby auto lines at the ferry dock in Vineyard Haven. Craig has captured the nuance and magic of sleepy Martha's Vineyard while delivering a light-hearted mystery laced with humorous dialog and usually dumb bad guys. For less than the cost of a ferry ticket, and with no waiting lines, you can enjoy the essence of the island and understand why so many people, famous and otherwise, enjoy trekking to this island every year for some summer fun.

Shades of Spenser:
Philip Craig's "Vineyard Shadows" is a pleasant piece of summer reading for mystery lovers. His protagonist, J W Jackson is a retired Boston cop who has moved to Martha's Vineyard to fish and raise a family. But trouble follows him. Two Boston hoods threaten and assault JW's wife and daughter while he is off clamming. They are looking for the husband of a woman to whom JW was once married. It is their bad luck that Zee, JW's present wife is packing. She was preparing to leave for the pistol range where she shoots competitively when they arrive. Soon after, the man the hoods were looking for turns up on JW's doorstep seeking asylum. JW decides he must find out what is going on in order to protect his own family and lend a helping hand to his ex-wife. JW Jackson strikes me as a funnier, less pompous, domesticated relative of Robert Parker's Spenser. He confronts the kingpin of the Charlston Irish Mafia, as Spenser would. He milks old friends in law enforcement for information. Judged by the length of time it takes him to solve the central puzzle in the story, JW isn't as smart as Spenser -- or the average reader, for that matter. But then he doesn't have a sidekick like Hawk.

Low Tide:
After a great start, this ones slows to a crawl and gets tedious. The ending would work, if we believe all the characters are reasonable people, but they aren't. Strangely passive ending. I'll come back, but might not stay much longer.

Good light fiction:
While not great literature, this novel is a very readable mystery. It is recommended for a long airline flight, relaxing at the beach, or a rainy evening at home. It is mystery No. 12 in the Vineyard series. While some people prefer to read the series in order, this one can be read as a stand along book. J.W. Jackson has his past catch up with him when he becomes involved with his ex-wife (after 15 years), her second husband, and the criminals he left behind in Boston. J.W. is retired on disability from the Boston P.D. after being shot while on duty. He lives on Martha's Vineyard with his wife, Zee, their two young children, and two cats (but no dog in spite of his children's pleas). His preference for retirement is fishing, claming, occasional boating, and socializing with family and friends. His quiet life is disrupted by intruders from the mainland, in this case his ex-wife's husband and the hard cases looking for him for reasons not entirely clear (the man is not overly truthful about circumstances). Yuppies spending themselves into debt, gambling, drugs, two timing men and women, criminal elements, and J.W.'s old Boston friends all figure into the plot. Two thugs make a bad mistake (fatal for one) when they try to rough up Zee. Zee then gets irked when J.W. tries to help his ex-wife by pulling her husband out of the hole he dug himself into. The plot, as they say, thickens. It takes a major effort by J.W. to restore things to a peaceful retirement. His children acquire some goldfish, but no dog, at least not yet.

Another trip to Martha's Vineyard:
J. W. Jackson goes clamming with his son Joshua and is horrified when he returns home and finds that his wife, Zee, and daughter Diana have been attacked by two thugs. Zee, who is an accomplished target shooter, has used her skills to defend herself and Diana. The thugs are looking for Jackson's ex-wife's current husband, Tom Rimini. Soon the ex-husband shows up seeking help from J. W., and inexplicably the Jacksons oblige by hiding him in a friend's home. This one stretches credibility as J. W. takes it upon himself to help the husband of someone he still has feelings for, and solves the mystery as to why the mob is looking for Rimini in the first place. He alternates between being a househusband and then somewhat foolishly chasing after the bad guys without benefit of his friends on the police force. A visit to Martha's Vineyard is always pleasant but this is not the best book of the series.