Open and Shut

Book Description

Corrupt politics and big money collide when a young New Jersey defense attorney takes on a death row appeal in this exciting debut thriller.Defense attorney Andy Carpenter manages to sail through any tough situation, whether inside the courtroom or in his personal life. But this all changes when his marriage breaks up and his father suddenly dies, leaving him distraughtand 22 million dollars richer. Andy doesnt know how his father accumulated this fortune or why his father begged him to take on the appeal of a death row prisoner. With the help of his newfound love, P.I. Laurie Collins, and the support of his golden retriever companion, Tara, he discovers a link between three of the most prominent men in New Jersey, including a senator, and his new client, Willie Miller. Willie was framed, theres no question about it, and Andy soon learns how far powerful men will go to protect their secrets.

Customer Reviews:

Awesome!!.......2007-09-03

This book was outstanding. Wonderful pacing and some of the best dialogue I have read in years. The Publishers Weekly review was way off and with regards to Harlan Coben, I can easily say Rosenfelt is 5 times the writer that Coben is.

For Hardy Boys fans only!.......2007-05-22

I bought this book because it was in my Amazon recommendations
as a "legal thriller/mystery".
Don't believe it! This book is very juvenile and the main
character could be Frank & Joe Hardy's sleuthing buddy.
Stick with John Grisham and David Baldacci. I also recommend
Greg Iles, but I won't read any more books in this series.

Finished it in one sitting.......2007-01-14

This book draws you in immediately with the excellent writing style of the author. It is told in first person which I usually have trouble with but this book is definately and exception.

Andy Carpenter is a wise cracking defense attorney who is separated from his wife and likes to spend most of his free time with his golden retriever. His father convinces him to take the appeal of an inmate on death row that his father had put there when he was a prosecuter.

So many wierd things happen especially after Andy's father suddenly dies and leaves him a hidden fortune that he could not possibly have earned in his career as a prosecutor. To add to that there is a mysterious photograph of Andy's father with a four other men. When Andy start to investigate who the other men are, threats to his life start to happen. Andy is not sure if it has to do with the death row murder case he is trying to overturn or not.

The author also masters the courtroom dialogue so that the reader actually feels they are there. Excellent work Mr. Rosenfelt!

An exceptional courtroom thriller from beginning to end!.......2006-07-26

Andy Carpenter is a defense lawyer whose prominent father just died, leaving him with a lot of unanswered questions. First is why he wanted Andy to take on an appellate case of a convicted murderer, which he prosecuted years ago. Second is how is it possible that his father left him 22 million dollars in his will. If that weren't enough, his personal life takes a turn as well. After being separated from his wife, Nicole, he's been seeing a beautiful private investigator, Laurie. And yet his wife wants to try again by moving back in with him.

This legal thriller is an excellent quick read with fantastic courtroom maneuvers. It's one of those rare books that strikes the right balance between plot and character development. Well-written, concise, and entertaining, Rosenfelt's first book will not disappoint. Andy is a charismatic character whose sarcastic wit, courtroom antics, and investigative techniques are extremely appealing. I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Perfect summer read.......2006-06-25

You're going to love attorney Andy Carpenter. After suddenly becoming very wealthy after the death of his father, he can afford to pick and choose his cases. The story has drama as well as humor, and is a perfect book for the summer. Well, it is a perfect book for anytime.

Eyes Wide Open: A Memoir of Stanley Kubrick

Average customer rating:

The sad face of envy and the sick power of projection.
Gratifying to read the negativity of most of these reviews.
A rare but shameless look into the great director
Is Frederic Raphael always this high and mighty?
Well worth reading. Critics did too!

Eyes Wide Open: A Memoir of Stanley Kubrick
Frederic Raphael
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Direction & Production | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Screenwriting | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0345437764
Release Date: 1999-06-22

Amazon.com

Hurriedly published to coincide with the July 1999 release of Stanley Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut, this slim, rather obviously titled volume by the film's distinguished screenwriter offers considerably less than its cover copy leads you to expect. But for avid followers of Kubrick's career, even a cursory glimpse of the late director's lifestyle and creative methods will prove to be fascinating. And while Frederic Raphael instantly drew criticism and controversy from Kubrick's family and friends for describing Kubrick as "the sedentary wandering Jew, rootlessly rooted within his own defenses," this and other remarks must be considered in context. Eyes Wide Open must ultimately be seen to reflect Raphael's conflicting emotions about a filmmaker he clearly admires and respects, even if their collaboration resulted in equal parts elation, exasperation, and hard-won rewards.

Using notebook entries, vivid recollection, and re-created scenes in screenplay format, Raphael paints a portrait as revealing of himself (if not more so) than of Kubrick, and neither man comes across without blemish. Simultaneously self-indulgent, frustrating, and fascinating in its attempt to probe Kubrick's closely guarded psyche (a mission Raphael ultimately fails to accomplish), the book finally reveals--in fragments of sensitive insight--that Kubrick's reputation as a reclusive genius did in fact hide a very complex, intensely intelligent, and surprisingly human being. In one passage Raphael observes that "Stanley was so determined to be aloof and unfeeling that my heart went out to him. Somewhere along the line he was still the kid in the playground who had been no one's first choice to play with." Whether such observations are an accurate representation of Kubrick's personality is beside the point; that Raphael made the observation speaks volumes of both men, and this book is filled with similar revelations.

In addition to offering a privileged look at Kubrick's collaborative process, the book also reveals elusive details about Kubrick the man--pet lover, intellectual challenger, gracious host--and the result is a warmer image of him than that afforded by decades of distant speculation by journalists too willing to perpetuate the "myth" of Kubrick as omnipotent genius. If Raphael's book invites criticism and charges of blatant opportunism (with Kubrick unable to defend himself), it also provides a rare and often fascinating look at an artist who constantly eluded the gaze of outsiders. Raphael takes us inside Kubrick's gated domain, and we're grateful for the visit. If the truth resides somewhere between the protest of Kubrick's family and the insights presented here, we can at least use this book as a guide through previously uncharted territory. --Jeff Shannon

Book Description

We've all heard the rumors.

He was a hermit. He refused to fly and wouldn't be driven at more than thirty miles an hour. He avoided having his picture taken and was terrified of being assassinated. As a filmmaker, he was obsessed with perfection. He insisted on total control of every facet of the process. Simple scenes required one hundred takes. No wonder he made only six movies in the past thirty-five years.

But what was he really like?

For more than two years, Frederic Raphael collaborated closely with Stanley Kubrick on the screenplay of what was to be the director's final movie, Eyes Wide Shut. Over time, as his professional caution was replaced by a certain affection, Kubrick lowered his guard for Raphael as he never had with journalists or biographers, to reveal much about his early life in the cinema and of the reverses and humiliations he had to endure. They spoke for hours about a variety of subjects, from Julius Caesar to the Holocaust, from Kubrick's views about other directors to reminiscences of the many stars with whom both men had worked (or nearly worked)--Kirk Douglas, Audrey Hepburn, James Mason, Peter Sellers, Marisa Berenson, Sterling Hayden, Marlon Brando, and Gregory Peck.

Here, with his own distinctly cinematic style, Raphael chronicles their often fiery exchanges, capturing Kubrick's voice as no one else could. Disdaining false veneration, he opens our eyes to the mind and art of a truly complex and hitherto elusive twentieth-century genius.

Customer Reviews:

The sad face of envy and the sick power of projection........2007-02-15

While it purports to be a memoir of Stanley Kubrick, this book is most effective in revealing the degree to which a person can grow older without ever growing up. Raphael's neuroses are myriad and are made all the more pathetic by his own willful projection of them onto Mr. Kubrick. Having seen Eyes Wide Shut again, now years after the hype has died away, I have come to believe that Raphael was picked to write the script because of his own old-boy dumbass ideas of the way things are and always shall be. If the film is about that peculiarly American aversion to and obsession with sex, that senseless jealousy that can ruin lives, then Raphael was absolutely the right person to write the script. He judges Kubrick harshly for not appreciating every little passive-aggressive gift he offers all the while referring to prostitutes as "whores" and whinging about the amount of work that's required of him. Raphael hopes that Kubrick will just open his eyes and recognize what a genius he is. He feels continually misunderstood, ironically because it seems to me that Kubrick understood him perfectly. The book remains interesting mostly as a chronicle of someone who just doesn't get the great joke being played on him. It would be sad for the same reason of Kubrick were still alive, but in that case it wouldn't have been published. Raphael is a ghoul who offered up his story because he knew it would be rushed into print because its subject was dead and no more "memoirs" would be forthcoming. Bah.

Gratifying to read the negativity of most of these reviews........2005-12-14

I just happened to wander onto this site for Raphael's book. It is very gratifying to learn that the majority of your reviewers concur with the Kubrick family's response to this pretentious tome. Raphael never misses an opportunity to claim his intellectual superiority to Kubrick, in a way that he would not have dared had Kubrick lived to see his last film released. He is a grave - robber in short and roundly despised for his action in writing and publishing this book which greatly shocked and dissapointed Kubrick's family. Happily there have been many better books written about Kubrick in the intervening years. Except as a revealing but turgid study of an artist's ego, [ guess who I am talking about] this book has nothing that is interesting to say, nothing that is true at least. Jonathan Finney [family member, so not utterly disinterersted]

A rare but shameless look into the great director.......2003-10-09

Despite that Frederic Raphael wrote this to cash in on the opening of Eyes Wide Shut, Kubrick's final (and some believe unfinished) film, it's still a guilty pleasure since it affords a point of view absent from the legion of Kubrick books that appeared before and after the director's death.

Maybe it's a sign of respect for the working relationship that some of Kubrick's other collaborators had that they never went ahead and told all, but in the end this book will attract the Kubrick fan who isn't always willing to accept the man as omnipotent myth maker. Eyes Wide Open does become as much about Raphael as Kubrick (if not more) but it still works to paint Kubrick as human, something that reams of analysis, criticism and speculation consistently fail to highlight.

Rather than fawning on Kubrick over the slim length of the book, Raphael continually reminds all that HE himself is an intellectual, blah blah blah, and the tone becomes hard to bear. It's not particularly cohesive or earth shattering, and the conversations that appear in transcript-like form work to put words in the director's mouth. However, it's still valuable in that it offers a rare glimpse into working with the elusive Kubrick. I would take this with a grain of salt, and Kubrick's family did not appreciate this effort in the least, denouncing it on their website.

It may still be of interest to people who want an inside view (albeit skewed) that the many tomes dedicated to breaking down Kubrick's small but mighty canon of films don't bring to the table.

But be warned: with Kubrick gone, it's Raphael who tries to get in the last word...

Is Frederic Raphael always this high and mighty?.......2003-08-08

Eyes Wide Open was a suprisingly quick read. There is not much to speak of in these memoirs since Frederic Raphael mostly talked on the phone with Stanley Kubrick and communicated with faxes. I would have expected perhaps some stories from the set of Eyes Wide Shut, but I was very, very wrong.

The book is mostly about how Raphael had to put up with odd requests and deadlines from Kubrick whilst writing the screenplay for Eyes Wide Shut. The most eventful part of the book is when he meets the famed director for the first time at his secluded England home. Aside from that, Raphael talks about all of the faxing they did back and forth.

But the thing that bugs me the most is Raphael's tone. He never wants the reader to forget that he is the intellectual giant in this creative duo and that we can all go and read his other stuff if we ever doubted such a thing.

For instance, I recall a passage in which the topic of Full Metal Jacket, Kubrick's 1987 picture about Vietnam, came up in a phone conversation between the two men. 'You've seen the movie, right Freddie?' Kubrick would ask him. 'Yes', Raphael replied. He also managed to inject a comment to Kubrick that because the movie unfolded in an unlinear fashion, that Aristotle would have hated watching it.

Who cares what Aristotle would have thought of Full Metal Jacket?

Well worth reading. Critics did too!.......2003-06-08

Frederic Raphael's "memoir [emphasis here]" of the final years of Stanley Kubrick's life while making `Eyes Wide Shut' either flies bluntly as a work of half-lies or is the single most important book ever written on Stanley Kubrick. If you have read anything about Kubrick then you have probably learned that he lived the life of a film-making hermit in one of England's largest estates where he barricading himself off from the rest of the world. Apparently, Stanley liked to use the phone a lot when talking to people and remained much to himself and family except for when it came to shoot, and that is another story entirely and what seems to be another different person described in many other limited biographies of the man himself.

If you trust Frederic Raphael then you can be rest assured that this book will reveal more to you about the mind of Kubrick than any other piece of literature that you can find on the topic. I have read endless books on this highly overrated director and each one of them does a good biography job but leaves the reader none the less wiser as to Kubrick's motivations and intentions. The director rarely, if ever, did interviews that lasted over a minute. He once worked for the press as a photographer but since then closed himself off entirely to that side of the universe. As one of the world's most celebrated film makers he certainly is an oddity... but that is something he seems to semi-enjoy.

Frederic's coverage is not as illusive as some may have you think. It does have its many moments and there are many indicators as to what makes Kubrick tick. Kubrick appears to be one of the most avid researchers you can find with a lot of time and patients on his hands. A man who likes to think about how other people think. A man who appears to like to study other people and their motives. There is something about his interest in the writer, Raphael, who while penning Eyes Wide Shut seemed to notice that Stanley had more of an interest in him than the material itself and this is why the book sheds more light on Kubrick than anything else you will probably find out there.

Raphael's conversations with Kubrick are done in film screenplay style and this will bolster approval from most readers of film making material for its inventiveness. There is much more to this book than first meets the eye and it certainly does merit a second reading. However Raphael sometimes interjects little moments of tabloid technique which only seem to reduce the overall integrity of the book. One example is where Raphael so easily states that he should be present on set when Kidman gets her kit off. It comes out of nowhere and seems a little dab exploitive of the director given the fact that he seems to resent talking about other people's private matters or his own life. Maybe he said it for a laugh but then again it is hard to imagine that this guy would giggle at such a thing while at the same time demanding straight-faced for material on Roman orgies.

Another thing which makes this book worthwhile is that most writers and crew members who worked on Eyes Wide Shut had to sign a contract which included a section on non-disclosure. This was omitted from Raphael's contract so he was set loose to scribe as he pleased while Warner Brother execs probably tore their hair out and fired a whole staff of legal employees for their mistake. Read it while you can. Stuff like this is a rare opportunity indeed!

By the way, Raphael never did get to go on set and this is not a biography about Kubrick. Raphael has been knuckle-wrapped for exploiting the man, in a manner which seems to make him out to know more than Kubrick. There is some truth to that. There is also truth in the matter that he released this just after Kubrick's death to make a buck. However there is something in this book which makes it more truthful than most would care to admit. There is plenty of material here which you can cross-reference with Arthur C. Clarke's revelations about his collaboration with the man on 2001 and much of Kubrick's methodology seems to fit there as it does here. And for die hard Kubrick fans who think that the director was such a lovely person who didn`t deserve this - one need only to refer to the way he treated people on set, not to mention his highly overrated rape of Steven King's The Shining, while at the same time pulling the mickey out of American`s with Dr. Strangelove. If the man could give a little then surely he could also take a little!

Average customer rating:
Open And Shut Cases?!: 40 More Mini-Mysteries for You to Solve
Jurg Obrist
Manufacturer: Millbrook Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Puzzles | Games | Sports & Activities | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Mysteries, Espionage, & Detectives | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Literature | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Puzzles | Games | Sports & Activities | Children's Books | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Case Closed?!: Forty Mini Mysteries for You To Solve (Mini-Mysteries for You to Solve)

Stories to Solve

Historical Whodunits

ASIN: 0761323449

Average customer rating:

There Are Good Reasons This Did Not Win an Edgar

Open and Shut (SIGNED)
David Rosenfelt
Manufacturer: Mysterious Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

First Degree

Sudden Death

Bury the Lead (Today Show Book Club #24)

Play Dead

Dead Center

ASIN: 0641557108

Product Description

"Attorney Andy Carpenter's legal maneuvers are legion in and out of the courtrooms of Paterson, New Jersey. A talented lawyer who knows how to play all the cards, he is torn between mending a marriage that no longer works and growing attached to a beautiful, no-nonsense private investigator. Besides his love for sports, Andy also adores Tara, a golden retriever clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County." "Then one day the fun stops." "It all begins when Andy's father, venerated ex-district attorney Nelson Carpenter, asks him to take the appeals case of Willie Miller, a young black man on death row for the murder of a white woman. Nelson himself had prosecuted Miller but refuses to disclose why he wants Andy to represent the convicted man. A few days later, Nelson drops dead in front of his son at a game in Yankee Stadium." "Suddenly Andy finds himself the inheritor of a staggering fortune he never knew his father had. The astonished advocate soon unearths a mysterious old photograph of a much younger Nelson, a picture that may have a sinister connection to the Willie Miller case. But before he can sort out the truth behind his father's life and death, Andy receives an anonymous threat - delivered in a most terrifying fashion." Now the quick-witted Andy, with his client's life hanging in the balance, must uncover a decades-old secret, one so shocking and unthinkable as to threaten everything he believes in and everyone he has ever loved. Caught in an explosive endgame, he will face the heat of a deadly political firestorm ... where the wrong move will close out his case for good.

Customer Reviews:

There Are Good Reasons This Did Not Win an Edgar.......2006-08-15

Rosenfelt has written a series of books involving Andy Carpenter and after reading Sudden Death, I decided I needed to read the book that was the well spring for the series and that would be this one, Open and Shut.

The books title refers to a case that Carpenter's father, a legendary prosecutor, asks him to handle the motion for a new trial on. It is a case his father tried some seven years before and resulted in a conviction and the death sentence for one Willie Miller. "It would be important to me," was the only reason his Dad gave him for taking on the case, but it was all he needed to say.

Miller was discovered standing over the deceased, he ran from the scene; a knife was recovered that had the victim's blood on it and his finger prints; his skin tissues are found under the victims fingernails; her blood is on his shirt and he is too drunk to have any memory of what happened. Open and shut!

Before the new trial is granted, Carpenter's father dies and in going through the estate Carpenter discovers that (1) his father had twenty two million dollars in assets that no one in the family knew anything about and (2) a mysterious picture is found underneath a picture of his Mom and Dad. It is of some young men, his father being one, in a celebratory mood. It turns out the picture was taken the same year that his father recieved two million dollars.

How those factor into the defense of Miller is really what the story line is all about. There is, in my judgement, a really fine novel in this book. However, they manner in which the author approaches his characters and the twists and turns of the plot are entirely too cavalier for me. It remains a nice piece of light reading, but in my judgement an opportunity was missed.

The Chymist's Key to Shut and to Open: The True Doctrine of Corruption and Generation, in the Brief Aphorisms Illustrated With the Pure Light of Nature

Average customer rating:

The Chymist's Key to Shut and to Open: The True Doctrine of Corruption and Generation, in the Brief Aphorisms Illustrated With the Pure Light of Nature
Thomas Vaughan
Manufacturer: Holmes Pub Grou Llc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1558181873

A door must be either open or shut ;: A proverb (Miniature books)

Average customer rating:

A door must be either open or shut ;: A proverb (Miniature books)
Alfred de Musset
Manufacturer: Rodale Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

A door Must Either Open or Shut
Alfred De Musset
Manufacturer: The Rodale Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K7O1FI

John Bull's Open Door: A Plea for It to be Shut

Average customer rating:

John Bull's Open Door: A Plea for It to be Shut
A.L.B.M. A London Business Man
Manufacturer: Bartlett's Publishing, London
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H47GTW

Average customer rating:

John Bull's Open Door: A Plea for it to be Shut
A. L. B. M. A London Business Man
Manufacturer: Bartletts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NVH5MC

Keep Your Mouth Shut and Your Arms Open: Observations from the Rabbinic Trenches

Average customer rating:

Written by a convicted murderer under a pseudonym

Keep Your Mouth Shut and Your Arms Open: Observations from the Rabbinic Trenches
Adam Plony
Manufacturer: Disc-Us Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Jewish Life | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Accessories:

ASIN: 1584442573

Customer Reviews:

Written by a convicted murderer under a pseudonym.......2006-03-29

This book is actually the work of Rabbi Fred Neulander, who was convicted in November 2002 of arranging for the brutal murder of Carol, his wife of 29 years and mother of his three children, so he could then marry one of his four mistresses.

Neulander was described by witnesses and law enforcement officials as a shallow, manipulative, cold, ambitious sociopath. He has expressed no remorse and still maintains his innocence, but no one -- including his own children -- now believe him.

The book was published before a second trial put him away for good after his initial trial ended with a hung jury.

Neulander is exhibit number one of how a patently evil man can be attracted to the clergy as a way of satisfying his overwhelming ambition and ego.

A better choice might be to read Arthur J. Magida's "The Rabbi and the Hit Man : A True Tale of Murder, Passion, and Shattered Faith," an account of the crime and trials. Or go to http://www.southjerseynews.com/neulander and read about this coldblooded narcissist and murderer first before you put your money in a murderer's pocket.

Book Description

Violent crime is a rarity on the tranquil shores of Martha's Vineyard, which is why ex-cop J.W. Jackson turned in his Boston badge to retire to the idyllic isle. And that's what makes a six-month-old murder so troubling to the perplexed locals. But Jackson's got troubles of his own -- including a loving wife, Zee, who's becoming curiously distant ... and the arrival of a mysterious visitor who's searching for a valuable set of stolen statues, and who's certain J.W.'s the man to hunt them down. It's an assignment that plunges the fisherman/chef-cum-private investigator into an unfamiliar milieu: the Vineyard's cutthroat world of art aficionados. And suddenly J.W. finds himself pitted against some of the island's most powerful and unscrupulous figures, uncovering lethal threads that may connect an unsolved mutilation/slaying with those who would stop at nothing -- including murder -- to add rare forbidden objects to their collections.

Download Description

"With the arrival of warm weather and good fishing, life should be great for J. W. Jackson and his wife, Zee. Martha's Vineyard may be no Eden, but J.W. wouldn't trade it for any other place on earth. Something's wrong, though. The morning newspaper brings an update on the case of the Headless Horseman, a headless and handless corpse found on a local bridle path six months ago. Such murders are rare on the Vineyard, and J.W. can't help but wonder if a killer is still wandering free on the island. Something's wrong at home, too. Zee does her usual efficient job at the emergency room but with J.W. and the two kids she seems curiously distant. If she's going through the seven-year itch, J.W. will give her time. He loves her and hopes she'll soon remember that she loves him. Meanwhile, J.W. gets a distraction in the form of Abraham Mahsimba, a mysterious man from Zimbabwe in East Africa. Mahsimba enlists J.W.'s help in the search for two ancient soapstone eagles, carved seven hundred years ago and spirited out of Africa in the 1960s. Mahsimba has followed their trail to the Vineyard. He'll pay what it takes to bring them home. J.W. agrees to assist, though he doesn't know much about art. And he certainly doesn't anticipate what will happen when Zee meets Mahsimba. The man has a charisma that's hard to resist. Nor can J.W. know that his search for the eagles will pit him 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. And there's still the unsolved case of the Headless Horseman. Could the Horseman's death have anything to do with the eagles? With the author's usual rich blend of suspense, fishing, food, and family, set against the invigorating backdrop of beautiful Martha's Vineyard, Vineyard Enigma is the perfect summer read from an acclaimed and much-loved author. "

Customer Reviews:

Zimbabwe birds on the loose.......2007-02-03

And of course, dead bodies along the trail in picturesque Martha's Vineyard. A mysterious visitor from Zimbabwe hires J. W. to help him locate two "stolen" soapstone eagles which are national treasures. The search goes to the upper crust Vineyard art afficianados. Something about the mystery doesn't click well, though. Although the motives for murder were good, the way the solution fell into place was just a bit humdrum for me. But as always, I enjoyed this vacation to the Vineyard.

Life is Full of Distractions..........2006-07-08

In the 14th book in Martha's Vineyard Mystery series, J.W. Jackson is content... he fishes for bluefish, rakes clams, and tends to his children and garden. Wife, Zee, is recovering nicely from the unfortunate business earlier that made her shoot two men, and life is idyllic in June on sunny Martha's Vineyard. All of this comes to a screeching halt the day that J.W. an exotic man named Mahsimba from Zimbabwe, who asks his assistance to find some missing art objects from his country. J.W. reluctantly agrees to help find two soapstone eagles that are considered national treasures, and becomes involved in tracking down an illegal art dealer on his beloved island. When Zee becomes infatuated with Mahsimba and begins to act strangely, J.W. struggles to keep his focus on the case and not on the wandering eyes of his wife. Several dead bodies surface, and J.W. races to find the answers to the case before he is the next victim in the search for the illustrious missing eagles.

This has always been a great series, and did enjoy the latest installment. As a few previous reviewers have stated, I was a little shocked by Zee's love-struck attitude in this book, and was surprised that J.W. was not more jealous. The portions with the kids are probably the only annoying portions of these books...I agree with a previous reviewer in the fact that kids aged 3 & 5 rarely go to school all day, and shouldn't be getting on and off the bus alone. I am eagerly awaiting the "aging" of the kids, as they are a distraction at best. Otherwise, I love the series, the wonderful characters, and the beautiful Martha's Vineyard setting.

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

Nitpicking.......2006-05-22

Another day on Martha's Vineyard. I continue to play "catch up" with this series, because it IS something akin to a vacation on the Vineyard---old familiar characters and their exploits. It's relaxing and comforting. I do have to make some nitpicking observations on the Jackson children. If these children are "5" and "almost 4," how on earth are they spending the entire day in school? Maybe Martha's Vineyard is far and away ahead of most public schools, but an "almost 4 year old" in all-day school, riding a bus no less, is pretty weird. Preschool, maybe--but I thought money was pretty tight! And time after time, JW and Zee sit on the balcony with their martinis while they hear the kids pounding down the sandy driveway when the bus lets them off. Wouldn't you go MEET the bus for such young children? Sheesh. OK....I said it was nitpicking. Just really BUGGED me the whole way through the book.

J.W.'s Getting Cranky.......2003-08-10

This is Craig's 14th Martha's Vineyard mystery (I'm not sure what number it is in the J.W. Jackson series) and the charm of the first few books in the series is fading like a coastline sunset on a rainy day. The nominal plot concerns missing African soapstone eagles and a visiting Zimbabwe-an named Mashimba; a subplot involves J.W.'s improbably named superwoman wife Zee, her apparent fading interest in J.W., and her infatuation with Mashimba. The writing style, plot, and secondary characters are workmanlike contemporaty mystery; unfortunately Craig gives us one to really care about or be interested in. And Craig's descriptions of the Vineyard have become rote - the same sparkly ocean sunrises, jumping bluefish, and annoying tourists. There's little of the local history that enlivened the earlier books. Worse, J.W. himself has turned into something of a grouch. Every chapter (seems like every page) has J.W. railing about everything from people with more money than he (and he seems to this reviewer to have a pretty good life) to cats, small dogs, town ordinances, etc; you name it, J.W. hates it. Luksusowa martinis and Sam Adams are great but I don't need to read about them in every book. And, J.W., while you're crankin' - how about complaining about Sam Adam's "Sex with Sam" ad campaign which led a couple to have public sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral? Seems to me that's more of a matter to rail against than the size of someone's beloved pet. Maybe if J.W. were a little less cranky and a little more open to opinions other than his own, Zee wouldn't have roaming eyes. The book is redeemed somewhat in the end by a lovely exchange between J.W. and Zee about the nature of love. End quote? A (very) quick read - nothing more or less.

He's Losing It!.......2003-05-10

This the is third book in a row that shows this series' decline. The far-fetched plot is based on two stolen carved African eagles, and Zee makes goo-goo eyes at a studly African from the moment she meets him. The reason, we find out at the end, is that she needed at that moment to love someone other than her husband...and he's cool with that. Puleeeeeeze! Mr. Craig needs to start writing for the reader again, and not for the bank...and we'll all be a lot happier!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books