A series of brazen poisonings on Martha's Vineyard should keep readers guessing in this clever mystery from former Time
and Life
editor Graves. While unlikely to stem the island's tourist influx, the novel's dastardly deeds may give the celebrity population pause: the perpetrator, well masked for most of the book, uses cyanide-laced libations to douse a succession of stars. The Vineyard, though, emerges unscathed. Indeed, narrator Jason Arnold, a lifelong summer resident, as often rhapsodizes about the island's beaches, bistros and bookstores as he laments overcrowding or tweaks his Waspy compatriots. A sometime writer with a busy libido and a warped sense of humor, the 30-ish Jason professes to "love murder... especially when the victim is someone I dislike." One such is author Millie Silk, the deliciously wicked witch of the West Chop colony. After penning a "venomous" exposé of her rich and famous friends, she becomes the first murder victim. Jason revels in being a suspect. His cool bravado ingratiates him to the reader as well as to homicide detectives—the better to follow their efforts to obtain Millie's elusive manuscript. While some may grow impatient with the killer's belabored confession, those who enjoy celeb bashing should delight as Graves lays waste to media moguls, skirt-chasing pols, preening stars, New Age gurus and other narcissists, who provide ready fodder for the Vineyard's paparazzi. Likewise, the game of matching fictional figures to their real-life counterparts should spark lively debate on the cocktail party circuit in Edgartown and other toney enclaves. (Sept. 1)
