Triple Witch

May 31, 1999
A crime wave is sweeping the quiet island town of Eastport, Maine. After discovering the dead body of Kenny Mumford, the town's petty thief and ne'er-do-well, Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree and her best friend, Ellie White, set out to catch the killer. Meanwhile, Jake's attempts to start a new life after quitting her job on Wall Street and moving to Eastport with her teenage son, Sam, are thwarted as two creeps from her past show up: her philandering ex-husband, Victor, and Baxter Willoughby, a crooked stockbroker from New York whom Jake helped put in prison. Between repair jobs on the old house she's renovating and trying to keep Victor from moving in next door, Jake comes across two more bodies and evidence of drug dealing and smuggling. Graves (The Dead Cat Bounce) affectionately creates believable characters (with the exception of cardboard cutout Willoughby), who lend depth and warm humor to the story. While it's not hard to figure out who's behind the mayhem, and the resolution to the mystery fails to thrill, the cozy details of small-town life and home repair make for an enjoyable read.