Dead in Vineyard Sand

In Craig's delightful 17th Martha's Vineyard mystery (after 2005's Vineyard Prey), ex-Boston cop J.W. Jackson once again displays his knack for stumbling on dead bodies. This time he finds a human hand sticking out of a sand trap on a Vineyard golf course. Since the hand turns out to belong to Henry Highsmith, a cranky environmentalist with whom our hero had an earlier altercation, Jackson himself falls under suspicion. After a truck with a description matching Jackson's is spotted running Highsmith's wife off the bike path, his troubles really begin. Jackson charms as ever, with his devotion to fishing, clamming and cookery and with his tart commentary on such subjects as gas guzzling SUVs, golfers and cyclists.