Vineyard Enigma

Vineyard Enigma
Author: Philip R. Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2003-03-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0743233913

With the arrival of warm weather and good fishing, life should be great for J.W. Jackson and his wife, Zee. Something’s wrong, though. The morning newspaper brings an update on the case of the Headless Horseman, a corpse found six months ago. Such murders are rare on the Vineyard, and J.W. wonders if a killer is wandering free on the island. Something’s wrong at home, too. Zee seems curiously distant. J.W. gets a distraction in the form of Abraham Mahsimba, a mysterious man searching for two ancient soapstone eagles. Mahsimba follows their trail to the Vineyard and enlists J.W.’s help. The search for the eagles pits them against some of the most powerful figures in the Vineyard’s art world, including some who would stop at nothing to add forbidden objects to their collections.

Death in Vineyard Waters

Death in Vineyard Waters
Author: Philip Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2016-07-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1501153544

Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries now a movie series on Hallmark Channel starring Jesse Metcalfe! J.W. Jackson returns in another unputdownable mystery as he searches for answers on a beloved local’s strange death on Martha’s Vineyard. Professor Marjorie Summerharp was reborn on Martha’s Vineyard—her mind sharpened by the island’s gentle waves and whispering breezes. So why would she walk into the ocean on a warm June morning, to be swallowed up forever by the sea? Ex-Boston-cop “J.W.” Jackson knows that evil can flourish even in the most serene of settings. And the more he investigates, the more it appears that the mysterious “accidental” death of the renowned local scholar was no accident.

Vineyard Fear

Vineyard Fear
Author: Philip Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2016-07-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1501153560

From the bestselling author of A Vineyard Killing comes an addition to the Martha’s Vineyard Mystery Series that follows hero J.W. on his race to escape the person behind a trio of attempts to end J.W.’s life. Escaping the city and its violence, ex-cop Jeff "J. W." Jackson found solace in fishing, cooking, and simply enjoying life on Martha's Vineyard—and nothing, he figures, will ever entice him to leave. However, suddenly there's a very real possibility that his lady love Zee will be departing the idyllic island forever. And when a young student commits suicide, and a girlfriend-abusing thug starts spewing vicious threats, J. W. seriously considers a temporary escape from paradise. But it's a failed trio of attempts on his own life that ultimately propels him off-island and onto the trail of a stalker that's leading J.W. to the perilous peaks of the Colorado Rockies, where he quickly learns that, thorns and all, there's no place quite like his Vineyard home.

Vineyard Deceit

Vineyard Deceit
Author: Philip Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2016-07-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1501153552

In this addition to the Martha’s Vineyard Mystery Series, an ill tide carries desperate men with murder on their minds to the idyllic island, suddenly threatening everything J.W. loves dearly. A Middle Eastern potentate and his entourage are descending on Martha’s Vineyard—and chaos is in the salt air. Ex-Boston-cop Jeff “J.W.” Jackson would rather be fishing with his lady Zee, but the island’s overtaxed police force needs his help to control the madness their visitor’s arrival has stirred up—especially since the great man will not leave before ceremoniously reclaiming an emerald necklace stolen from his nation a century ago. But when both the jewels and Zee vanish, J.W. is quickly transformed from rent-a-cop to frantic investigator as he races to rescue the one person he truly cares for.

Vineyard Prey

Vineyard Prey
Author: Philip R. Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2008-06-18
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 143910509X

Philip Craig delivers an off-season caper set on Martha’s Vineyard that showcases his trademark eye for rich characterization and suspenseful island intrigue. Thanksgiving has come and gone, and hunting season is in full swing on the Vineyard. J. W. Jackson -- retired cop, dedicated fisherman, and passionate cook -- is more or less holed up with his wife, Zee, and their two spunky kids for the winter. At least dear old dad has finally agreed to get a computer to keep them connected to the outside world! Otherwise, their cozy Vineyard home is pretty much cut off from civilization during this time of year. Still, the world has a way of intruding on their idyllic winter setting. When J.W.'s old Vietnam buddy and Vineyard fishing companion, Joe Begay, asks to be met on Cape Cod and virtually smuggled back to the island, J.W. knows something's not right. Joe wouldn't be sneaking around and asking J.W. to do him odd favors if trouble weren't brewing. J.W. also knows that Begay wasn't merely a soldier, but he has also performed highly secretive work for the government ever since Vietnam. Soon, the facts begin to emerge: A few years ago, Begay and five fellow agents were caught in the chaos of a bloody mission. Today, only two of the five remain. The others have died unexpectedly, and a killer known as the Easter Bunny may now be on his way to the island to take out Joe Begay. Enter the seductive and highly dangerous Kate MacLeod, the fifth member of Begay's secret government team. Why has Kate suddenly appeared on the Vineyard? Is she there to warn Begay, or could she be there to kill him? Even though Begay claims to trust her, J.W. is sticking close to Kate's side to make sure his friend is not being double-crossed. J.W. has always admired and respected Begay, and would do anything to help him out -- but he can't let Zee and the kids become targets in this cat-and-mouse game. Can J.W. divert the Bunny's attention long enough for Begay to take him out? And can he keep his family out of harm's way?

Vineyard Stalker

Vineyard Stalker
Author: Philip R. Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2007-06-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1416545956

J. W. Jackson, the ex-Boston cop turned fisherman, cook, and jack-of-all-trades, delves deep into the mysterious depths of his beloved Vineyard in author Philip Craig's most compelling caper yet. With his wife, Zee, and two kids visiting relatives in "America," J.W. is alone and quickly tiring of his temporary bachelor status when a request from Carole Cohen comes as a blessed diversion. Carole wants J.W. to find the person who's stalking her brother, Roland. Known locally as "The Monk" for his reclusive ways, Roland lives on a beautiful piece of Vineyard real estate that he co-owns with his cousin, Sally Oliver. A number of people, including Sally, would do almost anything to convince Roland to sell his valuable property. But does that include violence? J.W. is happy to take on what looks like a short and easy assignment, though he soon realizes that Roland may lead a more complicated life than his austere living arrangements suggest. And when a body turns up near Roland's land, what seemed like a property dispute takes a detour into murder -- with J.W. in the midst of the action once again. Featuring a rich mix of money, lust, pride, and jealousy, spiced with a little poignant regret, Vineyard Stalker is a page-turning and deftly plotted addition to this popular and engaging series in which Martha's Vineyard itself is always the star.

A Fatal Vineyard Season

A Fatal Vineyard Season
Author: Philip R. Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2016-07-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 150115298X

Martha’s Vineyard is home to ex-Boston cop J.W. Jackson, his adored wife Zee, their toddler Joshua, and newborn daughter Diana. For others, the picturesque vacation spot is a relaxing escape. But there is no escape for Julia Crandel and Ivy Holiday, two Hollywood actresses staying in the Vineyard town of Oak Bluffs. Their arrival has incurred the wrath of a pair of local gangsters, and a deadly stalker from out of the young ladies’ past has found out where they are hiding. Twin hurricanes are about to slam the idyllic island—one a natural climatic disaster, the other an all-too-human catastrophe—and it looks as if J.W. is going to get caught in the middle.

A Deadly Vineyard Holiday

A Deadly Vineyard Holiday
Author: Philip R. Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2016-07-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1501153587

At first, the girl J. W. Jackson encounters strolling alone along South Beach seems like your typical teenager. But there’s nothing typical about young Cricket Callahan, the spirited only daughter of the vacationing President of the United States. Why is the feisty First Kid so intent upon eluding her Secret Service guardians, and why does the President want J.W. and Zee to watch over her? The answer comes in the form of a dead body. Not even executive privilege can shield the President’s daughter from harm unless Jackson roots out a vengeful killer who may be hiding among the President’s most trusted.

Death on a Vineyard Beach

Death on a Vineyard Beach
Author: Philip R. Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 275
Release: 1996-06-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1439105081

When J.W. Jackson foils an attempt to terminate former mob boss Luciano Marcus on the steps of Boston’s Symphony Hall, it puts a definite damper on Jackson and Zee’s newlywedded bliss, especially when the mayhem follows them back home to Martha’s Vineyard. Keeping circling sharks from the kill might be more than J.W. can handle.

Dead in Vineyard Sand

Dead in Vineyard Sand
Author: Philip R. Craig
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2006-06-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0743293274

It's a picture-perfect Vineyard summer, and ex-Boston cop J.W. Jackson finds time for lazy afternoons at the beach with his wife, Zee, and the kids. Nothing could be better, but of course not everything is peaceful, even on this idyllic island. When J.W.’s rich businessman friend Glen Norton invites him to join a golfing foursome at Waterwoods, the island’s prettiest club, he’s happy to accept. But trouble is waiting for J.W. in the sand trap at the fourth hole—the sand trap with the human hand protruding from below. With circumstantial evidence pointing to J.W., he must act fast, peeling back layers of deceit surrounding old Vineyard families in his search for a killer.