|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Joe Gunther is one of the finest of the hard-boiled protagonists and Archer Mayor writes some of the best regional mysteries being done today. One of the most appealing facets of these books is the way Gunther grows and changes. Mayor is not afraid to take his protagonist out of familiar circumstances into new and challenging ones. For example, Gunther and his lover Gail Zigman had lived together at one time. But two people who had been single for so long were not ready to give up the independence they required to share a house. So, while they remained lovers, they reverted to each keeping their own establishments. Now they are having to learn to adjust to this and questioning whether they made the right decision. On the professional level, Gunther was the highly competent and respected chief of detectives in the Brattleboro police department when it was decided to create a brand new state agency to investigate serious crimes, the Vermont Bureau of Investigation. Mistrusted by law officials throughout the state, the VBI could only intervene when requested by the local police department. Gunther was tagged to head the regional VBI and he took two of his favorite detectives with him. Sometimes discouraged, most of the time he knows the VBI can make a difference. Tucker Peak was a ski mountain and resort. The VBI was called in by the local sheriff when a string of robberies occurred and the local police were too busy with environmental protesters to deal with the robberies. Gunther and Sammie, one of his officers, go underground at Tucker Peak because they are certain that the thief is getting inside information about which condos were empty. They uncovered far more than they had expected. Vermont comes alive for the reader in every one of the Joe Gunther books. While acknowledging all of its faults, Mayor carries on a love affair with Vermont. In this book the ski industry, the glorious scenery, and the back streets of Brattleboro are so clearly and graphically delineated that we can visualize them. Also the people, the petty criminals, the various professionals who keep the ski resort going, the rich who believe they control the world all come alive in the pages of this book. Gunther is a most intriguing man. He is a thoughtful detective who philosophizes about the state of affairs in the world while at the same time grounding himself in the day-to-day activities necessary to solve crimes. He has not grown cynical or jaded with the world although he clearly sees the evil, the banality, the decay that exists on all sides. Rather he is a hopeful clear-seeing man who is brushed by evil but does good. He is the kind of policeman I would hope exists everywhere. This is blue collar gritty, depicting what goes on behind the scenes of the ski mountain, not the flashy and flamboyant skiers. It is a thoughtful and provocative look at the ski mountain and poses a difficult question, which is more important the environment or the economy. It is not a book you will quickly forget.
Reviewed by Sally A. Fellows, December 2001
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
