A Deadly Vineyard Holiday - Softcover

Craig, Philip R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 038073110X ISBN 13: 9780380731107

Publisher: Avon, 1998

Synopsis

Hell to the Chief

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. What ex-cop-turned fisherman Jackson can't figure out is why the feisty First Kid is so intent upon eluding her Secret Service guardians. . .or why the Chief Executive himself wants J. W. and his lovely lady Zee to watch over the errant sixteen-year-old.

The answer comes in the form of a dead body--and in the subsequent knowledge that a diabolical someone is able to crack the security surrounding Cricket as handily as J. W. cracks quahogs at a Vineyard clambake. And not even executive privilege will be able to shield the President's daughter from grievous harm, unless Jackson can root out a .vengeful killer who may be hiding among the ranks of the President's most trusted paladins.

About this title

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 Kirkus Reviews

An early morning session of casting for bluefish brings a new adventure to the not-so-quiet life of J.W. Jackson (Death on a Vineyard Beach, 1996, etc.)--once a member of Boston's PD, now eking out a living on Martha's Vineyard with adored wife Zee, a nurse at the local hospital. The morning's fishing is interrupted by the appearance of Cricket Callahan, the daughter of the President. Cricket is sick of the security guard that watches her every move--especially right now, in the wake of a series of threatening letters. When her parents agree to let her stay with J.W. and Zee for the last days of their holiday, J.W. speculates, correctly, that there are suspicions of a threat within the vacation White House itself. Cricket, renamed Debby, disguised with glasses and a new hairdo, is now J.W.'s cousin from Virginia, visiting with sister Karen (her bodyguard). As Debby and Karen do all the fun things teenagers do, J.W. puts his mind to tracking down the source of the threatening letters. Matters are soon complicated by the murder of a tabloid reporter in the woods near J.W.'s house. With the help of FBI man Jake Spitz and ex-government agent Joe Begay (an old Vietnam buddy), J.W. finally comes up with some pretty bizarre answers. A leisurely guide to the Vineyard, complete with instructions on fishing, climbing, and cooking. Some of the background clarity could have been used to strengthen the jerry-built plot in this comfortable but uncompelling episode. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Avon
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 038073110X
• ISBN 13: 9780380731107
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 240