Customer Reviews

Murder At A Vineyard Mansion: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery

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For many of us, bombarded daily by drive by stereo blasts and out of control partying neighbors, the latest Martha's Vineyard vigilante would be a hero. In a time when basic human consideration of others seems to have gone by the wayside, the individual dubbed "the Silencer" by many appeals to J. W. Jackson's sensibilities as the individual goes around the island permanently silencing those who play excessively loud music. Or at least, what passes for music these days. But when his young daughter, Diana, unwittingly witnesses a murder he isn't nearly as amused or complacent.

The victim Diana saw, while on the family's sailboat, as something indistinguishable falling was Ollie Mattes who was acting as night watchman for a home under construction. Hated by its neighbors and the local homeowners association, Ron Pierson's extravagant future mansion sat at the top of the North Neck bluffs on one end of Chappaquidick. The multi story home had been the site of repeated vandalism, the most recent being the destruction of all the windows. Now it had become the site of murder as well as Ollie Mattes was bludgeoned and pitched over the edge to smash into the rocks along the shoreline below.

Before long, J.W. is once again dragged into investigating crime and murder on the Vineyard. With a cast of suspects an arm long and many of them interrelated by birth or marriage, J.W. works hard to uncover a killer who continues to lash out and kill for reasons eluding both the police and J. W.

This is the fifteenth in the series and as such, long time readers of this cozy series know exactly what to expect. J. W. will ask a lot of questions of everyone as he investigates, he will take small children to crime scenes, he will always find time to fish, and of course, tastefully romp with the delectable Zee. Overall, life is pretty good in J.W.'s world, frequent crime and murder not withstanding and the summer season with its horde of tourists isn't quite here yet. The children, Joshua, who is now in second grade and his young sister, Diana, will walk, talk, and think like miniature adults in a way that no remotely realistic children, short of being robotic empowered and non human, ever would. In the end, everything will be solved, the guilty will confess all before attempting to finish J.W. off, and life goes on in perfect familial harmony.

More simplistic than some earlier in the series, this novel continues the overall weaker style of the last half dozen or so (with the strong exception of "A Vineyard Killing") as the author doggedly continues to work a series that long ago ceased to be complicated, creative or remotely realistic in terms of character portrayals. When compared to the earlier ones in the series and with expectations for better books created by "A Vineyard Killing," it truly is a shame.

Book Facts:


Murder At A Vineyard Mansion (A Martha's Vineyard Mystery)
By Philip R. Craig
www.philiprcraig.com
Scribner
www.simonsays.com
2004
ISBN # 0-7432-4676-4
Hardback
256 Pages
$24.00 US
$35.00 Canada


Kevin R. Tipple © 2005

I picked up "Murder at a Vineyard Mansion" hoping to expand the grouping of mystery series I've come to enjoy. While I generally prefer the somewhat less "hardcore" mysteries, I found this book a bit too peaceful and uninteresting.

There are two plots to this book - a murder mystery and a tale of a criminal called the Silencer who is somehow destroying sound systems across Martha's Vineyard. The Silencer plot seems at times to be more interesting than the murder mystery. The main action of the book throughout mostly focuses on the main character gallavanting throughout Martha's Vineyard and having numerous conversations with people hoping to piece together clues that will help him solve these two mysteries. Also closely connected are events involving a new computer that the main character's kids have been on his back to purchase.

I think the major problem with this mystery was that I never really developed any sort of attachment to the characters. The major protagonist, a retired cop named J.W., is a prime example. He's apparently retired, yet seems to get involved in these private investigations for no particular reason and sort of unofficially reports to the police department. He's an okay character, but I never really feel any sort of suspense or danger with him, or much interest in his doings. The mystery he's trying to solve seems wholely uninteresting, mainly involving a bunch of people who almost seem like they'd be better off dead. The mystery just sort of wraps up at the end, without a very interesting conclusion, leaving everything back to the status quo.

This was a mildly okay read, but I'm not really motivated to seek out any other books in this series.

A man working at a mansion falls off a cliff, and then another man dies. People are related in twisted ways, making this story difficult to follow at times, but the identity of both the murderer and the "silencer" (a side story related to someone who doesn't like hiphop music) are easy to guess in this subpar entry in an excellent series.

I had high hopes for this mystery, high hopes right up to the penultimate chapter when the murderer is revealed. Then the author pulled out the old secretly tape recorded confession trick, and I groaned with disappointment. This trick is used too often and when there is no evidence that would stand up under cross examination in court. I would add that the trick is usually followed immediately by the death of the one confessing, so that there is no chance of the solution being questioned. This hackneyed solution should be banned, and any author who tries to use it should be banished forever.

Other than that, this wasn't too bad. It wasn't too good, either. The best thing about it was Martha's Vineyard itself, the sunny days, sandy beaches, ferries, fish, etc. Atmosphere is important to me, and the novel had plenty of that. But it also had too many asides, a cute kid or so too many, etc. The characters were not very interesting, except for Oliver Underfoot and Velcro. The plot was somewhat predictable. Any experienced mystery reader will see right through it about halfway into the book. Still, it was the Vineyard that made this worthwhile.

Until that next to the last chapter when the author ruined it all with a cheap trick.

J. W. Jackson, former copy and now part-time investigator, enjoys his life of fishing and spending time with his family on Martha's Vineyard. Recently the Vineyard has been plagued with antics of the "Silencer." This recent criminal destroys the audio systems in houses blasting music during parties as well as in open-windowed vehicles. Many hate the Silencer, but some are thrilled with the quiet.

A night watchman is thrown over a cliff near a new mansion in Chappaquiddick. Who killed Ollie Mattes? There are plenty of suspects. One suspect's mother hires J. W. to prove her son's innocence. If he didn't kill Ollie, then who did?

As J. W. investigates, he finds himself looking into the lives of some of the Vineyard's most prominent families. He will have to sort through what he's told to determine who is lying and who is telling the truth.

Can he discover the killer before there is another murder? At the same time, will he succumb to the pressure at home to get their first computer?

I have long been a fan of this series. J. W. has grown and changed, and I am saddened at the death of the author. I am happy that I still have a few more books in this series to read before I have to say good-bye to J. W. Reading this series is what made me want to visit Martha's Vineyard so much. I like the descriptions the author gives and the slice of life he presents to the reader.

I highly recommend this book and series.

I picked the audio version of this book up in the library to while away the many miles I had to spend on long commutes, many without radio contact. I'm not a particular fan of mysteries but I have enjoyed the ones I have read. This was OK...I managed to listen to the whole thing, mostly because it was better than nothing. I read here that this was the last one in a long series, and other reviewers have commented that it's one of the weaker ones.

Perhaps because I was listening and not reading, I had a hard time telling one character from another. There was a string of ex-girlfriends of one the murder victims, but other than the one who invited our hero, the amateur detective, to have sex with her, they all blended into one person in my mind. I think the trouble was that there was very little action involving the many characters--we mostly just hear about them, through others. There were a lot of complicated relationships--ex-husbands, half-brothers, bastards, etc. etc. I needed a score card to keep them straight, and as none of them was very interesting, I didn't bother. As another reader said, this would make a poor movie...it's all talk. Once I knew whodunnit, I turned off the cassette and didn't look back. I didn't care about any of them.

Mosly what one hears (or reads) is a whole lotta talk about this character, J. W. Something, the hero/narrator/sorta-detective. We know more about him than anyone would care to....his opinions of the rich folks on the island, (bad), environmentalists (bad), cops (not so great-- he used to be one and hated it), his wife (oo-la-la), answering machines (bad), blue fish (good), microbrewed ale (yes) horses (bad), his son (adorable), his daughter (adorable), church (bad), sex (good), fishing (very good). hip-hop (bad), Beverly Sills (good) etc. It's all pretty predictable and sorta boring. I tend to think this is a lot of wish fulfillment for the author. ("I'm a manly man." the hero says, as if we hadn't already got the message.) The attempt at "romantic" scenes are hilarious or really really awful, depending on your point of view.

But I suppose that if you love Martha's Vineyard, this would be interesting, and if you love dective stories that are not very complicated or intelligent, you might like this.

The old families are upset as a corporate tycoon is building the largest house on the island on a high bluff above the ocean. Philip R. Craig's MURDER AT A VINEYARD MANISON has all the cast of local characters out in force to preserve their access to their favorite fishing spots.
J.W. is dumbfounded when Maud Mayhew comes calling asking him to prove her son innocent of killing Ollie Mattes, but then the son ends up murdered in the family driveway. J.W. can turn away from a good mystery, especially where everyone is kins (maybe too close) to everyone else.
Many secrets lie buried around the homes of the upper crust and they will go to any means to protect those secrets.
A fun read for the beach and any other time.
Nash Black, author of QUALIFYING LAPS.

It's always a pleasure to read Philip Craig's books and to take another trip to Martha's Vineyard with Craig's laid-back hero, J.W. Jackson. This time the part-time fisherman/part-time investigator is hired by one of the island's prominent citizens, Maud Mayhew, to prove that her son Harold did not kill Ollie Mattes, the security guard for a new mansion which is being built despite the protests of neighbors. Before J. W. can begin his investigation, Harold is also killed. Thus begins a trail of evidence that points to the members of some of the island's most prominent families. Old grudges are brought to light, and the in-fighting of these families is the focal point for J. W.'s investigation. On a lighter note, there is another crime occurring which is the destruction of sound equipment by a mysterious perpetrator who obviously doesn't like the musical taste of some of the Vineyard's occupants. A further story line involves J. W.'s family who lobby for a new computer which Jackson finds useful in solving the crimes. As usual, Philip Craig provides another good summer read.

If you live on Martha's Vineyard, you'll probably like this book at lot better than I did. I found the elaborate genealogy of the various characters to be a trifle (yawn) boring. J.W.'s endless trips to interview people didn't help matters much. I don't know the Vineyard's geography well enough to understand all of the points, Mr. Craig was making so that also confused matters for me.

The background is a conflict between new money and old, exemplified in this case by two sides of a family eager to put the other side down. The practical form of competition is building mansions where the natural beauty would be preferred by most people.

Anger over one new mansion leads to the windows being trashed so a security guard is hired, one who is soon found dead at the bottom of the cliff. Evidence shows that he was battered from behind first, and the search is on for a killer.

Into investigation, J.W. Jackson is drawn when an upset mother wants her son protected from suspicion of the murder. Before J.W. can get very far, the matter becomes much more complicated.

In the background, someone is doing the fans of soothing music a favor by destroying sound systems that are blasting away. J.W. thinks it's a grand idea until the police chief points out that he wouldn't feel that way if the vandal started going after those who play Beethoven.

Although he's not supposed to snoop, J.W. can't resist and he learns more than he ever wanted to about who used to sleep with whom.

As usual, J.R. Craig takes potshots at the stuck-up wealthy wannabes, the old-money patricians, visitors to the island, and environmentalists. Part of the book's charm comes in its description of life in the Jackson household after J.W. relents and agrees to buy a computer for the family.

I listened to this on CD instead of looking at pages. The narrator had a good pace and
different voices for different characters. This was my first experience with the author,
but it was pleasant enough that I will be back for more, both reading and listening.

This is a simple murder mystery of the many characters variety. The motive is the surprise.
We get a look at a popular vacation destination from a resident's point of view.
We see some examples of old money and new money, sins of the past and new sins, old grudges
and new problems.

This would not make a good movie. The movie would have 30-60 seconds of action. There is no
sense of anticipation, no feeling of building tension toward a climax. The pleasure of this
story is in the telling of the story. As I started the last disk I wished there were a few more.
I think people that normally do not enjoy mysteries might like this one.