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The Paperwhite Narcissus book cover
The Paperwhite Narcissus
2005
First Published
3.73
Average Rating
256
Number of Pages

Part of Series

In this fifth book in the Victoria Trumbull series, the ninety-two-year-old sleuth finds herself embroiled in a series of murders after she is fired from her job as West Tisbury correspondent for The Island Enquirer (the editor claims the newspaper needs a younger look). Victoria, determined to show that age is no barrier to news papering, immediately throws her weight behind The Grackle, intent on turning the two-page West Tisbury newsletter into a formidable competitor of the Enquirer. And it looks as though she will. In the meantime, the Enquirer's narcissistic editor has been receiving a series of obituaries, each naming him as the deceased. He would dismiss them as a sick joke, but the obituaries follow the actual deaths of people close to him. Rather than going to the police, he grudgingly rehires Victoria to uncover the identity of the obituary writer. Victoria knows almost everybody on the Island, and she may be the only person who can solve the mystery before the editor needs a genuine obituary of his own. In The Paperwhite Narcissus, as in the four previous books in the series, Cynthia Riggs explores the rich and varied setting of Martha's Vineyard in a way that only a native Islander can. The story glides from Wasque, the desolate southeast corner of Chappaquiddick, to the Coast Guard boat ramp in Menemsha; from the elegantly maintained Captains' houses in Edgartown to the wild Atlantic Ocean beach at Quansoo. A delightfully cozy read, steeped in rich characters and a sense of place, this latest Victoria Trumbull mystery is sure to charm long-time fans and first-time readers.

Avg Rating
3.73
Number of Ratings
490
5 STARS
20%
4 STARS
39%
3 STARS
35%
2 STARS
6%
1 STARS
0%
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Author

Cynthia Riggs
Cynthia Riggs
Author · 17 books

Cynthia Riggs, a tall gray-haired and imposing figure, is a 13th generation Islander, the mother of five and daughter of author and poet Dionis Coffin Riggs and school principal and printmaker Sidney N. Riggs. With a degree in geology, her own remarkable resumé — writing for the National Geographic Society and Smithsonian (she spent two months in Antarctica), working in public relations for the American Petroleum Institute, operating boat charters (she lived on a 44-foot houseboat for 12 years), running the Chesapeake Bay Ferry Boat Company, and being a rigger at Martha's Vineyard Shipyard. After enrolling six years ago in the Master of Fine Arts creative writing program at Vermont College, Riggs found yet another calling. She has become a successful mystery writer. All her mysteries take place on the Vineyard, and all draw from local scenes and fictionalized composites of Island characters. She knows them all well, having been a two-time candidate for West Tisbury selectman ("No, I don't think I'll do that again"), a commissioner on the Martha's Vineyard Commission, a member of what is now the Martha's Vineyard Arts Council, and an active Island voice in both politics and human rights causes.

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