The JAWSfest Murders

by Crispin Nathaniel Haskins

Another perfect summer is in full swing on Martha’s Vineyard when Charles Williams arrives for the vacation of a lifetime. Charles is one of thousands who are there for the celebration of the 1975 blockbuster JAWS. Very little has changed since it was shot there almost forty years ago; however, Martha’s Vineyard proves to be less than idyllic. The gruesome evidence of a fatal shark attack is discovered in the ocean while in Edgartown, vacationers fall victim to an unknown killer. Police Chief Laurie Knickles enlists the help of her friend and amateur sleuth, Charles Williams, as they suspect no one will be safe in the water or on land until they solve The JAWSfest Murders.

282 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2013

About the author

Crispin Nathaniel Haskins was born in North Bay, Ontario and grew up in Toronto, Ontario. Martha’s Vineyard is his favourite place in the world. He has been writing his whole life. ‘The JAWSfest Murders’ is his first novel.

Reviews

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can ask of a mystery is that it keeps me guessing and it gives me a bit of an escape. This title did both. I didn't guess the ending (and I often do) so I was very pleased with how the story was constructed-- it was well-paced and unpredictable. After starting last week I got derailed by a number of family commitments, but then I finally sat down with the book again the other day and have since blown through the book in two sittings. An unexpected bonus was that this story also helped me add something to my bucket list-- a visit to Martha's Vineyard. You can't help but want to have your breakfast in the garden at the Edgartown Inn, then spend all morning reading out on their front porch. The perfect beach read for summer (even though it may not be safe to go in the water)!

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been following the author's Instagram for some time. Beautiful pictures of 1 of my favorite places plus uplifting and positive posts. When I realized he had written a series based on MV, I downloaded the first book to my kindle.
I really enjoyed this story and references to filming of Jaws. Likeable characters and descriptions of places along the island I could visualize (I'm lucky enough to have visited MV 3 times). I'm looking forward to book 2.
Love that he referenced 1 of my all time favorites Philip Craig.

[Jessica Cummins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating this a little higher than I would normally because of the setting — Martha’s Vineyard is my happy place and I enjoyed “traveling” to many of my favorite spots on the island through this book.

That said, this is a printed by Amazon book so the quality of the physical book is not great, and there are a number of spelling and grammatical errors throughout that would have easily been caught through proofreading.

The writing picks up once main character Charles meets the police chief. The plot is interesting even if somewhat predictable. Some of the dialogue was inappropriate and unnecessarily sexist (ex: Charles’ daily mental evaluation of Edie’s body and disdain over her bland wardrobe; other minor characters dropping the C word).

[Jean-Michel Desire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had not read a murder/mystery in a long time. This is a well written book with an interesting plot centered around Jaws fest where the first movie was shot. It recants interesting information about the movie, its producers and other interesting information about 'jaws' (the movie). As a stand alone story though, it became predictable about halfway through. I feel that this is unfortunate that what started off as a great effort kind of lost steam at some point. It was however interesting enough that I may well try another book by this author.

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved that so many establishments, restaurants, the individual town names, roads etc were mentioned that I was personally familiar with . The story line was good and wasn’t predictable ! Can’t wait to read Crispin’s 2nd book Deadly Catch!

[Jim Cavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book to read at the beach... preferably on Martha's Vineyard

[Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly entertaining 1st novel by a cool cat.

[Sally Larmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Great story, with plenty of intrigue. Charles is a very interesting character and I hope he is featured in subsequent books.

[Catherine F Davin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read!

Reading this book put me right on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. I really felt like I was there, making friends with the lead characters. The plot is fun too.

[Miss Sharon H Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay

Now know more about Martha’s Vineyard than I did before, willI read the next one not sure at the moment

[Holly Eger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-read for anyone who loves mysteries or Martha's Vineyard.

[Jude Sanches · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haskins needed a proofreader! Entertaining story line. Mostly accurate Island descriptions however, the mistakes are glaring.

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Been to the exact same places as the main character. As a matter of fact the main character stayed at the Edgartown Inn in the exact same room that I stayed in!

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a Jaws fan, nor have I ever had luck with novels printed by independent publishers/small press, however, a friend had this book sitting around his home and during an afternoon of boredom, I picked it up and gave it a try. Much to my surprise, I was drawn in immediately and for the first time in months, found myself immersed in a book I couldn't put down. With it's detailed descriptions of Martha's Vineyard, I felt transported there myself; the characters, some more colourful than others, were believable; and though parts of the story itself were unbelievable, I was intrigued by the mystery or the murders and the beauty of the island to continue my read through to the end. This book could easily have been read in a day, but I finished it in two and look forward to following the very likeable protagonist Charles, on his subsequent adventures on the island.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this author has us accompany him on his thoughts and musings on his journey to solve these gruesome murders; his detailed, colourful descriptions of Martha's Vineyard gives the reader a real sense of being on the island. I was captivated by the memorable characters and thoughtful attention to details (butter tarts!) Really looking forward to the next book!