Books

The Woman Who Walked into the Sea (Jeff Jackson/Martha's Vineyard Mystery)

Average customer rating:

The Woman Who Walked into the Sea (Jeff Jackson/Martha's Vineyard Mystery)
Philip R.Craig
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Double Minded Men: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery
A Beautiful Place to Die: The First Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries (Avon Books))
Off Season (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries (Avon Books))
A Deadly Vineyard Holiday (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)
A Case of Vineyard Poison

ASIN: 0684192284

Average customer rating:

The Houses of Martha's Vineyard
Keith Moskow
Manufacturer: Monacelli
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Decoration & Ornament | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Art Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Home & Garden Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Hamptons Havens: The Best of Hamptons Cottages and Gardens (Hamptons Cottages & Gardens)
The American Houses of Robert A. M. Stern
The Hamptons : Long Island's East End
An Affair with a House
Cottages on the Coast: Fair Harbors and Secret Shores

ASIN: 1580931537
Release Date: 2005-05-23

Book Description

Each year the pristine beaches, lush pine forests, and picturesque New England towns of Martha's Vineyard draw tens of thousands of admirers to one of our country's most beautiful islands. Some of these visitors have become part-time residents, building contemporary homes alongside the traditional Victorian cottages, sea captains' mansions, and colonial farmhouses that comprise the island's cultural and architectural heritage. Rarely does one find such a concentration of outstanding contemporary designs that complement, rather than overwhelm, the diverse ecology and history of this unique place.

The Houses of Martha's Vineyard presents twenty-four Vineyard homes, built in the past twenty years, by internationally renowned architects, among them Robert A. M. Stern, Steven Holl, and the Polshek Partnership, and emerging practitioners who have produced some of their best work on Martha's Vineyard. Stylistically diverse, the houses featured in this book offer environmentally sensitive designs and innovative solutions that respond to, but do not mimic, the island's rich architectural past.

Book Description

Combining unique travel choices, outdoor adventures, and little-known locales into guides where vacations meet adventures, each title in the Hidden series also offers readers the comfort of detailed maps, Internet information for each listing, author picks, suggested itineraries, and walking and driving tours. Hidden Boston and Cape Cod provides selective recommendations and opinionated reviews that lead to colonial sights in Boston, wild shorelines of Cape Cod, and winding bike paths in Nantucket. Plus, author Patricia Mandell guides readers to secret spots in her home state. 22 maps are included.

Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha's Vineyard

Average customer rating:

Love this book! (a deaf reader)
Excellent Book!
A book not to be forgotten
An interesting look at a unique deaf cultue
Inspiring and interesting

Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha's Vineyard
Nora Ellen Groce
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside History Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf
Forbidden Signs: American Culture and the Campaign against Sign Language
The Mask of Benevolence: Disabling the Deaf Community
A Place of Their Own: Creating the Deaf Community in America
Inside Deaf Culture

ASIN: 067427041X

Book Description

From the seventeenth century to the early years of the twentieth, the population of Martha's Vineyard manifested an extremely high rate of profound hereditary deafness. In stark contrast to the experience of most deaf people in our own society, the Vineyarders who were born deaf were so thoroughly integrated into the daily life of the community that they were not seen--and did not see themselves--as handicapped or as a group apart. Deaf people were included in all aspects of life, such as town politics, jobs, church affairs, and social life. How was this possible? On the Vineyard, hearing and deaf islanders alike grew up speaking sign language. This unique sociolinguistic adaptation meant that the usual barriers to communication between the hearing and the deaf, which so isolate many deaf people today, did not exist.

Customer Reviews:

Love this book! (a deaf reader).......2007-06-02

This is the right attitude toward the deaf people in Martha's Vineyard back in the 17th and 18th centuries. I only wish it was true in USA and elsewhere today but it isn't.

This book also talk of people that aren't deaf, were using sign language to talk to each other - for example, from one boat to another or from the cliff down to the beach or because the high wind was drowning out their voices. I can think of many examples that people can use sign language today. Scuba diving sign language is so limited so why not use ASL? A person can tell a minister of an emergency problem quickly from the back of the church without having to go up to whisper in his ear. One could 'talk' to another person in the next building without opening windows. (Windows can't be opened in some office buildings) I could go on and on.

Today, parents are using sign language with their babies (not deaf). Some researchers are saying that it enhances language, cognitive, and social-emotional development. However, I am sure that at the same time, there are some parents of deaf babies, are being told not to use sign language. There are few schools that are pro-oral. Those deaf babies need sign language even more. Where are their language and social-emotional development?? This is irony and sharp contrast to this book. This book prove that all deaf babies need to be exposed to sign language everyday by comparing the Vineyard Deaf people to the Mainland Deaf people.

I am keeping this book to show others because it does support my view of point on the education for the deaf.

Excellent Book!.......2006-10-29

I read this book a couple of years ago after reading Oliver Sack's book "Seeing Voices". I read many books each year and I must agree with the other readers here in stating that this is one of the books that has stuck with me. The sense of community and integration encountered by the deaf people on Martha's Vineyard are truley lessons to us all on acceptance and normal treatment of disabilities. I only wish it had a follow up edition.

A book not to be forgotten.......2005-07-20

There are about 10 books I've read in my life that are vivid years later. This is one of those. We're given the chance to see what it might be like to live in a place without prejudices about people being different because of something like deafness. I learned a tremendous amount about deafness, sign language, and life on a New England fishing island community in bygone years. Don't miss this wonderful book.

An interesting look at a unique deaf cultue.......2003-05-05

"Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language" is a look at the effect of a large deaf population on Martha's Vineyard. Though a dry read at times, this book gives an interesting look at how for once in the history of deaf culture the *hearing* adapted for the deaf instead of vice versa. While most people might assume that the large deaf population would force a hefty amount of deaf people to adapt to hearing life, the opposite was actually true; the brilliance of Martha's Vineyard was that nearly all hearing people knew sign language to some degree.

The book analyses cultural impact of the large deaf population within the Vineyard's communities, which was biologically caused by the genetic predisposition for deafness. The book, largely written like an anthropological study, focuses on both physical and cultural aspect of the deafness in the communities. However, the most interesting implications within the book are those discussing deaf and hearing interrelations.

Inspiring and interesting.......2002-02-10

This is one of my favorite books of all time. Originally written as an ethnographic study, it is also completely readable for a non-professional popular audience. Basically, it is the story of the islanders of Martha's Vineyard, a large island off the coast of Massachusetts. The islanders originally came from the same 2 or 3 boatloads of colonists from England, by way of Boston and Scituate, from a region in Kent which already seems to have had a high incidence of hereditary deafness. Due to the geographic isolation of the island, recessive genes for deafness, which were already prominent in the original Kentish colonists, came increasingly to the fore. As the proportions of islanders who happened to be deaf gradually increased, what was the islanders' answer? Not shunning the deaf. Far from it. Rather, a tradition arose that EVERYONE on the island, deaf or hearing, simply learned sign language as children!

This book is full of fascinating little anecdotes, about how island society worked to include its deaf members. For example, we learn about families and friends, some deaf and some hearing, who would regularly sit next to each other in church. The hearing members would sign the sermons to their deaf friends. Or, sometimes groups of people who could hear perfectly well might be together, for whatever reason, and they might happen to converse by signing just as much as in spoken English. Everyone spoke both languages.

Some of my favorite parts of the book focus on the benefits of signing. For example, perhaps two neighbors wanted to converse, while being separated by 200 yards of noisy space, made vocally impenetrable by sounds of surf and sea. Whether they were deaf or hearing, they could get out their spyglasses (this was a 19th century whaling community, where spyglasses were in every household) and sign to each other across the distance while viewing each other through the magnification afforded by the spyglasses. One entertaining anecdote tells of two young men, who could hear perfectly well, who would use their signing ability to pick up girls off-island. They would pique the girls' interest in them by signing amongst themselves, and would claim that one of them was deaf. After they had secured the girls' interest, they would put on a lengthy, well-practiced charade of deafness to keep the gils curious about them. Do they ever let on that they can really hear? You'll have to read the book to find out! Bwa ha ha haaaa ( that's the sound of an evil laugh).

Those are a few minor anecdotes. The whole book is packed with stories like that, and it's endlessly amazing. The last couple of chapters make excellent, general points about the human issues raised in the book, and about how we as a society think about the "handicapped" -- perhaps, as Dr. Groce points out, we should not use the term in the first place.

Book Description

Completely updated every year (unlike most of the competition), Frommer’s Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha’s Vineyard has something for everyone, whether you’re looking for romance or family fun. You’ll find details on the best towns, beaches, whale-watching cruises, bike rides, clam shacks, bird-watching, antique shops, and art galleries. The guide is written by a longtime resident of Cape Cod, who has personally inspected all the B&Bs, inns, cottages, and motels she recommends.

Average customer rating:

A decent mystery novel

A Case of Vineyard Poison
Philip R. Craig
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Death on a Vineyard Beach
A Deadly Vineyard Holiday (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)
Off Season (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries (Avon Books))
A Shoot on Martha's Vineyard: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)
Dead in Vineyard Sand: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery

ASIN: 0684196166

Customer Reviews:

A decent mystery novel.......2003-05-20

Philip Craig's recurring character, ex-cop J.W. Jackson, is back to solve another Martha's Vineyard mystery. Jackson is engaged to Zee, a nurse who one day discovers an additional hunderd grand in her bank account. Zee's windfall disappears as mysteriously as it came. The bank is getting a new computer system and dismisses it as a glitch. When a college student winds up dead in Jackson's driveway near some bank statements revealing she'd just withdrawn a hundred grand, Jackson smells a rat and begins to investigate. Craig's mysteries are intriguing, but they don't have the rapid pace and high body count of many mysteries. He describes the laid-back lifestyle on Martha's Vineyard and the book moves along at much the same pace. In this book, Jackson's buddy shows up with a world renowed pianist in need of some personal time and Zee's mother visits and meets Jackson for the first time. As in all of Craig's books, much detail is given to the dishes Jackson makes. Die-hard mystery fans may not like Craig's style, but I enjoy being transported to the simple life in Martha's Vineyard for a little while.

Vineyard Stalker: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

A Martha's Vineyard mystery
Another enjoyable trip to Martha's Vineyard
A fresh investigative tale

Vineyard Stalker: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)
Philip R. Craig
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Dead in Vineyard Sand: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery
Shooting Star: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)
Gray Ghost: A Stoney Calhoun Novel (Stoney Calhoun Mysteries)
Delish! The J.W. Jackson Recipes; A Martha's Vineyard Cookbook
Spare Change

ASIN: 0743270452

Book Description

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. 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.

Customer Reviews:

A Martha's Vineyard mystery.......2007-06-26

Philip Craig passed away in May, leaving three completed novels in the publication pipeline. This is the first of the three. While all the novels are set on Martha's Vineyard, he managed to maintain the readers' interest by varying the characters and local settings.

The present novel relates to the skyrocketing prices of real estate on Martha's Vineyard - something that the author witnessed first hand. It is about greed, jealousy, lust, and rage. An older man has a one room cabin on a prime piece of real estate, allowed to occupy the land under conditions of a family trust. His cousin wants him to move so that she can sell the property. Now someone is trying to drive him off the land.

The man's sister has hired J. W. Jackson to find out who is behind the harassment of her brother. When you turn over rocks, there is no telling what you will find. There are many relationships involving the principals in the case, and someone tries to eliminate J.W., which is not a smart move. Money talks and some high priced attorneys become involved.

There are some victims in the novel, and some sleezeballs that may walk away clean. It has a sad ending.

Another enjoyable trip to Martha's Vineyard.......2007-06-17

During the years he's been writing the Vineyard Mysteries, Philip R. Craig has probably done more for the Martha's Vineyard tourist trade than any Chamber of Commerce could. He paints a perfect picture of the popular destination, from its beautiful beaches to the quaint shops of its inhabitants. His protagonist, J.W. Jackson, is a laid-back ex-cop who loves catching bluefish, cooking, and spending time with his family. In his spare time he conducts investigations, such as this one where he looks into vandalism which has been occcuring at the home of Carole Cohen's brother, Roland. Roland owns some valuable Vineyard property which many island realtors would love to sell to developers. As J.W. investigates, he finds several people with motives for murder, ranging from money to love triangles.

It is with sadness that I learned of Philip Craig's recent death, since I always look forward to a good summer read in June, knowing that another Vineyard mystery is coming out. I heartily recommend this whole series.

A fresh investigative tale .......2007-06-11

Though he loves his wife and kids, retired Boston cop J.W. Jackson looks forward to some quiet time at home in West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard. However his spouse's friend realtor Carole Cohen begs J.W. to help her brother. Apparently, someone is harassing Roland "the Monk" Nunes, a Vietnam vet who owns choice property where he lives by himself. Carole believes this unknown adversary wants to frighten Roland into selling his land cheaply.

J.W. agrees to investigate. As he looks at the motive Carole provided to him, J.W. wonders if a cousin Sally Oliver or the neighbor Melissa Carson and her financier fiancé Alfred Cabot are behind the threats. However, his inquiry takes a nastier turn when murder raises the stakes.

The latest Martha's Vineyard Mystery is a fresh investigative tale that spins into a murder case. J.W. is at his best as the clues point towards suspects who know the reclusive Monk and include the person who "hired" him. The homicide spin is a terrific twist that affirms how good Philip R. Craig is as a writer. Fans of the series already know that; newcomers will be searching the dunes for previous Jackson thrillers.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

Uneven at best
Fascinating read
Captivating story
excellent and touching story!
Cliche with bad use of similes

Up Island
Anne Rivers Siddons
Manufacturer: HarperCollins Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Low Country
Outer Banks
Homeplace
Peachtree Road
Colony

ASIN: 0060176156

Amazon.com

Up Island chronicles the mass redemption of a unlikely group, thrown together by the vicissitudes of love and fate: "a six foot Southern Betrayed Wife and her widowed father and a senile old Portuguese lesbian and a one-legged schoolteacher and a mongrel dog and two aberrant swans..." As the novel begins, newly divorced Molly Redwine is in the market for some redemption. Battered and numb from loss, she comes to Martha's Vineyard to escape and heal if she can. For the next 300 pages, the story shuttles between Molly's heart, packed with pain, regret, and guilt, and the sea-licked open spaces of the island. By book's end, both places are terra cognita. There are family secrets, haunted dreams, and enough death to do Shakespeare proud--balanced delicately with small pleasures, kindness, and unbreakable bonds. Up Island is a fractal of a book: complicated but ultimately satisfying as only the completion of a pattern can be. Intelligent and insightful, it is good story tenderly told.

Book Description

If there was ever one woman who knew what was important, that woman was Molly Bell Redwine. From childhood, Molly was taught by her difficult, charismatic mother that "The Family" was the world's most vital entity -- and its maintenance would be Molly's special talent. But, in a heartbeat, Molly is set adrift: her husband of more than twenty years leaves her for a younger woman, her domineering mother dies, and her Atlanta family scatters to the four winds.

Molly takes refuge by visiting friends on Martha's Vineyard. The very different world of the Vineyard hastens her changing identity, and Molly decides to stay on after the seasons, in a small cottage on a remote up-island pond. Her duties includes acting as caretaker to her bitter, aging landlady, as well as looking after the woman ill and estranged son, Dennis.

Keeping watch over Dennis, her landlady, and her newly-widowed father, Molly at last lets go of her outworn notions of family and begins to become a part of a strange -- and very real -- new one. As the long Vineyard winter closes in, Molly braces herself to search for renewal, identity, and strength until the healing spring finally comes. Up Island is Anne Rivers Siddons at her lyrical, storytelling best.

Download Description

E-Book Extra: Family Binds: A Reading Group Guide

When Molly Bell Redwine's husband of more than twenty years leaves her for a younger woman, and her domineering mother dies, she takes refuge with a friend in Martha's Vineyard, and becomes part of a strange -- and very real -- new family.If there was ever one woman who knew what was important, that woman was Molly Bell Redwine. From childhood, Molly was taught by her charismatic, demanding mother that "family is everything." But in what seems like an instant, Molly discovers that family can change without warning. Her husband of more than twenty years leaves her for a younger woman, her domineering mother dies, and her Atlanta clan scatters to the four winds. In a heartbeat Molly is set adrift. Devasting by her crumbling world, Molly takes refuge with a friend on Martha's Vineyard where she tries to come to terms with who she really is. After the summer season, Molly decides to stay on in this very different world, renting a small cottage on a remote up-island pond.As Molly's stay up island widens the distance between her and her old life in Atlanta, she lets go of her outworn notions of family and begins to become part of a strange -- and very real -- new family.As the long Vineyard winter closes in, she braces herself for the search for renewal, identity, and strength, until the healing spring finally comes.

Customer Reviews:

Uneven at best.......2007-04-17

Lucky for me I am a very fast reader because I would have hated to spend any more time than necessary with this book. Although I thought the beginning was pretty good and found myself being drawn into Molly's story, the feeling was gone before the novel was half over.

One of the reviewers correctly pointed out an example of poor editing at the start when Molly contradicts herself about her mother's age (19 or 21?) and marital status (pregnant at the wedding or a year later?) and I also found another glaring error. The University of Arizona (where Teddy decides to attend architecture school) is in TUCSON not Phoenix. Arizona State University, which ARS may have been referring to, is in TEMPE outside of Phoenix. She needs a more careful editor.

As for the writing, I found it very uneven. Most of the dialogue was first rate, I thought. Many of the descriptions were right on, too. But some of the characters were badly drawn. I was sick of her mother's hat, Lazarus the dog and the swan couple pretty quickly. I thought the book really lost momentum once Livvy left Chappy and Molly began her new life Up Island.

This was a disappointing introduction for me to ARS, an author I have heard good things about. There are so many fine books out there to read but this was not one of them for me.

Fascinating read.......2006-06-22

I picked this book basically because I have enjoyed most of the author's other books and it is one of the very few that I have not read (or heard of). This book is definitely perfect for a winter reading since it's more of a depressing book than an uplifting book like some of her others.

This book focuses on Molly Redwine whose world just shattered when she found out that her husband, Tee, is having an affair and was leaving her for an upstart from Florida. Then her son, Teddy, tells her that he's not returning to Georgia and her mother dies. So with her life basically in shambles, Molly accepted her best friend's invitation to stay at Martha's Vineyard. That month-long invitation turned into a much longer stay as Molly didn't want to return home and pick up the pieces. Together, with her father, they nursed two ailing women and a former schoolteacher who lost his leg due to cancer. Along that journey, Molly rediscovers what family really is and rediscovers who she is as well.

Siddons has the magical touch of keeping me spellbound while reading her books ~~ her characters are vividly drawn and the story keeps moving. But this time, instead of giving this book a four or a five ~~ I was a bit disappointed. It lagged towards the end then bam! The ending was here and left a lot of issues unresolved. The book starts out with Molly's divorce (or not wanting one) and ends on a different note. It is a bit confusing to read. And it was a let down too as if the story didn't have the ending neatly wrapped and tidy for the reader.

If you don't care how it is as you're a Siddons' fan ~~ then be sure to read this book. It's wonderful as always except for that flaw. If you're new to Siddons' books, don't start with this one. It is definitely not one of the best one in her library.

6-21-06

Captivating story.......2005-09-25

Up Island is the first work I have read of this author' and I will read more. the overall pace and storyline kept me reading. At times I did skip ahead when the description became a bit much and once or twice the deatial seemed confusing or unbeliable, but the charachters always came across as real and to me that is the most important.

excellent and touching story!.......2004-07-10

The is the second novel I have read by this author. I find her writing enthralling. Her tale of an aggrieved woman grips you and you must read on and on... I found myself engrossed in her characters as though I had met them myself. The story will also make you want to tour every inch of Martha's Vinyard.

Cliche with bad use of similes.......2003-12-18

Normally I don't notice the use of similes in writing, but when she compares pillows to teeth, and says a dream receded like "a train going away", the similes jump out and jar me. She uses so many cliches, the worst of which is when a woman who must have been a child in the 1950s says that Dennis Ponder dipped her pigtails in the ink jar. I seriously doubt ink jars were in use in any schools in the 1950s. Also, there were discrepancies that bothered me, like when the one-legged Dennis Ponder is "running, falling down, then getting up and running again". I think it would be nearly impossible to run on one leg with crutches. Also impossible was when Dennis and Molly's father brought Luze over from Dennis's camp in a fireman's carry. How is a one-legged man on crutches going to help carry a woman?
I thought the endless descriptions went on way too long. I think this book could safely be edited down to about 2/3rds of its length, and be better because of it.

Shooting Star: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

Nice summer whodonit
fun lighthearted Martha's Vineyard mystery thriller

Shooting Star: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)
Cynthia Riggs
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Vineyard Stalker: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)
Indian Pipes (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries (St. Martin's Minotaur))
The Paperwhite Narcissus (Martha's Vineyard Mysteries)
Dead and Berried: A Gray Whale Inn Mystery (Gray Whale Inn Mysteries)
A Killer Stitch (Knitting Mysteries)

ASIN: 031237027X
Release Date: 2007-05-01

Book Description

In Shooting Star, ninety-two-year-old poet Victoria Trumbull becomes embroiled in controversy at the community theater on Martha’s Vineyard. The new artistic director has announced plans to replace local amateur talent with off-Island professionals, and the cast and crew react murderously.

Victoria intended the theater’s current production, her adaptation of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, to debunk the common farcical movie-monster interpretation by returning to Shelley’s original serious commentary on the Industrial Revolution. However, after the night of the dress rehearsal, Victoria loses control over the production, and her drama begins to take a strange course.

On that night, the eight-year-old boy playing the part of Frankenstein’s young brother disappears, and before a search can begin, a killer strikes. The Vineyard’s police forces mobilize for an Island-wide search. In the original story of Frankenstein, the boy is the first victim of the monster, and Victoria fears that a copycat killer is following her playscript. She determines to find the missing boy and track down the killer before more deaths occur.

Along with familiar Island characters from her previous books, the author introduces a cast of new and often eccentric players. Shooting Star, the seventh book in the Martha’s Vineyard mystery series, explores the rich setting of the Island that author Cynthia Riggs knows well, from the rose-covered Dukes County jail on Edgartown’s Main Street to the quaint ferry terminal in Oak Bluffs. It’s a delightful read that both fans and newcomers to the series will be sure to enjoy.

Customer Reviews:

Nice summer whodonit.......2007-05-16

In Cynthia Riggs mystery, Shooting Star, Martha's Vineyard is not just the touristy locale that is loved by so many. Island Players, the local community theater, is the setting for a fast and interesting story of child disappearance, and murder.

The actors are performing an adaptation of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. Victoria Trumball is the 92-year-old poet who has written this serious adaptation, and she is also an part-time sleuth. The new artistic director is causing a stir when he continually pushes to turn the playhouse into an equity theater with professional actors. A controversy is abounding with those that want the theater to stay a community theater with local amateur actors.

The book starts the night before opening night when an eight-year-old actor, who is playing the part of Frankenstein's young brother, disappears. He was last seen with one of the other actors, Peg Storm, who has been found dead. The child is missing and an island-wide search is started. A visiting forensic scientist is called in to help the local police. More actors turn up dead and other characters are brought into the story to keep it interesting. The fast pace of the book kept me guessing just who was the bad guy, or gal--and even though I thought I had it figured out, it was not who I thought.

Armchair Interviews says: Recommended for a nice quick read for that summer vacation.

fun lighthearted Martha's Vineyard mystery thriller .......2007-05-02

On Martha's Vineyard, nonagenarian poet Victoria Trumbull is excited as she is the playwright of Island Players, a local amateur group's summer stock adaptation of Frankenstein that is truer to the Shelley novel than Hollywood's poetic license. Many of her friends have parts in the production and all seems to be going fine at first until maniacal martinet director Dearborn Hall begins spinning the production closer to Hollywood than Shelley's condemnation of the horrors of the Industrial Revolution. Still Victoria feels good about her work as the theatre prepares for opening night.

However, disaster strikes when eight-year-old performer Teddy Vanderhoop, performing the role of Victor's five years old younger brother vanishes. At about the same time he disappears, someone kills Peg Storm, the actress performing the part of the Frankenstein housekeeper. Frightened by the tragedies as everyone assumes Teddy's dead, cast members quit before they are killed too. Dearborn refuses to close the production down as the show must go on even while the police search for the child and the killer as does the ninety-two years old first time playwright.

The seventh Martha's Vineyard mystery thriller is a fun lighthearted tale that fans of the series will fully enjoy. Besides insight into the original Frankenstein, the whodunit is shrewdly set up from almost the onset keeping readers wondering who and why. SHOOTING STAR is a wonderful amateur sleuth tale (although the feisty heroine has become certified as a graduate of the Tisbury Citizen Police Academy) that will have the audience applauding for encore performances.

Harriet Klausner

21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox

Average customer rating:

Good but not so good
Terrific plan! My only weight loss cure!!
Willing to do the work.
Worked for me
I lost 25 pounds on this diet

21 Pounds in 21 Days: The Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox
Roni DeLuz , and James Hester
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Vegetables & Vegetarian | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

General | Nutrition | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Naturopathy | Alternative Medicine | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Naturopathy | Alternative & Holistic | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Cookbooks | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Bikini Bootcamp: Two Weeks to Your Ultimate Beach Body
The Swiss Secret to Optimal Health: Dr. Rau's Diet for Whole Body Healing
The New Detox Diet: The Complete Guide for Lifelong Vitality With Recipes, Menus, and Detox Plans
The UltraSimple Diet: Kick-Start Your Metabolism and Safely Lose Up to 10 Pounds in 7 Days
Making the Cut: The 30-Day Diet and Fitness Plan for the Strongest, Sexiest You

ASIN: 0061176176
Release Date: 2007-05-08

Book Description

Detox diets are making news as the quickest, easiest way for us to shed pounds, boost our energy, and get on the wellness track. At the forefront of the cleansing approach to health and weight loss is Dr. Roni DeLuz, a board-certified naturopathic doctor, a registered nurse, and the owner of the Martha's Vineyard's Holistic Retreat at the renowned Martha's Vineyard Inn.

Dr. Roni's new detox plan targets the toxins in the foods and beverages we consume (as well as in our environments) that accumulate in our bodies, weigh us down, and undermine our health. In this book, she offers her original and most effective detox program, the 21-day Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox, which results in an average weight loss of one pound per day—or 21 pounds in just three weeks. For those who want shorter-term options, Dr. DeLuz also offers a 7-day tune-up and a 2-day weekend cleanse. Delicious recipes and troubleshooting tips ensure that you will dramatically shed pounds without going hungry. Meals consist of enzyme-rich drinks, herbal teas, satisfying vegetable purees, and "live" juices, along with nutritional supplements designed to keep the body's systems stable and its cells nourished. In addition to weight loss, some common benefits include:

Soaring energy and less need to sleep or take a "power nap"
Greater mental clarity, memory, and focus
Fewer headaches and backaches, less arthritis and joint pain
A reduction in cellulite
A stronger immune system and fewer colds
Alleviated symptoms of PMS, hot flashes, night sweats, and menopausal and other hormonal swings

Cleanse your body and your mind with the Martha's Vineyard Diet Detox in 21 Pounds in 21 Days—and give your body the gift of lasting health.

Customer Reviews:

Good but not so good.......2007-06-22

I waited to wrtie my review and I'm glad I did. I did this diet for 10 days and lost 12 lbs. I was thrilled but not for long. I have never desired a colonic and still don't but 8 days into the diet I was very "backed up" for about a week--it made me really nervous so I stopped. The general concepts are great but very basic--cut out sugar, bread--eat veggies, supplements and lots of water but not eating--just drinking veg and fruit juices is potentially dangerous to your system. In the end I gained all the weight back and then some! Back to the gym! :(

Terrific plan! My only weight loss cure!!.......2007-06-22

In the last year, after having my last baby, I had plateaued and couldn't budge the scale. I had heard of Dr. Roni's plan a few years ago from people who had been to her holistic retreat, so I was ecstatic to see she had written a book. After reading her book, I realized why I couldn't lose a pound. I had overdosed on toxins! I was excited to begin but found her detox kit on her website far too expensive. I found one exactly the same on ebay and saved a ton of money on it. I began immediately and lost 15 pounds in the first week alone! I am still losing but I was so excited that I couldn't wait to write a review. Some peole have given it negative reviews because of colonics and enemas, etc. The truth is I haven't had a single one and its still very effective. Dr. Roni explains that these things are optional. Simply do what you are comfortable with. Overall, its the best plan I have used. Easy to understand. Conveinent to follow and the quickest way to shed some pounds. However, I found its other benefits were more important than weightloss. My allergies and sinus trouble is gone! My dry skin has cleared up. My complexion is just glowing. My hair and nails are looking healthier than in my teen years. I have already received multiple compliments. People say I look younger and healthier than ever. I would give it more than five stars if I could!!

Willing to do the work........2007-06-21

Between the years of 2005 and 2006 I had a terrible skin condition that caused terrible itching. I went to allergists and dermatologists. I had been put on many different medications and had biopsies done on my skin. This went on for a long period of time. No one could give me an answer to what my condition was. This left me frustrated. My dermatologist wanted to send me to a hospital out of my state, she said there was nothing else she could do to help me. I had heard of Dr. Roni through a friend who had done the detox and colonics. I started detox and internal cleansing, my skin got better and much improved. I found out about Dr. Roni's book and bought it. I am following her program at home and will do colonic cleansing. This is a marvelous book with healthy programs and recipes. I love it. By the way the weight also came off, a big bonus.

Worked for me.......2007-06-20

I skipped the enemas and colonics. I just followed diet aspects of this book and lost 23 pounds in 21 days and another 10 in two weeks since. It's certainly working for me.

I lost 25 pounds on this diet.......2007-06-20

I bought this book with low expectations, but it blew me away. I have lost 25 pounds. I look better and feel better on this diet. I would like to thank the authors of this book for helping me. I am someone who has had trouble on other diets, but this one really works.

Books:

Books