Murder on Martha's Vineyard

This is the first entry in what might become a promising new series if only the author can control his taste for the ``terrible events of last summer'' and ``had I but known'' variety of cliche. Margaret Barlow, a widow in her late 50s, summers on Martha's Vineyard, where she has also taken up ballooning with eccentric Essie Peck, a year-round resident. Islanders are stunned when socialite Rose Perkins is found drowned, her body partially eaten by turtles, in the pond of elderly recluse Grace Chadwick. Some years previously, Chadwick had sold her old Victorian house, retaining lifetime residency rights, to artist Algar Mikele and his wife, who have been in financial difficulties ever since. When another murder occurs, suspicion begins to fall on Algar. To help her friends, Margaret begins to investigate, despite warnings from the local police lieutenant. While Osborn ( Heads ) has created an interesting protagonist, he has neglected to flesh out her character and give her an inner reality. 30,000 copy first printing. ( Mar .)