Customer Reviews

Triple Witch: A Home Repair is Homicide Mystery

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Seeing that other reviewers of this book enjoyed it so much more than I did gave me pause (although it hasn't effected my rating). I will add this caveat to my review: I read this book over several weeks and was unable, due to my work schedule, to read more than a chapter at a time. This is not how I prefer to read.

That having been said, I did not care for this book, and I had greatly enjoyed the first one, "Dead Cat Bounce." (The next in this series is "Wicked Fix.") Everything that was charming in the first book seemed trite and overdone in this one.

Retired Wall Street finance wizard Jacobia Tiptree and her son, Sam, are outsiders in the seacoast village of Eastport, Maine, but they have made their home there and settled into the community. When a local ne'er-do-well is found murdered, Jacobia and her best friend Ellie investigate.

I found very little to be believable in this book; nothing rang true. The "ghost" in Jacobia's house keeps moving a spoon around--Jacobia finds this profoundly meaningful, and I found it distracting. Jacobia's ex-husband has apparently engaged in borderline psychotic behavior in the past (faking heart attacks, mailing dead things to people, etc.), but this is described as typical ex-husband behavior, and Jacobia has no fears for her own safety or her son's. Although Ellie is Jacobia's closest friend, we never get any insight into her personality or actions. She is simply a typical (stereotypical) reserved native of Maine--this is supposed to be sufficient to explain all her actions.

The descriptions of life in Eastport eventually overshadow the plot of the book, and the reader is treated to long passages describing shops and houses and people that have nothing to do with the plot. Evoking a nice sense of setting is one thing; writing a travelogue is another.

But most of all, I found the resolution to the mystery to be convoluted and poorly depicted. Despite an action-packed chase scene involving boats, the majority of the denoument occurs verbally, as everything "suddenly falls into place" and Jacobia and Ellie blurt out the solution to every little inconsistency that has occurred in the town over the past several weeks. "And then this happened...and then this happened...and then this happened..." The reader is inundated with sudden resolutions. There is no sense of "fair play" whereby the reader might have solved the crime for him- or herself beforehand.

Still, I enjoy this character (although I wish her ex-husband would disappear from the series), her son, and the setting, and I hope to enjoy the next book in this series as much as I enjoyed the previous.

I could relate to the main charater for several reasons. Being a transplant to Maine and living in a house 109 years old, I can relate to the main charater. I have also visited Eastport and the author's description is perfect of the region and people. Small towns like Eastport are the perfect settings for outsiders to get lost in and commit crimes. Mrs. Graves does not use native Maine pronouncement of words that confuses the reader and mocks residents.

The book moves at a pace fast enough to keep the reader interested, yet slow enough to not overlook too many details. True, I was able to solve the mystery before the story was completed; however, you cannot anticipate the ending. It is not one of those books that gives you too many suspects and too little information. It also doesn't sidetrack the reader with long passionate love scenes. I have read all three of Mrs. Graves novels and am awaiting the release of her next book in August, 2001.

When I read this author's first book, DEAD CAT BOUNCE, not only was I blown away by the lyricism of the writing--simply gorgeous--but also by the marvelous way the author blended so many disparate items together into one extremely satisfying book. It can't be easy to mix together--much less make sense of--a small town on the very east coast of Maine; a mathematical genius who's a female (Jacobia Tiptree--wonderful name!) for goodness' sake, newly divorced; a teen-aged son who, while not rebellious as most teens are, has his own problems to fight--dyslexia, among others; a former husband with whom Jake somehow manages to be on fairly good terms, even though he is a first-class jerk; a new man in her life, who sounds positively dishy; and--an 1823 house, complete with ghost, and in need of renovations. Somehow the author makes it all work splendidly.

I was somewhat hesitant, therefore, to open TRIPLE WITCH, because the first book had been so wonderful. First books frequently are especially wonderful, just because they're first books. They can gestate for years, if necessary, whereas second books usually have to make their appearance after just a few months. But, Jake and all the above-mentioned components are still all present, including the former husband who's now decided he'll move to Eastport, too.

Triple Witch features an eclectic list of ingredients: a former financial high-flyer who's been barred from the industry, but with an entire room in HIS newly-renovated old house devoted to the very latest computer equipment connected to international financial sources, and with a pasture housing a flock of llamas; a young man, murdered, who's father was also murdered a day later, but leaving behind a barn full of dog-food bags, now containing US money--to the tune of some two million dollars!; an encroaching possible crime-wave in the usually sleepy little village, which has the residents acting as vigilantes, out prowling through the night-darkened streets, but armed only with flashlights.

Ellie White and Jacobia Tiptree are one fabulous and formidable pair of females. Together, along with some help from Jake's friend Wade and her son, Sam, plus Ellie's husband George, and the town's low-key chief of police, Bob Arnold, and even a smidgen of assistance from the former husband, Victor, the bad guys are routed, resulting in a mostly happy ending.

Sarah Graves is indeed marvelous--I'll never hesitate to read another of her books, and neither should you.

(I do have just one teensy-tiny complaint, however. When I was a kid, buckwheat pancakes were fairly easy to come by, and always ranked high on my list of favorite foods. Not so any more, though. Oh, one can find the special flour needed, by why oh, why? wasn't Ellie's recipe included? Bummer. Truly an excellent book otherwise, though!)

Sarah Graves has found two winning characters with Jacobia Tiptree and Ellie White. Although the plot is exciting and gripping on its own, we also find ourselves reading the story for the wonderful characters and the funny, insightful things they say and do. Jake and Ellie's friendship seems very real, and the characters in Eastport, Maine, are all people you want to know. Even when she's writing about creepy characters, she gives them depth. (I wouldn't be surprised if Graves does for Eastport what the TV show "Northern Exposure" did for Alaska.) I stayed up late several nights reading this book because I simply couldn't stop turning the pages. And I can't wait to read more!

I love this author's books, for several reasons. (I don't mind commas, they make reading easier for me.) First, I live in a rural township with less than 25 full time residents. My closest post office is in Dennysville, five miles away, and I drive through the Cobscook Bay WildLife Refuge on my way to work in Lubec, where the mythical butcher was killed at the end of this mystery. Sure, you could say, no wonder she likes the Maine trivia, her life must be dull.

Not so! Life in Downeast Maine is busy beyond imagination. It's true that we are typically occupied with more mundane events that town murders, yet the emotional timber of these stories rings very true to me. The Maine characters are like so many people I know, and while murders here are relatively rare, passions in a small town can run high. Long winters and social isolation can contribute to powerful emotions that, fortunately, do not genrally lead to murder, but may make us wish certain characters disappeared from the social scene. It is a relief to read these stories and see that for the bullies and liars and gossip mongers who plague us, justice is served!

One of the thoughts that occurred to me reading, as I traveled mentally through geographical spaces I know and love, was that writing these mysteries could be quite cathartic for the author as well. I began to think of the "villains" in my life, and how they could meet their just ends (though I will confess, most of them truly do not deserve murder - one a book is enough for me). Perhaps we should all write murder mysteries and the world would be a more peaceful place ...

I wonder who the real life people are that inspire this writer. In fact, I wonder if I know the writer herself. The author's quick patter and humor are so like a woman I know and admire who sings in the Balkanistas, a women's Balkan choir that started recently in Eastport - will we feature in a future mystery? I hope so; please just don't kill us off!

I very much look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. On year four of my dissertation I so admire anyone who can crank out a book a year! Keep up the good work. And for anyone who hasn't been here, truly this most eastern corner of the US is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Come visit us, look up the real life town and stores and roads and businesses referenced in the books. Meet the Maine people who are the basis of the characters in these fun mysteries. You might find yourself in a mystery of your own ...

Though she made a fortune on Wall St., her son was into drugs. Realizing, she needed to make a drastic change, she quit her prestigious job and dragged her unwilling son to Eastport, Maine. Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree knows she has done the right thing when her son turns around and begins to behave like a pain in the butt sixteen-year old.

Though the town is quiet, Jake soon tumbles into her second murder investigation in less than a year when she finds a dead person with a bullet in his head. She also learns that Brewster Willoughby, an embezzler trader who Jake sent to prison, has arrived on the island. Two more deaths follow that leaves Jake believing that Brewster is involved. She begins to make inquires without realizing that both her life and that of her son's may be jeopardy.

TRIPLE WITCH, Sarah Graves' second novel is as exciting as her debut tale, THE DEAD CAT BOUNCE. However, this time the plot is more complex and humorous. Jake's ex-spouse, a selfish, manipulative creep, explains the family dynamics that cleverly lighten the growing tension. Ms. Graves writes a hard to put down entertaining mystery that will be reread numerous times by amateur sleuth fans.

Harriet Klausner

First, my gripe. Too many commas. It was distracting and ruined the flow of many, many sentences. Often, I had to re-read sentences to try to understand the meaning behind them. "My ex-husband nodded approvingly at Sam, forgetting what a bad guy he was, himself." "He says he thinks Ken was running drug packages over the border from Canada, in his boat." "...that anybody's going to...make you do any complicated brain surgery, tonight." Graves' use of the comma is excessive and extremely distracting and annoying. I only write this in hopes that the author will take note and insist on (or get) a better editor.

Now, to the compliments. I usually find mysteries a bit dull because the authors concentrate on the story line and pay little attention to character development and decent dialogue. Not so with Graves. It's entertaining to read about two rather bumbling sleuths and not the hard-boiled detective or the far-too-perceptive-to-be-believable rookie. The interplay between Jacobia and Ellie was refreshing. Sometimes Jacobia didn't have a clue and Ellie had to paint a picture for her; other times Jacobia added one plus one on her own and came up with two.

Graves uses a technique that until now, I hadn't noticed that I haven't seen much in recent years in my reading (particularly mysteries): the tickler last sentence of a chapter that made you decide to read on although you'd planned to stop for a while. That ploy seems to be a lost art.

I have since picked up Graves' first book, The Dead Cat Bounce, and look forward to her next one.

I love these stories because it combines my love for home repair,Eastport-a town I adore and mystery. The characters are believable, the repairs are real and the setting desirable.A great way to escape my work day.

I could relate to the main charater for several reasons. Being a transplant to Maine and living in a house 109 years old, I can relate to the main charater. I have also visited Eastport and the author's description is perfect of the region and people. Small towns like Eastport are the perfect settings for outsiders to get lost in and commit crimes. Mrs. Graves does not use native Maine pronouncement of words that confuses the reader and mocks residents.

The book moves at a pace fast enough to keep the reader interested, yet slow enough to not overlook too many details. True, I was able to solve the mystery before the story was completed; however, you cannot anticipate the ending. It is not one of those books that gives you too many suspects and too little information. It also doesn't sidetrack the reader with long passionate love scenes. I have read all three of Mrs. Graves novels and am awaiting the release of her next book in August, 2001.

I loved this book. I really enjoyed the scenic descriptions. The plot with the ex-husband was interesting though very antagonizing to read. Sarah Graves definitely has a winning series here and I look forward to reading the next installment with Jake and Ellie.