Wildly Crafty

A couple of days ago the doorbell rang, and when I answered the door two of my neighbors were outside. One of them was holding a piece of paper and when I asked what I could do for them (secretly dreading the religious chat or request to purchase something) one of them said they were circulating a petition.

I asked them what the petition was all about and she said "something about drug users moving into the neighborhood". So I asked for clarification, since I really didn't know what that meant - was it a treatment facility? or were they opening up a crack house? She mumbled something else and thrust the "petition" at me. From what I could see of the petition it consisted of a blank piece of paper with room for signatures.

I said I wasn't signing their petition, and she wanted to know why. I said that I wasn't signing a blank piece of paper, especially if I didn't have any idea what I was signing. She immediately got all offended, and said "but I have kids and I don't want them near drugs". I told her that was fine, but she never explained to me what she was protesting about, I still didn't know who or what the drug users were that she was talking about.

She started screaming at me (remember, we're standing on my front porch) about her kids this, and her kids that. So I told her to get off my property because now she and her friend were trespassing. I'm not about to have someone scream at me on my own front porch, when all I want to know is what the heck I'm supposed to be protesting.

She continued to yell at me as she walked across the lawn to the neighbor's house that I was an evil person, and that she hopes I don't have any children, and how I must hate children and so on, and so on.

I still have absolutely no idea what the petition was about. Most petitions that I've seen have a portion at the top which explains what the petition is for. This one didn't, it was just a blank page with signature lines and possibly a signature or two, I didn't get a really close look at it. They never explained to me coherently what the problem was, and started yelling at me the second they didn't get what they wanted. I wonder how successful they were with the rest of my neighbors.

Slipknot
By Linda Greenlaw
Published by Hyperion

In The Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger describes Linda Greenlaw as "one of the best sea captains, period, on the East Coast." Linda Greenlaw is also the author of award-winning nonfiction titles about her adventures as one of the few female swordboat captains in a dangerous and predominantly male-dominated line of work.

After promising her fans for seven years, Linda Greenlaw has released her first fictional offering. Slipknot is the first in a series of mysteries featuring protagonist Jane Bunker, a former big-city homicide detective turned marine insurance investigator. Jane is sent to evaluate Turners’ Fish Plant in Green Haven, Maine for an insurance adjustment just as the body of the town drunk washes up on the beach. Jane uses her expertise as a former detective to insinuate herself into the investigation. Folks just naturally assume it’s a part of her job for Eastern Marine Security Consultants and not just pure nosiness.

Finding her actual job relatively uninteresting, really, just how many OSHA violations can you document anyway - Jane decides to play detective and unearth the truth behind the “accidental drowning”. This is a decision that could turn out deadly as she finds herself in one harrowing predicament after another.

Brimming with interesting characters; like nutty landlords Henry and Alice (who give Jane almost no privacy) and teenaged Audrey the heavily pierced and tattooed lunch counter waitress best known for dishing out gossip as well as muffins. The author also captures the average taciturn northeasterner with flair.

Absolutely fascinating and surprisingly educational, the author has poured her knowledge of the sea and fishing into this book. With a quirky blend of humor and suspense, she keeps the reader on the edge of their seat wondering just what could possibly happen next. Let’s all hope that she continues to write future Jane Bunker mysteries, as there are so many more places she could go with this character. Jane Bunker has real potential.

Reviewed for Hyperion Books and Front Street Reviews.

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