Nantucket Sawbuck

Henry Kennis Mystery #1

by Steven Axelrod

When Nantucket homeowner Preston Lomax is killed in his McMansion, everyone on the island could be a suspect. Lomax lived large, owed money, and the word was spreading he was planning to stiff them all and disappear. Chief of Police Henry Kennis, a newcomer from California, finds himself investigating with help from the State Police. Together they solve the case—or so it appears. But Kennis can’t shake the feeling that they’ve missed something.
Kennis soon discovers scandals and intrigues behind the scenes in one of America’s most exclusive resort locations. This glamorous setting hosts an eclectic cast of local characters— oddball journalists, surfing carpenters, drug dealers, wealthy homeowners, and their slacker children. Kennis uncovers a truth that lies somewhere between the bad blood and the good neighbors and realizes that the real answer hits painfully close to home.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Steven Axelrod holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of the Fine Arts and as a former Hollywood screenwriter is still a member of the Writers Guild of America. A father of two, he lives on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, where he paints houses and writes.

Reviews

[Deb Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has the bones of a good story. It is a shame that some of the reading enjoyment went awry due to poor editing/proofreading on the publisher's part.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book does not appear to be edited. The proof reader must have used spell check and never did the actual reading. The story was good but I had trouble with the poor quality of the written word.

[Andrea Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nantucket Sawbuck. That's a term I'd never heard before reading this book. For those wondering? It's a long way of saying "hundred dollar bill". Mystery abounds in this book by Steven Axelrod, a millionaire dead, enemy of just about every person on the island of Nantucket. And of course it's the job of small town police chief Henry Kennis to figure out who and why.

Axelrod did a great job of making you feel hatred for the murdered millionaire while feeling care for Kennis and his circumstances. Most of the book is spent setting up stories and histories of many of the Nantucket island residents. He did a great job of showing just how intertwined people can be on a tiny island that is unfortunately being devoured by the rich.

Every person in this book has a tie to someone else somehow, and in a very small town way, the ties get crossed and quite messy and you end up looking like the crazy person with the red string on a board to make the connections.

Overall, I enjoyed the twists and turns in this book. My frustration comes from the numerous mistakes in either spelling or sentence structure. I would have expected better editing, but then I give small graces since we're all human. Moving past the mistakes, the book was decent, it was definitely good at making you think you knew who had done it, but then changing your mind by the next chapter.

[Justin Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While maybe not as good as Nantucket Red Ticket.. Mr Axelrod's latest addition to his Henry Kennis Mystery series, I did enjoy this almost, if not as much as I did the newest one. Apparentely, while choosing this book, without realizing it, I chose the first book instead of say the 4th or say the 2nd. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. One of the reasons I gave it a 3 star instead of say 4 or 5 is partially due to me having trouble at times following along with conversations in the book, missing words, etc. Some people may say that they don't necessarily like a book like this to go back in time before proceeding to solve said crime. I however kind of enjoy this. I feel like it kind of gives a back story on the characters involved, or not involved. Just like in Nantucket Red Tickets, there definitely feels like a resolute conclusion to it all. The guilty party are apprehended, arrested, etc. The big suspects are cleared & unfortunately, in the case of this book, some relationships are ended as result of facts & clues that end up being loose ends. Overall IMO, a solid, good mostly easy to follow read & worth the time spent reading it.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this 3 1/2 stars. Henry Kennis is the police chief in ultra-wealthy Nantucket. He came from California and is divorced. He is low key, amiable, and smart. He writes poetry in his spare time. I found that to be mostly irrelevant. When rich, obnoxious Preston Lomax is found murdered it seems just about anyone in town could be the culprit. Lomax was hated by his wife, sons, all the carpenters and painters building his McMansion, and the the local newspaper editor, just to name a few. The police and state investigators seem to want this solved and solved quickly, so they latch on to each suspect and hope that they have the right one. But Henry wants to think it through. He isn’t satisfied to jump to the easiest solution. It seems there are secrets in the small, elite community. Lomax had a drug habit, his wife was unfaithful (as most of the characters seem to be), and Lomax was planning on sneaking away without paying for his home or the big mall he was planning to develop. I found Henry to be an engaging protagonist and this was an enjoyable quick read.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself was good, but the punctuation and grammar were horrible! I think the author mentioned in Nantucket that he was looking for a new editor because of this sort of thing. If you can get past that, it's a pretty good read.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this mystery has many twists and turns and great descriptions and humor. and for anyone who knows the island, he describes not only the landmarks, but the emotions of the residents to a tee. it grabbed me from the first minute, and never let me go.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nantucket Sawbuck by Steven Axelrod is the first book of the Henry Kennis mystery series set on contemporary Nantucket Island. Kennis is the new Chief of Police, previously an officer in the LAPD. Preston Lomax is a wealthy man with multitudes of enemies. He's vindictive and cruel, making sure to ruin the lives of the "little people" who are unfortunate enough to cross his path. He's proud of being hated; amuses himself by drawing up a list of everyone who would like to murder him; challenges his wife to murder him before he changes his will to leave her nothing.

Many individual tradesmen who live year-round on Nantucket ("the slaves") are struggling to keep their homes, pay their bills, feed their families. They have to endure the callous rudeness of the wealthy people who own the McMansions (providing jobs to build, re/decorate, clean).

Short chapters describe the personal stories (plans, activities, hurdles, relationships) of these wage-earners who depend on tourism and the jobs provided by the wealthy: newspaper editor, housepainter, house cleaner, etc. Most are just trying to get by....but one is there with a revenge motive.

When Lomax is murdered, only his college-age daughter misses him. But everyone else needs the money he owes them! It's a challenge for Kennis to analyze the events of Lomax's last night, learn the complexities of the relationships, discover the many treacheries, to find out exactly who killed him - and why. Even when the case seems solved, Kennis knows there is more to the story - and he persists until he knows the whole truth.

The ending is not a fairy-tale 'good guys win', 'bad guys lose'; it's as depressing as real-life news. An early manuscript reader may have shared that opinion, because a few improbable happy-endings are tacked on for secondary characters. I enjoyed the (over-the-top?) references to Casablanca; Kennis at the airport, watching as a plane takes off. Since I felt depressed all day after finishing the book, I don't plan to continue the series.

[Ken Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Nantucket Sawbuck" has so many characters that it threatens to overwhelm the reader. At one stage I briefly thought of creating a chart linking the characters, but that seemed too much like hard work.
Preston Lomax, a genuinely nasty piece of goods, has been murdered and just about everyone had a reason to kill him - family, friends and tradesmen he's ripped off. In fact many of them are on the record describing how they would murder him.
We get to meet them all - it's a Cecil B DeMille cast!
Halfway through I'm hanging on to a thread - the dead man and the detective, Henry Kennis.
It's a fun read but it bounces all over the place - and the murder keeps getting solved, except it isn't and the investigating restarts.
If you like a fast read this is not for you, but if you like slow, even pacing, methodical investigation and a relentless lawman then "Nantucket Sawbuck" ticks all the boxes.
A solid 3 Stars.

[Wendy Hearder-moan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting structure since the murder takes place right at the beginning but then, in part one, we double back to events that preceded it; part two deals with the police investigation, and ultimately the resolution. I was somewhat disappointed with the ending as the murderer seemed to come out of left field. In fact, after I finished, I thought “Wait a minute, what exactly happened? Who killed him and why?” I had to go back and re- read some sections. I also should have paid more attention to Fiona’s backstory. I don’t think that’s a spoiler, just a recommendation.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because the writing is effective and the setting is well-drawn. The plot chugs along, though the protagonist (a supposedly hunky and newly single LA detective relocated to Nantucket) doesn’t do much to help advance it—he mostly drives around the island describing the scenery.

As other reviewers have mentioned, there are a lot of typos which really detracts from enjoying the book.

I wouldn’t recommend buying this, but if it’s on the shelf in your little free library or vacation rental, it wouldn’t be terrible to pick it up.

[Jersey Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout Chapter One Preston Lomax lists the various people who want to kill him along with their motivations. Chapter Two begins with Preston Lomax murdered. From their the author takes us on a back and forth journey as we follow the actions and thinking of police chief Henry Kennis investigating the crime paralleled with the actions of the suspects leading up to the crime. A fascinating read and construction.

[Janice Llewellyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this story was pretty good. The main character, police chief Kennis, was a real likeable guy. Down to earth, noble, honest, a real John Wayne type. Full of integrity..and a poet, to boot.
The writing was ok; just a few too many people to remember. Many not necessary. A few times the writing seemed to wander which made following difficult. But all in all a fairly good read.

[Judym · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good first in the series. It is set in Nantucket.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story line with plausible characters. The recognizable Nantucket references are fun and allow the reader to picture familiar locations . A good beach read

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Library book

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its meh. Typical mystery. Easy read. Good for nighttime reading when you need something to do besides stare into the void of TikTok

[Tom Stadler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too many cardboard characters and a lot of belly aching about how Nantucket is being spoiled.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is kinda chaotic with no plot yet and I’m 100 pages in.
200 pages in. Too many characters that I don’t really care about lol.
Also the ending was expected.

[Frank Ogden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not like the writing style nor story development of this author.

[Victor Gentile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steven Axelrod in his new book, “Nantucket Sawbuck” Book One in the Henry Kennis Mystery series published by Poisoned Pen Press introduces us another adventure with Henry Kennis.

From the back cover: When Nantucket homeowner Preston Lomax is killed, everyone on the island could be a suspect. Lomax lived large, owed money, and the word was spreading he was planning to stiff them all and disappear. Chief of Police Henry Kennis, a newcomer from California, finds himself investigating with help from the State Police. Together they solve the case—or so it appears. But Kennis can’t shake the feeling that they’ve missed something.

Kennis soon discovers scandals and intrigues behind the scenes in one of America’s most exclusive resort locations. This glamorous setting hosts an eclectic cast of local characters— oddball journalists, surfing carpenters, drug dealers, wealthy homeowners, and their slacker children. Kennis uncovers a truth that lies somewhere between the bad blood and the good neighbors and realizes that the real answer hits painfully close to home.

There is a different murder mystery where a helper tells the investigator after each suspect questioning, “he did it, she did it”. Get ready you are about to do that here as well. This is some investigation. And what a way to begin as Chief of Police for Henry Kennis. If it is possible to say such a thing Preston Lomax deserved to be killed. Lots of reasons so that means lots of suspects. Nantucket is quite a town it almost seems as though everyone has something to hide in this town and none of them want Henry to discover what it is. The story hums along at a fast pace as Henry is working to figure out just what is going on. “Nantucket Sawbuck” is loaded with twists and turns and red herrings that will leave you guessing all the while you are flipping pages to find out what happens next. Mr. Axelrod has provided us with a marvelous character in Henry Kennis and I look forward to reading about more of his adventures.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Poisoned Pen Press. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[David Freas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a true mystery, more of a mainstream novel with a mystery included. It started off as a straight mystery but after Chapter 3, veered into the mainstream lane and stayed there, slowing the pace of the book to a crawl, until Chapter 22. Once Axelrod got back to the mystery, the story took off to a great climax. Axelrod should have focused more of those chapters on the mystery. It would have made for an even more engaging read.

Over that 19 chapter span, Axelrod gave almost everyone on the island a chapter of their own interspersed with far too few from the point of view of Henry Kennis, the main character. And that deluge of characters became almost overwhelming, to the point where it became nearly impossible to keep them all straight.

Henry is intelligent, a thinker, and a poet, a refreshing change from the tough guy, ex-alcoholic cop that populates most crime novels. He could have easily carried this whole book on his own.

Except for Henry, none of the characters in the novel were very likeable. The murder victim, Preston Lomax, was so odious, I found myself rooting for his killer. Every place has people who aren’t nice but in Axelrod’s Nantucket, everyone is conniving and duplicitous. And many of them spend their time and energy screwing – literally and figuratively – someone else.

I may give Axelrod another chance at some point, but it won’t be soon.

[Carl Brookins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sad. With the prestige of a strong tasteful press’s reputation, one would expect better from any work, including a debut novel. The writing is problematical, the author’s research is lacking in several important aspects and he is apparently unable to conceal his scorn for both the wealthy and the workers who live on the island. He has little patience for most other aspects of modern or historical American society.

His murder victim is someone who, like Bernie Madoff, has managed to rip off nearly everyone he comes into contact with. He has zero redeeming characteristics. Unlike Madoff, he has alienated his entire family as well. There are a few people in the book you might want to hang out with for an afternoon beer, Chief of Police xxxx and his friend Fiona among them. Otherwise, if Axelrod is to be believed, the entire island, summer and winter is peopled by shallow, insipid careless people who squander natural beauty, sleep around and relentlessly steal from each other. But not in very interesting or clever ways.

The plot is sufficient unto itself, and wraps up as it should. But the book is not entertaining, it depresses, and as such I cannot recommend it to any reader of crime fiction.

[Julian Froment · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a while since I read a book that I found it difficult to put down, but this was it.

I loved the main character, police chief Henry Kennis, and how he viewed his job and the case, on the island of Nantucket. The author really brought the location alive for me, with his descriptive language and obviously knows the area well.

The plot was interesting and clever and there were many twists and turns. A number of clever plot devices were employed to lead the reader in the wrong direction, before the revelation of the real motive behind the murder of the loathsome Preston Lomax.

The story was well placed and worthy of the overused cliché ‘a real page turner’. I had to read the book in stages due to time constraints, but I have to confess that it was difficult to put the book down and I would have loved to read it in one fell swoop.

If you like an intelligent murder mystery with personable, believable characters, then I would heartily recommend this. I look forward to reading further adventures of Henry Kennis.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure what native Nantucket islanders will think of this – or those who spend a good part of the summer out there on that astonishing island paradise – Axelrod pigeon holes a lot of people native and otherwise as being alike in certain ways – but despite that this is one terrific mystery, one that will keep you burning the proverbial late night oil and calling in sick to work.

My sister who spends the summer out there thought this would be the big beach book of the summer of 2014 and it may be – despite the cover with house that would never pass Nantucket codes.

Jump on this hot mystery while you can – and then you give it to all those you know bound for the island or who have fond memories beaching, working on, or just touristing around that magnificent 30 miles off shore island.

[Donna Siebold · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty good when I first read it, about a week ago. But, I picked it up again this morning because I couldn't remember the details of the ending. I had to read about 75 pages before everything came back to me. So, I decided it was just okay, otherwise I assume I would have been able to remember the details for a bit longer. The story is interesting, a California policeman relocated to Nantucket, a filthy rich and unlikable man is murdered. This will be the case that makes his career on Nantucket. And, I remembered a fair amount about the main character. I just couldn't remember who committed the murder and that, for a murder mystery, is not a good thing.

[Robert Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished 02/17/2014. Big city (LA) cop turned small town police chief Henry Kennis is confronted with the murder of one of the island's most prominent and controversial figures. Preston Lomax is stabbed to death in his McMansion and everyone who ever had contact with him is a legitimate suspect, because he cheated, didn't pay his bills, and gener-ally bullied everyone including his family. The chief isn't content when the crime is solved to the satisfaction of the staties and others, but eventually has the woman he loves deported back to Ireland and her partner indicted as the instigator of the murder.

[Roger · Rating 2 out of 5]

An easy, uncomplicated summer read. I have to agree with reviewers who commented on the sloppy proof reading. But, at least once it added a parallel mystery of its own that was resolved later in the story. I'm calling it, The Case of the Transported Article. The article 'a' is mysteriously missing in a sentence, but several chapters later it shows up in the middle of another sentence where it clearly does not belong - stuck there for eternity! Poor thing...

But all that detracts from the fact that it was an okay whodunit that kept me reading. Not great but good enough for a vacation read.

[Mickey Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the characters and setting in this mystery novel. The way the story is told is a bit awkward but nowadays the custom is to put the murder up front, even if the book would read better without having to jump back in time to accommodate this. Still, the tale is interesting and held my attention to the end. The book obviously wasn't proofread and there are many, many extra nonsensical words cropping up that shouldn't be there.

[Duffy Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

It says this is "A Henry Kennis Mystery" and Amazon refers to it as a "series" but this is the only title I discovered, which is a shame. I'll look forward to the next one if there is one because this was an entertaining read. Good mystery. Good local color - lots of locals versus summer people intrigue. It was a good summer read on a nice summer day (when I should have been working which made it all the more enjoyable.)