DEADLY NIGHTSHADE

By: Cynthia Riggs
Mystery/Suspense
Review By: Mysterybks

Victoria Trumbull has lived on Martha's Vineyard most of her 92 years. One night she hears something out of the ordinary. It is a scream, then a splash, and then the sound of a car speeding away. Her granddaughter Elizabeth, the harbormaster Domingo (and Elizabeth's boss), and her speed in a boat across to where she heard the sounds. There they find a body.

Domingo is concerned that something funny has been going on with the money at the harbor so Howland Atherton has written a computer program to seal up the loopholes in the system. The dock attendants handle the cash and receipts. Sometimes it hasn't all made it to the accountant.

Professor T. R. Folger (Rocky) has brought his large sailboat to the harbor. He's from an old-time summer family. He also owns a big house on Tashmoo. Everyone begins speculating how a professor can afford such luxuries. He apparently wrote a software program and has received large royalties.

Domingo quietly enlists island locals to keep an eye on Victoria as he is afraid something thinks she knows more about the murder than she does. Good thing. Vehicles start following Elizabeth and Victoria on dark streets putting them in harms way more than once.

Victoria knows everyone and even though she doesn't do a lot of sleuthing herself, she finds out information from various sources and discusses it with Domingo and Elizabeth. I feel they all do the sleuthing together.

I have been to Martha's Vineyard for a short visit and read Philip Craig's Martha's Vineyard series so I enjoyed the settings for this book immensely. They are very well described.

The characters in this book are well defined and believable. I look forward to further adventures with Victoria, Elizabeth and Domingo.

The plot in this book was good. It had some twists and turns. I felt this was a great first installment in this series. I recommend you read it.

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