Cliff Hanger by Philip R. Craig is book 4 of the Martha’s Vineyard mystery series set in the 1990s. The first 3 books of the series have been set on Martha’s Vineyard, but half of this one is set in Durango Colorado.J. W. Jackson, retired from Boston PD in his mid-thirties with a bullet near his spine, lives a vacation lifestyle on Martha’s Vineyard. Besides fishing he does handyman work, occasionally works for the police, and takes care of vacation homes for friends. “Books, beer, fish, and fresh veggies on Martha’s Vineyard made a winning combination, one which had made an islander (howbeit a transplanted one) out of me.”For me, a “muy simpatico” facet of J.W. is his fondness for the public library, where he checks out books by the armful:“Libraries are some of my favorite places. They're filled with books and information and give you the good feeling that no matter how much you've read there's an endless amount of reading material still ahead of you, so you never have to worry about running out. It's a nice certainty in an uncertain world.”I enjoy J.W.’s occasional understated humor:“I tacked in past a crowd of people on the Edgartown town dock, waved at some waves I received, slid past the yacht club, and fetched my stake with an eggshell landing. I looked around. No one was watching. There are hundreds of observers when I come in too fast or too slow or otherwise screw up my landings, but never anyone there to see me do it right. It's a law of the sea.”J.W. takes care of the summer home and boat belonging to a professor in New England, who suddenly and mysteriously becomes the target of a hit man. The hit man is shooting at J.W. to start with, thinking he’s the professor, clearly not knowing his target. J.W. goes out west to Durango to warn his friend, after J.W.’s address book is copied by the hit man.J.W. is impressed by the completely different landscape and climate out West. He is somewhat mesmerized by a strong and resourceful young woman, but also pines for his ladylove, Zee. His future with Zee is completely in doubt – Zee is off to New Hampshire for the summer, to decide if and how she would like to re-invent her life.Rather than fishing and piloting a boat, J.W. is riding a horse and hiking most days. He tries to let local law enforcement handle the case, but the killer outsmarts them. J.W. stages a dangerous confrontation in the mountains, to keep his friends safe.Reading this pleasant series is like being on vacation. For the first time in the series, as J.W. cooks his fresh gourmet dishes he gives the quantities of ingredients as a recipe, and he first uses the exclamation “Delish!” to describe his satisfaction with his home cooking. Both foreshadow his cookbook “Delish!” containing his recipes from the series.
