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Vineyard Shadows: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery

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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.

I read "Vineyard Shadows" by Philip R. Craig because one of my favorite mystery writers, William G. Tapply, had written a Brady Coyne/J. W. Jackson novel with Craig, and I wanted to get to know J. W. before I read their joint effort, "First Light". J. W., his wife Zee and their 2 children, Joshua and Diana live on Martha's Vineyard. The book opens as 2 thugs come to J. W. and Zee's house looking for Tom Rimini. When Zee tellsl them she knows of no Tom Rimini, the thugs attack her, and she shoots them, killing one and wounding the other. When J. W. returns from a clamming trip, he learns that the thugs were looking for Tom Rimini. J. W. knows that Rimini is the husband of J. W.'s ex-wife, Carla. It seems that Rimini owes gambling debts to Sonny Whelan, a Boston mob boss. When Rimini does come to J. W.'s house, J. W. agrees to hide him out at a neighbor's house more to help Carla than Rimini, whom he dislikes. There was little mystery and the plot was a bit thin for my taste. I liked the characters, but certain things about this novel annoyed me. The children who are small act like they are 10 years older than they really are, and are more polite than most children. This novel was average, and certainly not up to par with the Brady Coyne novels by William G. Tapply. At least when I read "First Light", I will know about J. W. and his family.

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.

This installment of the J. W. Jackson and family adventure continues the slow degradation of this series and provides another disappointing read. The plot is weak, the action limited, and the toddler age children talk like adults. The whole combination makes for a disjointed novel that is not at all close to an average read.

Years ago (and many novels ago) J. W. was a cop on the mean streets of Boston. He was shot in the stomach and the bullet nestled itself against his spine a hairs breath away from permanent paralysis. During the gun battle, he managed to shoot and kill the female thief that had shot him. The resulting trauma of the shooting, caused him to take his pension and disability benefits and move to the tranquility of Martha's Vineyard. There he was able to find peace and solitude as a year around resident. He eventually met and married Zee, a nurse at the local hospital. By the time this novel opens, they have two toddler age children, Joshua and Diana who do not act or talk like real children in any sense of reality.

As this novel opens, J. W. and Joshua went off clamming while Zee got ready to take the younger child, Diana, to the local gun club so that Zee could practice her shooting. As a healer, she is conflicted about the competitive target shooting, but has slowly discovered that she likes it and is quite good at it. Those skills come in quite handy when strangers appear at the house. After asking repeatedly for someone Zee does not know, violence erupts. To save her child's life as well as her own, Zee kills one assailant and seriously wounds the other.

J. W. comes home to find his injured wife and daughter being loaded into an ambulance in a front yard full of police and chaos. There is a good reason why Zee never recognized the name of the man the men were looking for but J. W. knows of him. Tom Rimini is the schoolteacher J. W.'s wife left him for after he was gunned down. She could not handle the life of a policeman's wife and wanted someone safer and more stable. They clicked and after the shooting, Carla made sure J. W. was physically okay and then announced she wanted out.

The only person that could have sent Tom to J. W. would be Carla. Soon, Rimini contacts him and spins a story about gambling debts, the mob, and a cop seeking a conviction against a powerful mob figure. It has been fifteen years since J. W. last saw Carla, but he still has strong feelings for her and he agrees to do what he can to help Tom. Of course, Zee is less than thrilled with this arrangement and it strains their relationship a little more, but she has learned that J. W. will do what he feels right.

Unfortunately, this novel sounds better on paper than it actually is. This latest effort continues the weaker plots, less action, and unrealistic kids of the last several novels. Joshua and Diana are portrayed as miniature adults in action and dialogue and for any parent; it simply does not ring true. Kids just don't act this way and with the kids being a large focus of the last several novels, the books are weakened considerably. As in the last several, J.W. takes his kids to crime scenes and other places that no rational parent would. My suggestion would be to skip this one and start with the beginning ones and work your way forward. You will know when to stop.


(...)

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.

As has been the case with all the Vinyard mysteries, Philip Craig continues to entertain with plots that are located in an area that many of us love and easily indentify.

Unfortunately, the characters and plots are getting weaker with each new mystery. There is less development and interaction.

And for those of us who also enjoyed the fish tales, they seem to have disappeared as well.

I still enjoyed the novel and will continue to watch for new spins, hoping they improve.

The 12th installment in the Martha's Vineyard Mystery series starts out with a bang. The tranquility of Martha's Vineyard becomes broken for ex-cop J.W. Jackson and his family. Leaving his wife, Zee, and young daughter, Diana, at home while he takes his son, Joshua, with him to go clamming, J.W. is looking forward to a peaceful June day. While he is gone, two hired thugs show up at his house, intent to find a man that Zee has never heard off. After giving her a beating and holding Diana at knifepoint, Zee still maintains that she has no idea who the man is. Zee is able to get to her gun, and being a great shot, she is able to stop the assault on herself and her young daughter. When J.W. returns home to find his battered wife, he instantly is determined to put an end to the violence to his family and on his island home.

It is discovered that the man wanted by the men from Boston is the husband of J.W.'s ex-wife, Carla. He was a schoolteacher in Boston, and J.W. cannot fathom why two men would come looking for him at their home on Martha's Vineyard. He goes to see his ex-wife, and quickly learns that the schoolteacher was involved in more than academics.

I have enjoyed all of the books in this series, and was not disappointed by this latest offering. Every time I read one of these books, I feel like I have been transported to beachfront property. The characters are strong, and I enjoy the interactions between J.W. and Zee. The children are a bit too well-behaved (I wish all kids were so well-mannered), but I do not feel that it diminishes the writing in any way. This book is a great beach or vacation read.

The first book in the series is called "A Beautiful Place to Die". Enjoy!

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.

I rate these Vineyard mysteries by expressiveness of Vineyard and quality of mystery. This one is good on the former (average for this series/excellent by general standards) and the latter (excellent for this series/average by general standards). I'm a fan because of the Vineyard setting, but even I am beginning to tire of J.W. by this eight entry. Craig pumps up the effort on the mystery portion, giving J.W. a more hard-boiled feeling, that helps keep things fresher.

Never mess with a good woman on her way to practice her competition shooting. Zeolinda is beaten by messengers looking for a gambling debt skip, but when Diana is threaten Zee fights back, killing one and laming the other.
J.W. protects his family to discover the "wanted" man is the husband of his ex-wife, who has few scruples about how he treats the people he claims to love. J.W. Jackson wants all of these characters out of his life.
VINEYARD SHADOWS has more twists and turns than the roads of Martha's Vineyard and will keep you guessing till the end.
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