Dale McGarrigle

Of the NEWS Staff

“TRAP DOOR,” by Sarah Graves, Bantam, New York, 2007, hardcover, 274 pages, $22.

As spring slips into summer, many people start to think about cleaning up old messes.

Jake Tiptree, the Eastport author’s protagonist, finds herself in just such a frame of mind in “Trap Door,” the 10th book in Graves’ “Home Repair in Homicide” mystery series.

In this case, Jake isn’t mulling over the money pit that is her 200-year-old Federalist house, also, not surprisingly, in Eastport.

You see, for newcomers to the series, Jake used to be a financial adviser (i.e. money launderer) for criminals in her former life, before she escaped to Eastport in hopes of saving her substance-abusive son Sam.

That worked well enough for a time, until her ex-husband Victor (who followed them to Eastport) died after the series’ last book, “Nail Biter.” Since then, Sam has been back-sliding.

But Jake has a bigger problem, involving a shady old friend who is visiting town and a recent transplant.

The friend is Jemmy Wechsler, who saved Little Orphan Jake when she was a teen living on the streets. Jemmy had come to town to confront Walter Henderson, a “retired” hit man who had recently built a “McMansion” in Eastport.

Then there’s the body in Walter’s barn, that of Cory Trow, the local snot who had been stalking Walter’s beautiful teen daughter Jennifer (somewhat with her encouragement).

So Jake has a simple plan: Hide Jemmy at her camp on a local lake while proving that Walter killed Cory.

Of course, Jake’s “simple” plans often go awry, and this is no exception. Still, with a little help from friends and acquaintances, the culprit is found in the end, although it’s scant solace for Jake.

Still “Trap Door” will capture Graves’ fans and neophytes alike.

Jack Wilde

Special to the NEWS

“WIND BIRD: GIFT OF THE MIST,” by Sarah Stiles Bright, illustrated by Gustav Moore, Maine Lakes Conservancy Institute, Nobleboro, 2006, unpaginated, hardbound, $18.95.

“Wind Bird: Gift of the Mist” is a short kids’ story about a little Passamaquody village on the shores of a lake. The inhabitants fish from the lake, farm the land, and hunt the woods to survive and take care of themselves. They have everything they need, and they thank their hero, Gluskop, for founding the land for them. He has lots of powers and takes good care of his people.

But things are not always good. Suddenly a huge wind begins to blow, and it lasts for days. It knocks down trees and destroys crops and boats, so the people can’t eat. They are suffering and call on Gluskop to help them. He says he’ll confront the Wind Bird who made the wind. He manages to tie the great bird’s wings down so that he can make no more wind. The people praise Gluskop for his deed.

But this doesn’t help. Without the breeze, the water doesn’t move, and the lake becomes sick, killing the fish. The crops dry up without the relief of the wind, and the animals in the woods go away to find water. The people are unhappy again, so Gluskop goes back to the Wind Bird.

He explains what happened and unties one of the wings to let a breeze flow down from the mountain. The wind bird agrees to flap only one wing if the people will use only what they need from the forest, and nothing more. To this, Gluskop agreed, and the people live happily and peacefully after that.

This is a likeable book that introduces a little bit of Native American history to young people and, at the same time, tells a good story. It would be good for a younger age group, about 5-7 years old. Older children might not enjoy it as much.

Jack Wilde is a sophomore at Mount View High School. He can be contacted on AOL instant messenger at PntBallAddict09.

Dale McGarrigle

Of the NEWS Staff

“GUNSHY,” by Sharon Lee, SRM Publisher Ltd., Unity, Maine, 2006, paperback, 203 pages, $16.95.

Sharon Lee has made her mark as an author co-writing the Liaden Universe science-fiction books with her husband, Steve Miller.

But now the Winslow author, writing on her own, has created a new universe much closer to home.

That place is Wimsy, Maine, a small midstate town (the nearest city is Waterville) with a handful of businesses and many more oddballs.

The protagonist in “Gunshy,” set in 1989, is Jen Pierce, a transplant from Baltimore (like Lee herself) who is a reporter for the thrice-weekly Wimsy Voice. She enjoys her work for its “sheer, unstructured wackiness.” She lives in a farmhouse that she inherited from her aunt, along with her cat Jasper, and she drives a highly impractical Camaro 280Z year-round.

Jen also enjoys the friendship of Fox, David Foxwell, a reserved Texan who is bringing the computer revolution to Wimsy. He runs a computer bulletin board that she frequents after her shift at the Voice is over.

But Jen’s idyllic little existence is shattered by a pair of deaths, first a teen girl killed by a hit-and-run driver and then a down-on-her-luck young woman, a regular on Fox’s bulletin board, who’s found dead at the local hotel.

While the first death seems senseless to Jen, the second seems suspicious, so she continues to check into it, with the aid of a reluctant Fox, who seeks to keep her out of trouble.

The novel takes readers inside a problem becoming more and more common in rural Maine, with the two dead females collateral damage to those involved in this criminal conspiracy.

“Gunshy,” the second book in the Wimsy series, shows off Lee’s ability to create memorable characters and capture the essence of places. The whodunit part of the equation was a little predictable, but it was intriguing to watch Jen slowly, even accidentally, uncover the mystery’s solution.

“Gunshy” can be ordered directly from SRM Publisher, P.O. Box 179 Unity 04988. The cost is $15.95 for the book and $5.35 for postage and handling.