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A Beautiful Place to Die (A Martha's Vineyard Mystery, Introducing Jeff Jackson)
by Philip R. Craig
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Scribner Book Company (1989-12)
ISBN: 0684191229
EAN: 9780684191225
Dewy Decimal #: 813.54
Hardcover: 211 pages
SKU: 080322005
Condition: Collectible: Very Go
Comments: This First Printing, Signed & dated 10-20-89, with inscription copy is in very good condition. No visible markings, highlights, underlining, tears to text. Tight spine. Top, spine of Hard Cover there is a light blackish stain, otherwise overall cover is clean. Dust Jacket has tiny scratches to front with minimum shelf/edge wear. This classic is worth having/reading at an affordable price. (5J-93)
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Editorial Reviews
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Product 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.
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Customer Reviews
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You've got to be kidding me
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-03-20
0 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
The second line in the first chapter sums up the originality, creativity and quality of the writing in this book:
"Outside it was as black as a tax collector's heart."
Yes...that trite, that tired, that unoriginal.
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the begining of a beautiful relationship
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-03-16
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
I have read most of Philip Craig's books, and finally got around to his first J. W. Jackson mystery. What a treasure! It fascinates me how Craig began the series with most of the charming anecdotes that re-appear in the subsequent Vineyard books, from the pay toilets at Gay Head (an abomination to civilization) to his love for catching the blues with a red headed Roberts. The romance with Zee starts here too, which delighted both myself and my wife as we read it.
This book starts off with a bang (actually an explosion) and quickly leads into something involving illegal drugs in paradise. We discover a fascinating story of a young man trying to discover his past, and another young man entangled in a world of drugs he cannot control. J.W. gets into personal danger in multiple circumstances. One of those seemed like it could have been the grand finale to the book, but I knew it couldn't because if occurred with many pages to go, leaving me intrigued how the story would continue to develop. The only negative comment I have is the ending leaves the reader to clean up a few of the loose ends in his or her imagination. This didn't bother me, but it might bother some.
Enjoy this masterpiece. Delish!
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Recommended with reservations.
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-02-17
2 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
As the first book in the series it introduces charactes that reappear often in subsequent books, so if one has a choice, the beginning is the recommended place to start.
A good plot. The pages keep turning. Personally, I don't care for interjections such as "Yum" and "Delish" while describing the menu of the moment. That is an example of style elements that caused me not to rate this a 4.
I can't compare to the actual setting, but I get the feeling the description of Martha's Vineyard is accurate from the viewpoint of a local.
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Beautiful, Martha's Vineyard Début
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-07-16
10 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
In the 1st book in the Martha's Vineyard Mystery series, we are introduced to J.W. Jackson, retired former Boston police officer, who now lives on Martha's Vineyard year-round. J.W., who spends most of his time fishing, puttering in his garden, and enjoying life on the Vineyard, has an insatiable curiosity that grew with his years on the force. When a boat explodes with the son of a friend of J.W. onboard, he quickly starts to question why the seemingly well-running boat blows up. The college-aged student, Billy, had been into drugs in the past, and J.W. begins to wonder if some of his old acquaintances want Billy dead. And when Billy's sister, Susie, pleads with J.W. to find out who would want her brother dead, he simply cannot resist the pull to investigate. Meanwhile, J.W. meets a beautiful, exotic nurse, named Zeolinda Madieras while fishing for blues one early morning. They start a simmering romance while J.W. seeks out a murderer before he becomes the next victim.
I just love this series! I had read all of the first books in the series several years ago, and have returned to read them for a second time. I feel as though I am revisiting a beloved vacation spot, as the setting of Martha's Vineyard is both beautiful and refreshing. I enjoy the characters of J.W. and Zee, and it is fun to watch their romance grow and blossom in this book. Reading this series is like taking a vacation on a beach on a gorgeous summer day, while enjoying good food, and the company of great friends. As J.W. would say, "Delish"!
The next book in the series is called "Death in Vineyard Waters". Enjoy!
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Great Mystery
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-10-19
3 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
Recently discovered this series and love it! JW and Zee are both extremely likable characters, while still possessing realistic flaws. Craig's style of writing is engaging. A must read for fans of mysteries...especially those who have vacationed on the Island.
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