Deadly Nightshade

This enjoyable, if unconvincing, mystery is overstuffed with background details about its Martha's Vineyard setting. It's like trying to watch a movie while someone nearby talks excitedly about having visited the places where the film was shot. This puts all the more pressure on Davina Porter to rivet our attention on the characters she is bringing to life: Victoria, a nonagenarian poet and sleuth; her granddaughter, Elizabeth; a crackpot island Indian; and Domingo, the Hispanic harbormaster who drives a Rolls Royce (why?). . . Even when the plot wobbles or Victoria's legendary pluckiness borders on the deranged, Porter gives it the skill and verve she would bring to high art, and it goes a long way. B.G. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

April 23, 2001
Feisty, fiercely independent nonagenarian poet Victoria Trumbull makes a welcome debut in Riggs's first novel. Martha's Vineyard has been home to Victoria's family for several generations, and in a near century she has learned much about life. The unique location, only a short hop by plane or ferry to the mainland, makes this island an especially attractive holiday destination. But bad things can happen even in such a paradise and are more shocking because the pleasant low-key life is no preparation for murder. Elizabeth, Victoria's recently divorced granddaughter, is currently staying with her and working for Domingo, an ex–New York cop, now the Oak Bluffs harbormaster. When Victoria hears a scream across the water one balmy summer evening, she, Elizabeth and Domingo set off in the harbor launch to investigate. The floating eviscerated body they discover is only the first. From local Native Americans to the wealthiest visitors, no one is above suspicion as they dive into the complexity of the crime. Victoria's highly developed sense of right and wrong and her ethical compass steer them on a dangerous but inevitable course. Riggs enriches her characters by detailing their daily routines as they handle drugs, social justice, family problems, local politics and even computerization. The book's dedicatee, Dionis Coffin Riggs (1898–1997), native Vineyarder and poet, would seem to be the model for Victoria. Everyone should have such a terrific grandmother. Agent, Nancy Love.