Thu 13 Oct 2016
Reviewed by Barry Gardner: PHILIP R. CRAIG – The Double-Minded Man.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[6] Comments
PHILIP R. CRAIG – The Double-Minded Man. Jeff Jackson #3. Cbarles Scribner’s Sons, hardcover, 1992. Avon, paperback, 1993. Reissued as Vineyard Deceit: Avon, paperback, 2003.
I thought a previous book about the ex-Boston cop on Martha’s Vineyard was pretty lightweight. I felt much the same about this one. The plot revolves around an Arab potentate who is on the island to reclaim an heirloom stolen by one of the island inhabitants’ ancestors many years ago. Murders occur (naturally), and both Jackson and his ladylove, Zee, are placed in jeopardy.
I still like Craig’s breezy style okay, still think Zee’s an attractive character, still enjoy the background, and still am not offended by the hero. But the plot still isn’t much, and I just don’t think it all comes together in any remarkable fashion. It’s not a bad book, and there are worse ways to pass a dull afternoon; there are a lot better, too. Library only.
October 14th, 2016 at 6:31 am
I liked this series (which I believe Barry was the one to recommend in the first place), much as I liked Dorothy Simpson’s Luke Thanet series in England. Neither was what you’d characterize as great, but they were readable enough to keep you going and the characters held enough interest (for me, at least) that you were interested in what happened to them next. I read the first 11 in the series between November 2000 and February 2001 and the rest as they came out.
October 14th, 2016 at 11:38 am
My opinion on the series is the same as yours, Jeff, and Barry’s, too. Lightweight but quite enjoyable. There were 17 books in all. You can find them listed here, in an obituary I posted for Philip Craig on the occasion of his death in 2007:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=215
Craig had many fans, attested to my the fact that 78 readers left comments of condolences.
October 14th, 2016 at 9:46 am
Avon later reissued this book in 2003 as Vineyard Deceit. At least two other books in this series were reissued by Avon with new titles: Cliff Hanger as Vineyard Fear and The Woman Who Walked into the Sea as Death in Vineyard Waters.
October 14th, 2016 at 11:32 am
Thanks, Bill. I’ve added the reissue with the new title to the credits. Avon obviously wanted to be sure that the would-be buyer’s eye was caught by the word Vineyard in the title, matching several other books in the series. This one and the two others you mention were the only ones they did this for.
October 14th, 2016 at 4:34 pm
Aha! Thanks, Steve.
October 14th, 2016 at 10:08 pm
The irony that my mother’s name was Martha Vineyard drew me to the series. Lightweight fun, but not a series I made an effort to keep up with.