Book Description

In this age of celebrity chefs and rarefied ingredients, it is a great pleasure to publish this creative and wholesome collection of recipes, The Vineyard Kitchen, by Maria Helm Sinskey. In her debut book, Maria shares the homey yet sophisticated recipes that have made her one of America's most celebrated chefs and a culinary star. Though Maria lives in the Napa Valley, she was born and raised in the Northeast, and her recipes capture seasonal availability and flavors, no matter where you are cooking.

Customer Reviews (5)

Thank goodness for the talented sanity
I'm so OVER cookbooks that try to impress and then merely confuse.I loved this cookbook, because the author/chef is so aware of what truly matters in cooking well...fresh, in season ingredients and preparation that enhances these ingredients.There's nothing pretentious about any of the recipes...some may seem a bit intimitating to novice cooks, but each recipe is very well written in order to guide and instruct.I always check out interesting cookbooks from my library to see if they are worth the investment before I buy...this one definitely is.Kudos to Maria Helm Skinskey...a great cookbook.

tried two recipes
Tonight I tried two of the recipes in this book and both turned out so absolutely delicious that I believe it is my obligation to write a review about it.I made the roasted tomatoes with olives and cheese along with the oven-roasted potatoes and shallots.I served these dishes with steak.Browsing through this book (which I borrowed from the library), I see a few must-try recipes that use the minimum of quality ingredients needed to produce an outstanding dish.In general, I don't have the patience for recipes that use up tiny amounts of expensive (likely to be used only once) ingredients.For example, the butternut squash soup uses squash, onion, honey, sage, stock and creme fraiche (easily reproduced with cream and buttermilk).Simple yet different all the same.Based on my thorough browse of this book, Amazon can expect another book order from me.

enjoyable reading...
I am the "Cookbook QUEEN" and decided to borrow this cookbook from the library instead of adding it to my collection right away.
The recipe for almond paste was excellent.
I made the fig spice cake and it was outstanding.However, there should have been more explicit directions about flaming the rum.I thought it would be brief and over - no way.
It had a substantial flame and I was glad I asked my husband to do it or I honestly think I would have panicked and burned the house down.

The flames were high and lasted well over 3-4 minutes.
The warning not to burn one's hands and face was good advice, but more detail was certainly in order.
Otherwise, some interesting recipes and good reading.

AUseful Book for Entertaining with Food and Wine
Maria Helm Sinskey is a professional chef who does ?culinary direction? and teaching at her husband?s vineyard. The book is a collection of ten menus per season where each menu consists of three to five dishes, three being the most common. The most typical menu consists of a recipe for soup or salad, a main dish, and a dessert. The introduction to each menu gives suggestions on pairings of wine with the food, depending on method of preparation.

I know very little about wine and food pairings so my opinion on this subject is pretty thin. The advice includes a very wide variety of wines, including my favorite Rhine and Mosel area wines including wines from the Alsace, as the author?s family originally came from the Alsace (Strasbourg). The author seems to show the proper amount of respect for pairing wines with vegetables, especially the dreaded artichokes and asparagus and varies the recommendation by method of preparation.

The focus on the seasons begs one to compare this to ?The Arrows Cookbook? and the focus on menus offers the comparison to Emeril Lagasse?s new restaurant(s) cookbook. The commitment to the menu style is better done than with Emeril?s book and I suspect the recipes are just a bit more discriminating than in Emeril?s book. The realization of the dedication to the seasonal is less convincing than in the Arrows book. It is a lot easier to take seasonal thinking more seriously when you are in Maine than when you are in California.

Due to the organization by menu, where every menu has one or more desserts, you are getting many more dessert recipes for your money than you get from a more conventional organization, especially when the extra recipe (fourth or fifth) is often an additional dessert.

With forty menus, you are also getting about 15 salads, 10 soups, and 15 dishes, which can best be identified as appetizers. These ?starters? seem to have a high percentage of dishes, which are richer than what I may like to see (high concentration of oils, cheeses, and cured meats). This and the dessert population both contribute to the fact that this book is NOT for dieters. I also noticed a bit of repetition among the starters recipes. Some looked suspiciously like others two seasons past. Very odd for seasonally timed dishes.

The main courses continue the tendency toward the fatty. The 40 dishes cover protein with:

Beef 9
Fowl8 (several of duck and goose)
Lamb 5
Fin Fish 5
Pork4
Shellfish3
Vegetarian 6 (mostly pasta or risottos with lots of mushrooms and cheese)

The 20% shellfish seems odd in today?s healthy eating environment, but lets be clear that this book is about seasonal eating with wine, not loosing weight. Many of the main dish recipes such as coq au vin, pepper encrusted New York strip, and bouillabaisse are old friends, so you may have several of them already.

The quality of the recipes, the headnotes, and the cooks notes accompanying them is quite high. The author seems to give all the right cautions in all the right places. It?s interesting to note where the author takes some special effort and where they gloss over things. The gloss on an easy couscous method would make Paula Wolfert cringe. On the other hand, the recipe for homemade cr?me fraiche is more detailed than any I have seen to date, including instructions on how to vary the tangyness of the product. The coverage of pastry doughs (Pate Brisee) falls somewhere in the middle. The basic recipe is sound, but not as detailed as you may find in a book on pastry. The author also uses the same Pate Brisee for conventional pies, tarts, and galettes. I know some picky pastry chefs who have separate doughs for each.

I found one misprint in a recipe where the text put a quantity of sugar, but neglected to put the unit, so you are unsure of whether it is teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, or pounds. Fortunately, from the context, an experienced cook will know which it is. Very annoying. Tends to put me on my guard for other mistakes.

The ?seasonal? card will never sell a book to me, since it has become so hackneyed it has become nothing more than a blurb word on a dust jacket for many books, accompanied by the obligatory endorsement quote from Alice Waters. On this book, Alice is joined by Bobby Flay and Charlie Trotter, both highly respected and both well paid for their opinions. But a Foreword by Thomas Keller! This is an entirely different cup of tea. Keller is risking his Olympian reputation for a few bucks to lend his name and thoughts to the reputation of this book. I think the book almost lives up to his recommendation.

As many people such as Nigella Lawson have pointed out, the ?local and seasonal? dogma may be good selling points for high end restaurants, but in an age when my local market up the street has fresh summer vegetables from California in January, I will eat them and enjoy them in January. I will even not turn up my nose to hothouse tomatoes. Therefore, the author has failed to sell me on her seasonal mantra. In fact, her rather starchy, rich menus in winter point up some dangers to following the seasons.

I like the book and it taught me some things I didn?t know before. It is a good source for entertaining menus, although I suspect some of the menus may be a bit fatty or a bit dull with too few green vegetables.
Recommended, especially at the very reasonable price.

I highly recommend this cookbook!
I am not an experienced cook by any means, but I found the recipes to be clear, easy to follow and delicious!
Many cookbooks that I buy tend to be a bit intimidating. But not this one.
The Black and Blueberry Cobbler recipe was a huge hit at my dinner party. ... Read more

Book Description
Fresh from his recent acclaim as a Good Morning America Bookclub choice, Philip R. Craig casts his observant eye on the fine line between tragedy and comedy on Martha's Vineyard.

Just look at the Vineyard's criminal du jour, "the Silencer." Loved by many and hated by some, the perp's on a campaign to destroy the audio systems in music-blasting party houses and open-windowed vehicles. Owners of said houses and vehicles feel both fear and hate, while some residents who seek silence silently cheer.

J. W. Jackson, former cop and now a part-time investigator, finds it difficult to get too excited about the Silencer's crimes. J.W.'s a classical music man himself, which may explain his reluctance to take the so-called crimes very seriously.

The fun stops, however, when someone is killed -- a night watchman is thrown over a cliff near an outrageously large new Chappaquiddick mansion.

Who killed Ollie Mattes? Was it the womanizer Harold Hobbes? Harold's mother, Vineyard aristocrat Maud Mayhew, begs J.W. to prove her son's innocence. Harold may have been guilty of vandalism at the mansion, but according to Maud, he's not a killer.

But if Harold didn't kill Ollie, who did? J.W. will soon find himself mired in an intrigue that links some of the Vineyard's most prominent families, families that have known, and sometimes hated, one another for generations. Who is telling the truth? Who will die next?

Meanwhile, at home, J.W.'s under pressure from Zee and the kids to acquire their first computer. Will J.W. ever enter the modern era? It's three against one, so how long can he hold out?

With his usual glorious mix of Vineyard ambience, romance, food, fishing, and first-rate suspense, Craig once again proves that his Martha's Vineyard mysteries are the perfect summer read.Download Description
"Fresh from his recent acclaim as a Good Morning America Bookclub choice, Philip R. Craig casts his observant eye on the fine line between tragedy and comedy on Martha's Vineyard.Just look at the Vineyard's criminal du jour, ""the Silencer."" Loved by many and hated by some, the perp's on a campaign to destroy the audio systems in music-blasting party houses and open-windowed vehicles. Owners of said houses and vehicles feel both fear and hate, while some residents who seek silence silently cheer.J. W. Jackson, former cop and now a part-time investigator, finds it difficult to get too excited about the Silencer's crimes. J.W.'s a classical music man himself, which may explain his reluctance to take the so-called crimes very seriously.The fun stops, however, when someone is killed -- a night watchman is thrown over a cliff near an outrageously large new Chappaquiddick mansion. " ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

High hopes destroyed
I had high hopes for this mystery, high hopes right up to the penultimate chapter when the murderer is revealed.Then the author pulled out the old secretly tape recorded confession trick, and I groaned with disappointment.This trick is used too often and when there is no evidence that would stand up under cross examination in court.I would add that the trick is usually followed immediately by the death of the one confessing, so that there is no chance of the solution being questioned.This hackneyed solution should be banned, and any author who tries to use it should be banished forever.

Other than that, this wasn't too bad.It wasn't too good, either.The best thing about it was Martha's Vineyard itself, the sunny days, sandy beaches, ferries, fish, etc.Atmosphere is important to me, and the novel had plenty of that.But it also had too many asides, a cute kid or so too many, etc.The characters were not very interesting, except for Oliver Underfoot and Velcro.The plot was somewhat predictable.Any experienced mystery reader will see right through it about halfway into the book.Still, it was the Vineyard that made this worthwhile.

Until that next to the last chapter when the author ruined it all with a cheap trick.

A great mystery set on Martha's Vineyard
J. W. Jackson, former copy and now part-time investigator, enjoys his life of fishing and spending time with his family on Martha's Vineyard.Recently the Vineyard has been plagued with antics of the "Silencer."This recent criminal destroys the audio systems in houses blasting music during parties as well as in open-windowed vehicles.Many hate the Silencer, but some are thrilled with the quiet.

A night watchman is thrown over a cliff near a new mansion in Chappaquiddick.Who killed Ollie Mattes?There are plenty of suspects.One suspect's mother hires J. W. to prove her son's innocence.If he didn't kill Ollie, then who did?

As J. W. investigates, he finds himself looking into the lives of some of the Vineyard's most prominent families.He will have to sort through what he's told to determine who is lying and who is telling the truth.

Can he discover the killer before there is another murder?At the same time, will he succumb to the pressure at home to get their first computer?

I have long been a fan of this series.J. W. has grown and changed, and I am saddened at the death of the author.I am happy that I still have a few more books in this series to read before I have to say good-bye to J. W. Reading this series is what made me want to visit Martha's Vineyard so much.I like the descriptions the author gives and the slice of life he presents to the reader.

I highly recommend this book and series.

Mildly pleasant
I picked the audio version of this book up in the library to while away the many miles I had to spend on long commutes, many without radio contact.I'm not a particular fan of mysteries but I have enjoyed the ones I have read.This was OK...I managed to listen to the whole thing, mostly because it was better than nothing.I read here that this was the last one in a long series, and other reviewers have commented that it's one of the weaker ones.

Perhaps because I was listening and not reading, I had a hard time telling one character from another.There was a string of ex-girlfriends of one the murder victims, but other than the one who invited our hero, the amateur detective, to have sex with her, they all blended into one person in my mind.I think the trouble was that there was very little action involving the many characters--we mostly just hear about them, through others. There were a lot of complicated relationships--ex-husbands, half-brothers, bastards, etc. etc.I needed a score card to keep them straight, and as none of them was very interesting, I didn't bother.As another reader said, this would make a poor movie...it's all talk.Once I knew whodunnit, I turned off the cassette and didn't look back. I didn't care about any of them.

Mosly what one hears (or reads) is a whole lotta talk about this character, J. W. Something, the hero/narrator/sorta-detective.We know more about him than anyone would care to....his opinions of the rich folks on the island, (bad), environmentalists (bad), cops (not so great-- he used to be one and hated it), his wife (oo-la-la), answering machines (bad), blue fish (good), microbrewed ale (yes) horses (bad), his son (adorable), his daughter (adorable), church (bad), sex (good), fishing (very good). hip-hop (bad), Beverly Sills (good) etc.It's all pretty predictable and sorta boring.I tend to think this is a lot of wish fulfillment for the author.("I'm a manly man." the hero says, as if we hadn't already got the message.)The attempt at "romantic" scenes are hilarious or really really awful, depending on your point of view.

But I suppose that if you love Martha's Vineyard, this would be interesting, and if you love dective stories that are not very complicated or intelligent, you might like this.

twisted tale
A man working at a mansion falls off a cliff, and then another man dies.People are related in twisted ways, making this story difficult to follow at times, but the identity of both the murderer and the "silencer" (a side story related to someone who doesn't like hiphop music) are easy to guess in this subpar entry in an excellent series.

Good story; not much plot

I listened to this on CD instead of looking at pages. The narrator had a good pace and
different voices for different characters.This was my first experience with the author,
but it was pleasant enough that I will be back for more, both reading and listening.

This is a simple murder mystery of the many characters variety. The motive is the surprise.
We get a look at a popular vacation destination from a resident's point of view.
We see some examples of old money and new money, sins of the past and new sins, old grudges
and new problems.

This would not make a good movie. The movie would have 30-60 seconds of action.There is no
sense of anticipation, no feeling of building tension toward a climax. The pleasure of this
story is in the telling of the story.As I started the last disk I wished there were a few more.
I think people that normally do not enjoy mysteries might like this one.

... Read more

Book Description

Stroll miles of dune-backed beaches, savor a fresh lobster roll, shop for fine antiques in Nantucket Town, visit a classic lighthouse, or simply soak up the natural beauty of a New England summer – Fodor's Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard, 2007 offers all these experiences and more! Our local writers have traveled throughout the country to find the best hotels, restaurants, attractions and activities to prepare you for a journey of stunning variety. Before you leave for your trip be sure to pack your Fodor's guide to ensure you don't miss a thing.

The San Francisco Chronicle sums it up best –"Fodor's guides are saturated with information."

- We frequently update our Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard guide, and we make every effort to bring you the most accurate and thorough book. Plus we provide timely updates about the area at Fodors.com.
- Unlike other travel books, Fodor's guides rely heavily on local experts who know the territory best – so you know you're seeing the real Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard.
- We give you the planning tools you need to tailor your trip. We give options for all budgets. You make the choices.

Book Description
The new book from a well-loved author - Four years ago Kirstys husband was killed in a car accident. Kirsty has put her life on hold since. Then she meets Ed James, a cancer-ridden old man, who leaves her his estate, an Australian vineyard, when he dies. But there is a condition attached to his legacy: she must live at the vineyard in a remote corner of Western Australia for at least one year . . . ... Read more

Book Description


Fodor’s. For Choice Travel Experiences.

Fodor’s helps you unleash the possibilities of travel by providing the insightful tools you need to experience the trips you want. While you’re at the helm, Fodor’s offers the assurance of our expertise, the guarantee of selectivity, and the choice details that truly define a destination. It’s like having a friend in Cape Cod!

•Updated annually, Fodor’s Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard provides the most accurate and up-to-date information available in a guide book.

•Fodor’s Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard features options for a variety of budgets, interests, and tastes, so you make the choices to plan your trip of a lifetime.

•If it’s not worth your time, it’s not in this book. Fodor’s discriminating ratings, including out top tier Fodor’s Choice designations, ensure that you’ll know about the most interesting and enjoyable places in Cape Cod.

•Experience Cape Cod like a local! Fodor’s Cape Cod, Nantucket & Martha's Vineyard includes choices for every traveler, from watching whales and pedaling along the Cape Cod Rail Trail to indulging in spa treatments and browsing art galleries, and much more!

•Indispensable, customized trip planning tools include “Top Reasons to Go,” “Word of Mouth” advice from other travelers, and tips to help save money, bypass lines, and avoid common travel pitfalls.

Visit Fodors.com for more ideas and information, travel deals, vacation planning tips, reviews and to exchange travel advice with other travelers. ... Read more

Book Description
Co-workers in the Vineyard of the Lord offers pastoral and theological reflections on the reality of lay ecclesial ministry, affirmation of those who serve in this way, and a synthesis of best thinking and practice. For Spanish text ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Facts for the Flock
This 67-page statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) contains instruction and theological context relevant to lay memebers of the Church with an active role in ministry, especially "lay ecclesial ministers".The statement outlines--

1. The importance of lay ecclesial ministry;
2. The relationship between lay ministers and priests, deacons, and the faithful;
3. Discerning the call and formation; and,
4. The process of becoming a lay ecclesial minister.

Characteristic of most USCCB documents I've read, the statement is dry and dense; yet insightful, well supported by Biblical references, and, every now and then, eloquent.

Anyone who is currently in a ministry formation program or is consideringa leadership role in ministry will enjoy reading this.If it's not available through Amazon, I think it can be ordered on the USCCB Web site. ... Read more

Book Description

It's March on Martha's Vineyard. Too early for bluefish, but not too early for trouble. The winds are brisk and there's still a chill coming in off the ocean. The mood is gloomy, and for good reason.

Former Olympic fencing champion turned millionaire real estate developer Donald Fox has targeted the island for his newest moneymaking scheme. With land values huge and many longtime residents in possession of fuzzy deeds of sometimes dubious legal value, Fox and his team plan to force people to sell cheap. Give up now or we'll fight you in court, is the threat.

Even full-time fisherman and part-time investigator J. W. Jackson and wife, Zee, have been approached to sell their house to Fox. Big mistake.

Given the escalating tensions, J.W.'s not particularly surprised when Donald Fox's brother, Paul, is shot down on a Vineyard street. But was Donald really the intended victim? Both Foxes have many enemies.

And could a man named John Reilley be one of them? For reasons unrelated to land disputes, J.W. finds himself probing this mysterious man's past. Bad things are happening, and John Reilley may be involved.

With fascinating information about fencing, and in the certainty of a new bluefish season soon to come, A Vineyard Killing is another suspenseful, colorful entry in a critically acclaimed mystery series sure to delight both new readers and longtime fans.Download Description
"It's March on Martha's Vineyard. Too early for bluefish, but not too early for trouble. The winds are brisk and there's still a chill coming in off the ocean. The mood is gloomy, and for good reason. Former Olympic fencing champion turned millionaire real estate developer Donald Fox has targeted the island for his newest moneymaking scheme. With land values huge and many longtime residents in possession of fuzzy deeds of sometimes dubious legal value, Fox and his team plan to force people to sell cheap. Give up now or we'll fight you in court, is the threat. Even full-time fisherman and part-time investigator J. W. Jackson and wife, Zee, have been approached to sell their house to Fox. Big mistake. Given the escalating tensions, J.W.'s not particularly surprised when Donald Fox's brother, Paul, is shot down on a Vineyard street. But was Donald really the intended victim? Both Foxes have many enemies. And could a man named John Reilley be one of them? For reasons unrelated to land disputes, J.W. finds himself probing this mysterious man's past. Bad things are happening, and John Reilley may be involved. With fascinating information about fencing, and in the certainty of a new bluefish season soon to come, A Vineyard Killing is another suspenseful, colorful entry in a critically acclaimed mystery series sure to delight both new readers and longtime fans. " ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

superb
Real estate tycoon, and former Olympic gold medalist Donald Fox is looking for unsettled titles for properties he can coerce out of homeowners at a fraction of their value.He is hated by many, of course, so when he and his brother stroll out of a lunch delicatesson, and his brother is shot, we wonder if Donald wasn't the intended victim.J.W. gets involved at the scene of the shooting.He starts asking questions, but soon, another member of the Saberfox family of land grabbers is found dead.What is the connection?Or is it connected?And what about the mysterious John Reilley, who was also at the opening deli scene?Why is he so shifty and secretive?



I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy this well developed mystery.Of course, J.W. gets himself into some danger, complains about the paid toilets in Aquinnah (aka Gay's Head), loves Zee, and wets your appetite for more great seafood.

Enjoyable Trip back to the Vineyard
In the 14th book in the Martha's Vineyard mystery series, it's March on the Vineyard and J.W. Jackson and his wife, Zee, are feeling blue after a long, cold winter without fishing.Several of their friends are in an uproar over real estate developer, Donald Fox's underhanded way of acquiring their land.It seems that Fox does his research, finding plots of land with questionable land deeds, and sues the owner to obtain the rights to the land for a fraction of its real value.Several people have become bitter as their land is taken from them, and it comes as no surprise when an attempt is made on Don and his brother, Paul's life.As usual, J.W. happens to be on the scene when the shooting occurs, and is first to reach Paul after he is shot.Wearing a bullet-proof vest, Paul is lucky to be alive.J.W. begins to do some investigating on his own, and finds that the Fox brothers have many enemies. When another body surfaces, J.W.'s name comes up as a potential suspect.Being as nosy as ever, J.W. sticks his nose into the case, and almost becomes a victim to a very prolific killer.

I have enjoyed each of the books in this great series, and was not disappointed by the latest installment.The descriptions of the setting on Martha's Vineyard transport me to a place that I haven't visited except in the books, and make me want to grab my suit and towel and head to the Vineyard.For those that haven't read any other books in the series, this may not be the best book to start with...as the series is adored by many readers as much for the characters as the mysteries themselves.I would suggest starting with the first few books, and let the characters build and grow before you pick up some of the recent editions.

The first book in the series is called "A Beautiful Place to Die". Enjoy!

Disappointed in this Good Morning America Book Club selection
I selected this book for my discussion group based on the fact that it was a Good Morning America Book Club selection.I'm not a mystery reader, and I have never hear of Philip R. Craig.Reading through some of the reviews, it seems this isn't one of his best, so I'm disappointed that it was my introduction to the author.I'm also disappointed in GMA for selecting such a mediocre story as a book club selection.Unfortunately, my discussion group disintegrated into general bashing of this novel and of the selection of it for the group to read.I put this out there as a warning to other people who might rely on the GMA recommendation and come looking for some moving literature, instead of bottom barrel genre fiction that gives mysteries a bad name.

The narrator is well-known to series fans, but as an outsider, I found him full of himself, with an inflated ego in intellectual and physical matters.He was unlikeable and I was thoroughly annoyed at having to listen to his point of view by the end of the book.There was a huge sideline red herring storyline in this book, and it went absolutely nowhere and just made a mess out of the plot.Perhaps it related to the larger series of books, but in this mystery, it was senseless.

The killing in this vineyard...
...ought to be this series. It's time that Mr. Craig ended what used to be a good series, but what has now degenerated into boring, thin mysteries.Then again...there's no mystery at all...he continues to write this series, he and the publisher make money...and the faithful readers get s------d!

Back to Martha's Vineyard: A Vineyard Killing
Recently selected as the monthly selection of the Good Morning America ® Book club, the fourteenth novel of the series picks up shortly after Vineyard Enigma. While this novel can be read separately from the series, those readers that read them in order from the very beginning will appreciate this novel more as several minor storylines are addressed.

March is still cold on Martha's Vineyard and the tourists haven't started arriving just yet. This year was no exception but things are already stirred up. The permanent residents are riled up and for very good reason. Real estate developer Donald Fox is attempting to buy up local property not because the owners want to sell, but because he has the bucks to make it happen. He wants to put a large package of land together and then sell that to someone else. If folks won't willingly sell for a fraction of what their land is worth, he will force court fights over the often-dubious land deeds. He thinks he can make a killing and does not care how he does it.

That is until J. W. Jackson and the lovely Zee watch from a local diner as shots are fired at Donald and his more humane brother, Paul. The shooter manages to get away in the blowing snow as Paul lies wounded in the street. Paul survives the attack and J.W. soon turns down the resulting job offer. He does not like Donald or his company and as a matter of principle wants nothing more to do with them.But soon, as he begins to investigate things on another unrelated matter, he finds that Donald and his company seem to be involved in everything and that J. W. has unwittingly made himself a target.

This is another very good book from Philip R. Craig. While no new ground is covered in regards to these characters, there are no unpleasant surprises either. Everyone is back in their usual roles and as always, a couple of recipes are found in the back of the book.

In a refreshing change from the last several novels, Joshua and Diana (the children) are not part of the investigation. Safely in school and off the printed page, they are not unrealistically taken to crime scenes as in recent novels. In fact, in direct contradiction to the last several novels, the children are hardly heard from at all.

In addition to all but eliminating the children, this novel is tightly plotted and moves at a better pace than the last several. Craig continues the use of two ongoing storylines that crossover and link to each other frequently throughout the novel and this practice works considerably better in this one. The action moves forward at a much better pace and the twin storylines have more depth than those in recent novels.

In short, this is a very good book and a definite step up from the last several. This one is more like the early ones in the series and well worth the read. ... Read more

Book Description
In this elegant book of photographs, personal narrative, memories, and fascinating historical detail, bestselling author Jill Nelson conveys the special magic of Martha’s Vineyard and the African Americans who have summered or lived there for generations.

Jill Nelson has been a summer and occasional year-round resident of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard for nearly fifty years. It was where she learned to swim and ride a bike, first kissed a boy, became a writer, and, during twenty-eight summers, raised her own daughter. In Finding Martha’s Vineyard, Nelson offers a lively, intimate portrait of a place that has provided respite and rejuvenation, community and contemplation for generations of African Americans.

Part memoir, part history, Finding Martha’s Vineyard describes the various groups that settled on the Vineyard and in Oak Bluffs; slaves and their descendants; devout Methodists and Baptists;African Americans “in service” who accompanied their white employers to the island and over the years established a haven and a community; the black middle-class families who came each summer to escape the heat, hostility, and racial tension of their hometowns; and generations of African American professionals—doctors, presidential advisors, writers, academics and artists—who visit or live on the Vineyard today.Nelson interviews the Cottagers, the proud owners of Oak Bluffs’ famous Gingerbread cottages; members of the Polar Bear Club, a die-hard group that swims together every summer morning at 7:30 A.M.; and such famous residents as Vernon Jordan, Bebe Moore Campbell, and Stephen Carter.

Finding Martha’s Vineyard is about the power of place in our lives. A rich treasury of reminiscences, excerpts from news articles and documents from the Martha’s Vineyard Historical Society, recipes, and glorious photographs, it brings the sights, sounds, celebrations, and social importance of the island community brilliantly to life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Beautiful and inspiring
In my bedroom,located on my white wicker nightstand lies my copy of Finding Martha's Vineyard. This book is beautifully written and the photographs bring back bitter sweet memories of my own childhood beach visits. The author Jill Nelson did a fantastic job of introducing her audience to a different kind of summer for many Black Americans during a time when "we just wanted to be us". Thank you Ms. Nelson for a wonderful book.

Historical and informative reading!!!
Travel is an aspect of life which many people enjoy even if it is vicariously.I love to read travel stories and to travel. Jill Nelson has written a wonderful travel history of an island which is enchanting and real.The personal interviews of inhabitants, the pros and cons of those visiting or living on the island, the recipes, and the historical overview of the island make it come to life as one turns each page. The needs and accomplishments of each generation are very interesting.I highly recommend this book for all ages, history buffs, and travelers. A great book to take along on the trip for relaxation and enjoyment is "A Trilogy of Poetry, Prose and Thoughts for the Mind, Body and Soul."

Vinyard Visitors
Finding Martha's Vinyard is entertaining. The accounts of the residents were repitious, but it reveals that all were motivated to spend summers there by the same reasons.It is good that the present residents have found their slice of paradise and peace. Although I had heard of the Vinyard, I knew nothing about it.So, this book falls under the heading of pleasant education.

Finding Martha's Vineyard
As a white person, who am I to write a review on this book which accurately portrays what Martha's Vineyard has represented to African Americans for generations? However, I read the book because I love the Vineyard and I enjoy reading about experiences of different cultures. From this perspective, the book is written with much respect and reverence and love for what the Vineyard has meant to African Americans for generations. The Vineyard has been a sort of utopia for African Americans where they can bring their kids up and enjoy the beauty of the island in an atmosphere of freedom from the usual society which tends to separate us all. The sense I get is that this island of ours in Massachusetts is a beacon for how things could and should be in the world. A place where people of color can go and not be "on guard" as they must be everywhere outside of the Vineyard. If we could all see one another as richly unique individuals who are all created equal (as the Constitution states) then we could have the sense of the Vineyard everywhere. We wouldn't have the ocean views, the energy of Circuit Ave., the beauty of riding down Middle Road, or the countless other wonderful experiences of the Vineyard, but we would have a better society.But, since that is not going to happen too soon, then, if you want to get a sense of what the Vineyard signifies to many wonderful people of color on the Vineyard, then read this enriching book and step briefly into the lives of many people who you would feel honored and grateful to have in your life.

heartwarming
This is a book for all people who love Martha's Vineyard. Tears, smiles, nods of head in recognition and, for non African-Americans, an eye opener to a view of an island we share geographically but not always in other spheres. Thank you, Ms. Nelson. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Martha's Vineyard Houses and Gardens
This was the most beautifully written and photgraphed decorating book I have seen.I own dozens of such books, and I seldom read all of the text, but I read this one from cover to cover. It made me want to lounge in the gardens and explore the house.I highly recommend this book for lovers of home decorating and gardening books.It is exquisitely warm and funny!

THIS BOOK CAPTURES THE ESSENCE OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD.
MARTHA'S VINEYARD: HOUSES AND GARDENS ALLOWS THE READER TO EFFORTLESSLY VIEW A MOST UNIQUE ISLAND.THE WELL THOUGHT OUT TEXT COMPLIMENTS AND HELPS ONE ENJOY EVEN MORE THE BEAUTY OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD.LISL DENNIS'S PHPOTOGRAPHS CIRCUMNAVIGATE THE ISLAND IN PICTORIAL SPLENDOR.THE AUTHORS OF THIS WORK SHOULD BE COMMENDED FOR THEIR ABILITY TO CAPTURE THE BEAUTY AND ESSENCE OF A VERY SPECIAL PLACE CALLED MARTHA'S VINEYARD. ... Read more

Book Description

J.W. Jackson abandoned Boston for the tranquil pleasures of Martha's Vineyard, hoping to leave the violence of the big city behind. But when the past comes looking for him in the guise of two brutal thugs, the former cop knows it is time to put down his fishing pole and start opening doors he'd hoped were closed forever. And when the man the hoodlums were searching for -- a face from Jackson's yesterday -- turns up seeking help, J.W. realizes that personal revenge should be the least of his concerns. Because the shadows darkening the island are longer and deadlier than he ever imagined. And if he can't stem the dark tide lapping at the shores of his beloved Vineyard, the new life he loves and everyone in it will be changed forever.

Customer Reviews (12)

JW is out of his usual character
The story is intriguing (why is JW's ex-wife's husband hiding on the Vineyard?) but fails to deliver a big finish.What really disappointed me was JW's character flaws, as exhibited toward his ex-wife and some of the harsh words he had with his kids.Zee performs admirably, becoming an early heroine in the story, yet torn in her soul over what she had to do.Much of the mystery regarding Tom Rimini, Sonny Whelen, Graham, and Grace was somewhat fun to think about during the unfolding of the story, but the ending was a wimper, rather than the bang I was wanting.

Southeast winds
J.W. Jackson used to be a Boston cop.As the book opens pale June people are on the island.School is out.Vacationers have arrived.Zee, J.W.'s wife, is a natural marksman. She is going out to practice when two men appear.In self defense and in defense of her daughter Diana she shoots them.The newspapers have a heyday with stories describing a housewife shooting mobster intruders.It seems the men are enforcers from Charlestown.

Clearly this opening is dramatic.Reader interest in the outcome has been stoked.The issue presentedd is how far is the reach of the bad guys.(In our community two or three police officers are school board members and another moonlights as a substitute teacher.They are community activists of a sort.They seek to insure harmony.One senses that J.W. Jackson is cut from the same cloth.)

The men from Charlestown are looking for J.W.'s first wife's husband.In the scheme of things there is no reason for the intrusion-- there never is.New England mobsters and the rackets are part of the story.The Boston mob seems to be, in this reader's mind, the preserve of Robert B. Parker, but there is room for other aspirants.

I like this writer for presenting the seaside and small town as a setting for the series.Also, spending time with with J.W. and Zee and their children is a pleasure.Craig really does a great job with his portrayal of J.W.'s two small children.Casting J.W. as a house-husband and the narrator inserts the children into the foreground.Additionally, I learned in this book that the expressions Down East (to Maine) and Up to Boston derive from sailing terminology, the prevailing southeast winds.

Shoot-out on Martha's Vineyard
The 12th installment in the Martha's Vineyard Mystery series starts out with a bang.The tranquility of Martha's Vineyard becomes broken for ex-cop J.W. Jackson and his family.Leaving his wife, Zee, and young daughter, Diana, at home while he takes his son, Joshua, with him to go clamming, J.W. is looking forward to a peaceful June day.While he is gone, two hired thugs show up at his house, intent to find a man that Zee has never heard off.After giving her a beating and holding Diana at knifepoint, Zee still maintains that she has no idea who the man is.Zee is able to get to her gun, and being a great shot, she is able to stop the assault on herself and her young daughter.When J.W. returns home to find his battered wife, he instantly is determined to put an end to the violence to his family and on his island home.

It is discovered that the man wanted by the men from Boston is the husband of J.W.'s ex-wife, Carla.He was a schoolteacher in Boston, and J.W. cannot fathom why two men would come looking for him at their home on Martha's Vineyard.He goes to see his ex-wife, and quickly learns that the schoolteacher was involved in more than academics.

I have enjoyed all of the books in this series, and was not disappointed by this latest offering.Every time I read one of these books, I feel like I have been transported to beachfront property.The characters are strong, and I enjoy the interactions between J.W. and Zee.The children are a bit too well-behaved (I wish all kids were so well-mannered), but I do not feel that it diminishes the writing in any way.This book is a great beach or vacation read.

The first book in the series is called "A Beautiful Place to Die".Enjoy!

Vineyard Shadows
I read "Vineyard Shadows" by Philip R. Craig because one of my favorite mystery writers, William G. Tapply, had written a Brady Coyne/J. W. Jackson novel with Craig, and I wanted to get to know J. W. before I read their joint effort, "First Light". J. W., his wife Zee and their 2 children, Joshua and Diana live on Martha's Vineyard.The book opens as 2 thugs come to J. W. and Zee's house looking for Tom Rimini. When Zee tellsl them she knows of no Tom Rimini, the thugs attack her, and she shoots them, killing one and wounding the other. When J. W. returns from a clamming trip, he learns that the thugs were looking for Tom Rimini. J. W. knows that Rimini is the husband of J. W.'s ex-wife, Carla. It seems that Rimini owes gambling debts to Sonny Whelan, a Boston mob boss. When Rimini does come to J. W.'s house, J. W. agrees to hide him out at a neighbor's house more to help Carla than Rimini, whom he dislikes. There was little mystery and the plot was a bit thin for my taste. I liked the characters, but certain things about this novel annoyed me. The children who are small act like they are 10 years older than they really are, and are more polite than most children. This novel was average, and certainly not up to par with the Brady Coyne novels by William G. Tapply. At least when I read "First Light", I will know about J. W. and his family.

Annoyingly stupid parenting in
This installment of the J. W. Jackson and family adventure continues the slow degradation of this series and provides another disappointing read. The plot is weak, the action limited, and the toddler age children talk like adults. The whole combination makes for a disjointed novel that is not at all close to an average read.

Years ago (and many novels ago) J. W. was a cop on the mean streets of Boston. He was shot in the stomach and the bullet nestled itself against his spine a hairs breath away from permanent paralysis. During the gun battle, he managed to shoot and kill the female thief that had shot him. The resulting trauma of the shooting, caused him to take his pension and disability benefits and move to the tranquility of Martha's Vineyard. There he was able to find peace and solitude as a year around resident. He eventually met and married Zee, a nurse at the local hospital. By the time this novel opens, they have two toddler age children, Joshua and Diana who do not act or talk like real children in any sense of reality.

As this novel opens, J. W. and Joshua went off clamming while Zee got ready to take the younger child, Diana, to the local gun club so that Zee could practice her shooting. As a healer, she is conflicted about the competitive target shooting, but has slowly discovered that she likes it and is quite good at it. Those skills come in quite handy when strangers appear at the house. After asking repeatedly for someone Zee does not know, violence erupts. To save her child's life as well as her own, Zee kills one assailant and seriously wounds the other.

J. W. comes home to find his injured wife and daughter being loaded into an ambulance in a front yard full of police and chaos. There is a good reason why Zee never recognized the name of the man the men were looking for but J. W. knows of him. Tom Rimini is the schoolteacher J. W.'s wife left him for after he was gunned down. She could not handle the life of a policeman's wife and wanted someone safer and more stable. They clicked and after the shooting, Carla made sure J. W. was physically okay and then announced she wanted out.

The only person that could have sent Tom to J. W. would be Carla. Soon, Rimini contacts him and spins a story about gambling debts, the mob, and a cop seeking a conviction against a powerful mob figure. It has been fifteen years since J. W. last saw Carla, but he still has strong feelings for her and he agrees to do what he can to help Tom. Of course, Zee is less than thrilled with this arrangement and it strains their relationship a little more, but she has learned that J. W. will do what he feels right.

Unfortunately, this novel sounds better on paper than it actually is. This latest effort continues the weaker plots, less action, and unrealistic kids of the last several novels. Joshua and Diana are portrayed as miniature adults in action and dialogue and for any parent; it simply does not ring true. Kids just don't act this way and with the kids being a large focus of the last several novels, the books are weakened considerably. As in the last several, J.W. takes his kids to crime scenes and other places that no rational parent would. My suggestion would be to skip this one and start with the beginning ones and work your way forward. You will know when to stop.


(...)


... Read more

Book Description
This indispensable guide to cycling Cape Cod and the islands now includes rides on dirt roads and trails for both touring and mountain bikes. The natural beauty of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket is best appreciated from the intimate vantage point of a bicycle: sand dunes and beaches, cranberry bogs and pine forests, wildflower meadows and tidal creeks, and above all, the ever-present sea. Susan Milton has completely updated this guide to include tours on back roads and little-traveled paths. They avoid the crowds and traffic that can plague the Cape, taking riders instead along scenic lanes and past quiet harbors. Each chapter includes a detailed map of the tour, mile-by-mile directions, and information on the area's maritime heritage and natural history, as well as places to eat, stay, and repair or rent a bike. The first edition of this book was titled 25 Bicycle Tours on Cape Cod & the Islands. 31 up-to-date maps, includes tours for both mountain bikes and road bikes, 25 black & white photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

I love these guys
Imagine a ride guide for those who love to ride, but don't do 5K a year in the North East. I have ridden the Cape a good bit and appreciate the honest evaluations of terrain and difficulty in this book.


Even though some of these rides can be challenging (that is bike-speak for 18% or better), the Cape traffic is as bicycle litterate as you are likely to find. ... Read more

Book Description
There is a gold rush underway in Virginia. But the treasure under pursuit is not a precious metal. Rather, it is the grape. From Leesburg in the north down to Roanoke in the south, dot-com millionaires, celebrities, retired civil servants, and apple farmers are turning fallow pastures and orchards into row after row of European fine wine grapes. ... Read more

Book Description

Vineyard wedding bells are about to chime for ex-Boston cop-turned-island-fisherman J.W. Jackson and his lady Zee Madieras. And Zee's Automatic Teller tells them rather substantial "present" has been deposited in the bride-to-be's account: one hundred thousand unexplained dollars.

The bank screams, "computer glitch"! And sure enough, two days later, the windfall has flown. But, coincidentally, the college student lying dead in J.W.'s driveway'a young woman done in by a dose of locally grown poison'recently withdrew a hundred grand from her own account. And now, before exchanging vows with his love, J.W. must first match wits with a murderer who may be gearing up to kill again.

Customer Reviews (6)

murder, poison, herbology
there is death in the air in marthas vineyard this mystery is filled with money laundering murder and enough humor and romance to satisfy any reader .One of Craigs best so far I'm reading thie series in order.Good reading took me 3 days to finish it!!!

Best read with Vineyard sand in your shoes
OK, the "Vineyard" series does not represent great literature. However, that's not the point about these 'atmospheric' novels is it? You read these kind of books while you're on the Cape or to bring you mentally back to the place. This one has a better plot that the others I have read in the series but the dialogue remains the weak point. Enough with the fishing and the traffic jams too, please. All in all, since we go to the Cape every year, this series is a fun read for me. However, if you want read a good series with excellent dialogue and a strong sense of place, find one of the Dibdin novels. They are set in Italy and they are wonderful.

Like the rest of his books
Craig's biggest downfall is the third-rate dialogue he employs. It's often trite and unrealistic, I criticism I noted in another review of one of his books. The storyline is actually better in this book than in others. There's an unexpected twist that throws you at the end, which makes it better reading than Craig's other works. As with his other "Martha's Vineyard Mysteries," the story centers on another adventure with retired Boston cop (and Vineyard resident), J.W. Jackson. He finds a dead girl in his driveway, and goes about solving her murder. There are subplots that don't really add to the story, and as I said above, the dialogue is crap. I'm sure the reason I keep reading Craig's books is that if you are a Vineyarder (as I am), there are few better ways to conjure up images of the island than his books. His descriptions of such things as the traffic jams and night life on the Vineyard are incredibly realistic and offer a respite to someone like me who only gets to spend a week or two per year on the island. Non-Vineyarders would do better to find something else.

Mystery or fishing story
This novel seems to be a little bit of mystery added into a story about fishing on Martha's Vineyard with a travelogue of the island.The author puts a little too much emphasis on the fishing.An interesting basis was developed for the crime, i.e., manipulating inter-bank transfers, with intelligent criminals fumbling the implementation, but maybe there are one too many characters/complications/side issues.

Certainly knows the lay of the Island!!
Excellent character in JW Jackson.Also Zee, his wife. Having known the author and his wife, I see a lot of both of them in the characters portrayed in all his books.Congratulations on another winner! ... Read more

Amazon.com
Like a glass of good pinot noir, Barbara Delinsky's The Vineyardis best enjoyed slowly. The Vineyard follows the triumphs and tragediesof the Seebrings, a wealthy family of vintners in Rhode Island. The story beginswhen recently widowed, 76-year-old Natalie Seebring announces her scandalousengagement to none other than the vineyard manager, Carl, whose social standingis, needless to say, several notches beneath the Seebrings'. Natalie's children,Susanne and Greg, are furious with their mother for marrying the help, and onlysix months after their father's death.

Besides her remarriage, Natalie is working on a family history project, one shehopes will explain all the love and loss she has endured before reaching happiness atlong last. She recruits Olivia Jones to help with the project, and Olivia andher daughter Tess move out to the vineyard for the summer. Tension builds withthe summer heat as the wedding approaches. To make matters worse, Carl's sonSimon, the new vineyard manager, is coldly resentful of Olivia and Tess, whoremind him of the wife and daughter he has lost. But amidst all this, NatalieSeebring's long-buried past is slowly revealed, and like a summer storm, thetruth blows through the vineyard, leaving everything different in its wake.

Barbara Delinsky says she was influenced by Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation inwriting The Vineyard, and Natalie Seebring is a fine tribute to the strong,silent Americans who made so many sacrifices during World War II. Keep a hankieclose by when reading this one. Family tragedy, unlikely romance, and old wrongsfinally made right will have you laughing and crying. --Francine McBrideBook Description

In The Vineyard, New York Times bestselling author Barbara Delinsky (Lake News, Coast Road, Three Wishes) has written her most complex and emotionally rewarding novel: a story of two women, a generation apart, each of whose dream becomes bound with the other's.

To her family, Natalie Seebring is a woman who prizes appearances. She is exquisitely mannered, socially adept, a supportive wife, and head of a successful wine-producing enterprise. So when she announces plans to marry a vineyard employee mere months after the death of her husband of fifty-eight years, her son and daughter are stunned. Faced with their disapproval, Natalie decides to write a memoir. There is much that her children don't know about her life -- about her love of the vineyard, her role in fighting to build it up, and the sacrifices she made for her family.

Olivia Jones is a dreamer, living vicariously through the old photographs she restores. She and her daughter, Tess, have no one but themselves, so they cling to the fantasy that a big, happy family is out there somewhere, just waiting to welcome them home. When Olivia is hired by Natalie to help with her memoir, a summer at Natalie's beautiful vineyard by the sea seems the perfect opportunity to live out that fantasy -- an elegant home by the shore, a salary that allows her to hire a tutor for her dyslexic daughter, a job that is creative, hours spent with a woman who has led a charmed life.

But all is not as it seems,Olivia and Tess discover when they arrive at Asquonset, the vineyard in Rhode Island. While welcoming, Natalie is not quite the mothering type, as is quickly evident in the hostility her daughter and son have toward her -- it's a hostility that Olivia must buffer. Another dose of stark reality comes in the form of Simon Burke, who runs the vineyard's day-to-day operation and sees in Olivia and Tess an unwelcome reminder of the wife and daughter he tragically lost. And then there is the cruel reality of Olivia's own life -- the mother who never wanted her, and a career that has floundered.

Natalie's story, intended for her own children, enlightens Olivia as well. The lives of these two women of different generations, parallel in so many ways, become,inThe Vineyard, a powerful and moving story as the fantasy of an idealized life, complete with perfect romance, crashes headlong into reality.Download Description
When Natalie Seebring, seventy-six, announces plans to marry within months of the death of her husband of fifty-eight years, her son and daughter are stunned. In the face of their disapproval, Natalie decides it's time to talk about the past and reveal the secrets she has kept for decades. She hires Olivia Jones, an incorrigible dreamer, to help write her memoir and invites Olivia and her daughter Tess to spend the summer at the family vineyard.As summer deepens and the vineyard's crop ripens, Natalie's story unfolds and startles one family member after another. While Olivia's fantasy of finding a welcoming family for herself and Tess remains as tenuous as the success of the season's crop, Natalie's unraveling life story offers lessons for her, too. Perhaps most important is learning to accept the reality of a good life over the fantasy of one that will always seem better. Ultimately, in a tale that mirrors the vineyard summer, days of hope and fear lead to a sweet harvest for all. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (48)

Delinsky does not fail to provide another good read
So far, every book I've read by Delinsky (Coast Road, Three Wishes and Lake News) has been one I've had a hard time putting down.And one well worth the read.

There is something about the stories and characters that Delinsky weaves....they instantly pull you in, you care about what will happen to them and you enjoy the journey.

The Vineyard is mainly about family, those that have family and those that don't.It shows that even though you may have family, you may not get along with them, but perhaps it's better to be grateful, since some people don't have any family at all!It's also about courage and strength that people manage to find within themselves to carry them through out the obstacles and tough times in their lives.It's about opening up to other people and finding a good friend.It's about the old saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover"- as each of the characters prove of themselves.

Good read- recommended!

VintageViolets; Wine At Its Best
After enjoying FLIRTING WITH PETE and LAKE NEWS I wasn't planning to read more Barbara Delinsky novels right away, since I believed I had already read the ones with themes related to my pursuits or interests.

Then I read THE VINEYARD excerpt at the end of my LAKE NEWS paperback.

I was captured with the ingenious way each main character was introduced by his/her reaction to a wedding invitation from a couple in their 70's and 80's.Of course I wanted to read more; curiosity was precisely stirred from the contrast of negative and positive reactions to this unusual situation.

I bought and read THE VINEYARD, becoming fully involved and pleasantly satisfied with the story, even though I hadn't known I would be so thoroughly engrossed in a family owned vineyard.Was concerned that I might find the history interjections boring and the writing style of an older generation focus a bit too forced (not many writers can capture the beauty and graceful vitality of age until they've arrived there and developed the graciousness).

But, BD handled all with just the right amount of detail, genuine warmth, and ingeniously natural intrusion techniques.For me this book was a reader kidnap, from the first page on.

I have mountains of positive input on this exquisite novel, but I'm testing the effect of short and sweet, instead of writing my typical epistle on a novel.Since I've already slipped on a banana peel heading smack into too long and savory, I'll ...

Another enjoyable book by Barbara Delinsky
THE VINEYARD by Barbara Delinsky
November 8, 2004

I've read a number of books by Barbara Delinsky, most of which I enjoyed a lot.THE VINEYARD is not going to be one of my favorites, but I think I'm going to remember it mainly because I had a hard time liking the main character.

Olivia Jones restores old photographs for a living.She's a single mother, with a daughter (Tess) who has a learning disability. The reader will discover that Olivia is a person that deals with a rough reality by hiding behind daydreams.She in particular finds herself dreaming about the people in the photographs she restores, including a series of them sent to her boss, Otis, by a woman who runs a vineyard.

Natalie Seebring is Otis' client, a woman who is in her twilight years and needs an assistant to help write her life story.Olivia accidentally comes across this request for Otis to recommend someone to fulfill this task, and soon she is dreaming of being that assistant, imagining what each person in those photographs is like.Believe it or not, she soon finds herself working for the matriarch of this family, and she and Tess move to the vineyard to spend the summer there.

The story takes on two main plots.While the story of Natalie's life is being told, the reader will learn about her childhood, how she meets her deceased husband Alexander, as well as how she met her current fiancé, Carl.The second plot involves Olivia, and a man she meets at the vineyard, Simon, who also happens to be Carl's son.Simon and Olivia seem to have something in common, and that is, they are both afraid to venture forth into a relationship with the opposite sex.But both are obviously attracted to each other, and their romance evolves slowly as the story moves on.

Other characters come into play, in particular the grown children of Natalie, Susanne and Greg, and a third child, Brad, who remains a mystery throughout most of the book.His story comes out at the very end, and although I had suspected some of what was to be revealed, I was still somewhat shocked, just as the characters in the book were, too.

While I don't recommend this book as a first time reader to Barbara Delinsky's books, I believe that those who enjoyed her more recent books may enjoy this one.The irritating characters of Olivia and Tess, however, may grate on some nerves, as it did mine.Olivia is a very weak, naive, type of person, and I found it very difficult to feel sorry for a woman that dealt with reality by hiding in daydreams and believing them to be true.Her daughter was a bratty young girl who unfortunately got picked on a lot by her peers, mostly because of her attitude and inability to make friends with others, and not by her disability as mother and daughter are led to believe.

On the other hand, I think an author is doing a good job if a reader can feel intense dislike or like for an invented character. I had no problems with the writing.And I looked forward to reading each chapter as I read about Natalie's life story. Overall, I enjoyed THE VINEYARD and as always, look forward to reading more by Barbara Delinksy.

Trite, trite, trite - HELP!
I struggled through this book - my first Delinsky book.I read it because my book club wanted to read it.I almost didn't make it through the entire book and I wonder what the other book club members will have to say.For me, it was like sitting in front of the TV watching a bad daytime soap opera.I found it to be a waste of time and I was happy that the length of the book was the only real challenge for me.I thought Olivia's character - she sleeps with Simon after only a month of staring at one another from across the lawn - was weak and uninteresting, sappy and whiny.To top it off, she and Simon sleep in the same bed with the 10 year old daughter in the next room and this is considered a great romance!! Pullease.I can't think of a single thing other than perhaps the discussion of how the grape vines ripen that was interesting to me.Yuck.I'm on to The Da Vinci Code - THANK GOD!
DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME - READ A GOOD BOOK.

Real and Gritty
I really like Barbara Delinsky's style of writing.You feel as if you are an actual part of the story rather than "remote viewing" as is the case in nearly every other romance fiction writer.

Nor is there any sordid, soft porn sex scenes to tittilatevoyeuristic lust. She builds her love scenes as a gradual, gentle and deeply insightful awakening.She reveals romance in an elegant, classy and very tasteful manner that engages the reader in the reality of the eventual mating without grossing out the reader with the vulgarity found in Stephanie Laurens or even Nora Roberts show-all-tell-all graphic manner that forces some readers to skip those "steamy" pages. Delinsky's books are like opening a box of treasures and never being disappointed or repelled by the contents.

Delinsky also has a wonderful sense of philosophy about family relationships and the manner in which to build strong ones despite setbacks and condemnation by said family or friends. In this book she examines the greatly flawed assumptions that middle aged children dump on their elderly 76 year old mother when she elects to marry her vineyard manager and childhood lover after the death of her husband and father of the kids.
Also this fascinating story is about the labor intensive work of farming a vineyard and the whole issue of sacrifices made by a very strong woman for her entire life to ensure a long term goal of security which makes this story very empowering to women.

I did not care for the manipulative, self pitying, pathological liar Olivia, a photo restorer, who happens through connection to her retiring boss to find a position in the vinyardist's own household for the summer to help organize memoirs, restore old photos and write the book that will explain to Natalie's adult children why she is marrying Carl and the truth about their biological father. Olivia's learning disabled and dysfunctional child dropped into the mix is just plain annoying, but the author deals with this difficult topic in an informed and proactive way. Then, there is Simon, the sour, recalcitrant, rejecting vineyard co-manager whose lost his mother, wife and child in a freak sailing accident caused by drunken sailors in another watercraft. After 4 years he is still wallowing in anger and self pity. Both Simon and the child Tess make the book grating at times, especially the kid's rebellion againstauthority and her special education teachers. Then there is Olivia's whining about her long lost alcoholic mother whose rejection has forced her to live in fantasyland her entire life. She even fantasizes that she is a long lost member of Natalie's household. This is all a bit much.

However, I do recommend this book for the elegant prose and style that the author brings. She makes me think of Guy Gavriel Kay's exquisite writing style as she unfolds a story in a rich tapestry of life in a microcosm.I will definitely read more of her stories. ... Read more

Book Description
This moving, evocative memoir, woven with lyrical descriptions of the sights and smells of vineyard life, tells the inspirational story of one woman's journey to success in an industry run mostly by men. At Home in the Vineyard, filled with colorful characters and unexpected experiences, brings a local rural community vividly alive as Oregon wine pioneer and industry icon Susan Sokol Blosser recounts how she fell in love with a vineyard, learned how to run it, and ultimately achieved her vision of producing Pinot Noirs to rival those of Burgundy. An intimate family story, At Home in the Vineyard also gives a candid insider's view of Oregon's flourishing wine industry.
Sokol Blosser begins her narrative in the 1970s, when, as a young, idealistic wife, she helped her husband make his wild idea of planting a vineyard in the Dundee Hills become a reality. By the book's final pages, she has become president of Sokol Blosser Winery, widely respected for gaining national visibility and for producing world-class wines, especially the elusive Pinot Noir. Along the way, Sokol Blosser tells how she learned to do everything from driving a tractor and managing a picking crew to selling Oregon wine in Manhattan. She also shares some special accomplishments: how she instituted values of environmental sustainability and social responsibility at the vineyard, integrated family and business life, and successfully brought the second generation on board. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Sour grapes? No way!
Well, except when the weather deals them an unwelcome clout....

I live smack dab in the middle of wine country (California) myself, but am no vintner. And it happens I took a scouting trip to the McMinnville vicinity in Oregon last year, thinking it a prospective new home. So, when I spied the lush, green-vined cover of AT HOME IN THE VINEYARD,I was hooked and had to investigate one woman's (and her family's) experiences establishing and nurturing grapes from plant to bottle.

Susan Sokol Blosser writes a chatty, wide-ranging history beginning in late 1970, when she gave birth to her first son and her then-husband Bill "closed the deal on our first piece of vineyard land." She traces the stages of the vineyard and the winery that was built later with an easy, honest style that disarms and charms. It is soon apparent that this woman is an engine of energy. During the years her three children are small, she mainly toils in the vineyard, tilling, planting, picking, spraying, fertilizing, etc. But she also finds time to join the school board and various associations. She also teaches briefly at a McMinnville college. Later, she is twice a candidate for state public office, once losing by a questionable "whisker." As the family wine business expands, so does the wine industry in Oregon. Susan and Bill do their part to uphold and promote the burgeoning reputation Oregon wine slowly acquires -- particularly its Pinot Noir which grows full-bodied in the cooler Northwest climate. In 1990, Susan takes over from Bill as president of their winery and slowly refinances and then gains full ownership of the enterprise. She changes winemakers to improve quality. She travels widely and often to see distributors and explor