From Publishers Weekly
Retired cop J. W. Jackson, the protagonist of this debut mystery,is it okay to use 'mystery' in the section entitled such? also at end of this review and last review. Why not? is a passionate fisherman, an enthusiastic cook and appreciative gourmand, a quoter of Keats and Babar stories, and a dogged sleuth. Unfortunately, the latter quality is not displayed to impressive advantage in this ingratiating but largely tensionless yarn. The title refers to Martha's Vineyard, which Craig evokes quite well, conveying not only specific local color but also the sociological patterns of an inbred island community, celebrated by tourists for its idyllic ambience but also a haven for drug traffickers. When one of J. W.'s fishing buddies is killed in the explosion of a boat belonging to another fishingangling? while i hate to repeat the word fishing, I'm afraid angling will not do pal, a millionaire entrepreneur, J. W. dusts off his investigative skills, focusing on the boat owner's spoiled son, a former druggie. Meanwhile he is wooing a comely nurse, an apt student of angling I can see using it here techniques and as snappy a conversationalist as J. W. himself. While this is all pleasant, it is not terribly suspenseful. Since the romance proceeds without any problems strewn in the lovers' path, and the mystery lacks urgency and a sense of menace (despite the requisite car chase and a thunderstorm that cuts the power at a critical moment), this literate novel gets points for prose style but not for thrills. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Description

During his career as a Boston cop, Jeff "J.W." Jackson saw enough of the evil that men do to last a lifetime. So he retired to the serenity of Martha's Vineyard to spend his days fishing for blues and wooing a sexy nurse named Zee. But when a local's boat mysteriously explodes off the coast, killing an amiable young drifter, Jackson finds himself reluctantly drawn back into the investigative trade. For there is a serpent loose in paradise -- and it's contaminating Jackson's lovely, peaceful island with its poisonous venom of drugs and death.

About the Author
Philip R. Craig grew up on a small cattle ranch near Durango, Colorado, before going off to college at Boston University, where he was an All-American fencer. He earned his M.F.A. at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. A recently retired professor of English at Wheelock College in Boston, he and his wife Shirley now live year-round on Martha's Vineyard.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

During his career as a Boston cop, Jeff "J. W." Jackson saw enough of the evil that men do to last a lifetime. So he retired to the serenity of Martha's Vineyard to spend his days fishing for blues and wooing a sexy nurse named Zee. But when a local's boat mysteriously explodes off the coast, killing an amiable young drifter, Jackson finds himself reluctantly drawn back into the investigative trade. For there is a serpent loose in paradise -- and it's contaminating Jackson's lovely, peaceful island with its poisonous venom of drugs and death.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly