Customer Reviews

A Fatal Vineyard Season : A Martha's Vineyard Mystery

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After a bullet disabled him former Boston police officer J. W. Jackson moved to Martha's Vineyard. He supplements his small pension with odd jobs such as caring for the summer homes of part time residents. This allows him to spend time with his wife Zee and their two children. At times, J.W. also solves local crimes.

When J.W. goes to the Crandall home to fix a faucet, he meets the two occupants, Julia Crandall and Ivy Holiday, two individuals hiding from a stalker. The two beautiful ladies attract the resident psychopath Alexandro Vegas, an ex-con that hates women, especially black females. Alexandro begins a campaign of terror against the two women. They hire J.W. to protect them from Alexandro and the California stalker who may be jailed but has plans for his victims.

After ten successful novels, this enjoyable series retains its freshness by providing new insight into the personal life of the hero such as his wife giving birth since the previous tale (see A SHOOT ON MARTHA'S VINEYARD). A FATAL VINEYARD SEASON addresses major social issues such as racism amidst an isolated population and defending oneself against stalkers. Phillip R. Craig gifts his audience with the best novel in one of the better series available today.

Harriet Klausner

I fell in love with J.W. and his Vineyard several books ago. Recently, though, I've found Craig's stories weak to the point of boring.

With the wife came responsibility and predictability. J.W. has changed, and he just doesn't offer the excitement he used to. Now that he has two children, the sleuth is just another dad, lugging car seats and buying ice cream. It's interesting, almost funny, how precocious Craig makes these little darlings, shaking hands and exhibiting perfect manners, even to the bad guys. I couldn't help but think, every time these kids refer to their parents as "Ma" and "Pa", that I was back to "Little House on the Prairie". Maybe that's a better title..."Little House on the Vineyard."

Please, Mr. Craig, get rid of this sugar-sweet family. They could all fall off the boat and drown. They could be kidnaped by terrorists and never returned. Anything. Just bring back the old J.W. and his adventures - minus the missus and the diaper bag.

J.W. Jackson is married with two children, when Julia Crandel and Ivy Holiday flee a Hollywood stalker who has access to a computer from his prison cell.
Julia is from an old Vineyard family and their sanctuary is precious to the girls, but their race taunts a pair of local gangsters who use intimidation to collect "protection money" from their neighbors' businesses.
Philip Craig creates one of his most vicious villains who is worse than any stalker.
J.W. aids the girls, but he protects his own by sending them off-island, then he fights back against vicious killer and a hurricane. A FATAL VINEYARD SEASON is top notch Craig.
Nash Black, whose books are available in Kindle editions.
Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the FathersHaints

This novel is a good mystery with some unexpected twists at the end. An actress shows up on Martha's Vineyard with a friend from the island, saying she wants refuge from a stalker in California. It is out of the frying pan and into the fire when she attracts the attention of a local psychopathic hoodlum. J. W. Jackson becomes more involved than he intended when he takes on the task of carrying out an investigation. His own life is endangered when he, in turn, draws the hoodlum's attention. Saying more would give away the plot.

This book, like some of the author's other books, has recipes in an appendix. It also has the usual map of Martha's Vineyard for readers unfamiliar with the island, and some side accounts of fishing.

Craig's novels are easy reads, enjoyable characters, with realistic solutions to most problems. JW is no superman and avoids violence as a real person would, but can handle himself in a tight spot. Good local color. Craig lives there and lets others sample the pleasures of the island.

This is the 10th book in the J.W. Jackson Martha's Vineyard series, so there are few surprises by this point. The virtue of these books is the Martha's Vineyard setting, which is great fun if you are familiar with the Island, and a welcome reminder of the Island when you are stuck on the mainland. As a mystery series, they are so-so; I would not be reading them without my M.V. connection.

As the series goes, this is one of the better mysteries and it comes with plenty of Island settings. More of the action takes place in Oak Bluffs than in many of the other books, and as someone who grew up on summers down island, I especially enjoyed that. J.W.'s family is sent off-island early in the book and pretty much stays there, so, other than his pining for and worrying about them, the family plays little role---which may be a plus or a minus for you.

What I've liked about the many Martha's Vineyard novels by Philip Craig is the setting. While I've never been to that island off Cape Cod, I've walked its beaches and visited its villages in my imagination and through Craig's descriptions.

This book just never really took me there, as previous books from the series did. Instead, Mr. Craig introduced me to a cast of characters that I didn't much like, one-dimensional apes who run a protection racket and shallow Hollywood layabouts. I didn't connect with a single one of them.

The story was nothing much for the first three-fourths of the book. The island was far in the background until near the grand finale. So what else is there to keep one reading?

I HAVE ALL OF PHILIP CRAIG'S MARTHA'S VINEYARD SERIES, IT IS A WONDERFUL INSIGHT TO LIFE IN THE VINEYARD WITH CLEVER MYSTERIES THROWN IN. I MYSELF HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH ABOUT THE VINEYARD. I WAS SO SAD TO HEAR OF MR CRAIG'S PASSING. HE WILL BE MISSED.

If you have read other Vineyard books from Philip Craig, then you will note the tone of this one is edgier. I didn't particularly like the extremely dangerous nature of the Vegas brothers running around the island causing mafia like terror in paradise. You may also note early in the story that one of the two Hollywood actresses doesn't seem to be nearly as concerned about a stalker and the danger surrounding her as the other actress, which is curious. I would say this is a fine book, but I bumped it down to 3 stars mainly because it wasn't quite the Philip Craig style I have grown to love.

I fell in love with J.W. and his Vineyard several books ago. Recently, though, I've found Craig's stories weak to the point of boring.
With the wife came responsibility and predictability. J.W. has changed, and he just doesn't offer the excitement he used to. Now that he has two children, the sleuth is just another dad, lugging car seats and buying ice cream. It's interesting, almost funny, how precocious Craig makes these little darlings, shaking hands and exhibiting perfect manners, even to the bad guys. I couldn't help but think, every time these kids refer to their parents as "Ma" and "Pa", that I was back to "Little House on the Prairie". Maybe that's a better title..."Little House on the Vineyard."

Please, Mr. Craig, get rid of this sugar-sweet family. They could all fall off the boat and drown. They could be kidnaped by terrorists and never returned. Anything. Just bring back the old J.W. and his adventures - minus the missus and the diaper bag.