At first, the girl J. W. Jackson encounters strolling alone along South Beach seems like your typical teenager. But there’s nothing typical about young Cricket Callahan, the spirited only daughter of the vacationing President of the United States. Why is the feisty First Kid so intent upon eluding her Secret Service guardians, and why does the President want J.W. and Zee to watch over her? The answer comes in the form of a dead body. Not even executive privilege can shield the President’s daughter from harm unless Jackson roots out a vengeful killer who may be hiding among the President’s most trusted.

Hell to the Chief At first, the girl J. W. Jackson encounters strolling alone along South Beach seems like your typical teenager. But there's nothing typical about young Cricket Callahan, the spirited only daughter of the vacationing President of the United States. What ex-cop-turned fisherman Jackson can't figure out is why the feisty First Kid is so intent upon eluding her Secret Service guardians. . .or why the Chief Executive himself wants J. W. and his lovely lady Zee to watch over the errant sixteen-year-old. The answer comes in the form of a dead body--and in the subsequent knowledge that a diabolical someone is able to crack the security surrounding Cricket as handily as J. W. cracks quahogs at a Vineyard clambake. And not even executive privilege will be able to shield the President's daughter from grievous harm, unless Jackson can root out a .vengeful killer who may be hiding among the ranks of the President's most trusted paladins.

Martha’s Vineyard is home to ex-Boston cop J.W. Jackson, his adored wife Zee, their toddler Joshua, and newborn daughter Diana. For others, the picturesque vacation spot is a relaxing escape. But there is no escape for Julia Crandel and Ivy Holiday, two Hollywood actresses staying in the Vineyard town of Oak Bluffs. Their arrival has incurred the wrath of a pair of local gangsters, and a deadly stalker from out of the young ladies’ past has found out where they are hiding. Twin hurricanes are about to slam the idyllic island—one a natural climatic disaster, the other an all-too-human catastrophe—and it looks as if J.W. is going to get caught in the middle.

Vineyard wedding bells are about to chime for J.W. Jackson and Zee Madieras. And Zee’s bank account is one hundred thousand unexplained dollars richer, briefly. The bank calls it a glitch, and two days later the windfall has flown. But, coincidentally, the college student lying dead in J.W.’s driveway, done in by a dose of locally grown poison, recently withdrew a hundred grand from her own account. And now, before exchanging vows, J.W. must first match wits with a murderer.

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...or worse.

When J.W. Jackson foils an attempt to terminate former mob boss Luciano Marcus on the steps of Boston’s Symphony Hall, it puts a definite damper on Jackson and Zee’s newlywedded bliss, especially when the mayhem follows them back home to Martha’s Vineyard. Keeping circling sharks from the kill might be more than J.W. can handle.

The Vineyard’s criminal du jour, “the Silencer,” is loved by many and hated by some for his 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 a large new Chappaquiddick mansion. Who will be next?