Thursday, November 01, 2018

Review: Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel by Archer Mayor


Early summer in Vermont should be a time of beauty. For the most part it is all across the state including the area that surrounds the local ski resort at Bromley Mountain. The natural landscape beauty is marred by the body of a young woman as Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel by Archer Mayor begins.

The murder, and that is exactly what it was and there is no doubt, will be handled by the Vermont Bureau of Investigation. In particular, the team led by Joe Gunther. A team that works well together despite, and quite possibly because of, their differences. It does not take Joe and his team long to identify a suspect by the name of Mick Durocher. Once in custody, he quickly confesses to killing and disposing of the body in the dead of night. While he is obviously guilty of dumping her, did he actually do it?

And what is his connection if any, to the recent attacks against the operations of a local business owner? And what the heck is up with Willy Kunkle who seems increasingly strange?

These questions and many more are explored and ultimately answered in the latest installment of this ongoing very good series. As happens again in this book, this is less a series about Joe Gunther and more of a series about the ensemble cast. As such readers are again treated to multiple points of view detailing the personal and professional lives of the characters as they do their jobs. As in real life, these characters are not robots and work goes home with them.

Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel also illustrates a more reflective Joe Gunther who has some lifestyle choices to make going forward. At the same time he seems to have an appreciation of all he has accomplished. The reader is left with the impression that this is one of those “fork in the road” type books. The kind where the book bridges the gap between what was and what is coming down the pipeline regarding a major change in the series. That impression could also be your humble reviewer intermingling his own personal life with things in the book that are not there as the reviewer seeks his own purpose going forward.

A series that began long ago with Open Season continues strongly with Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel and is very much recommended.



Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel
Archer Mayor
Minotaur Books
September 2018
ISBN# 978-1-250-11328-3
Hardback (also available in eBook format)
292 Pages
$27.99


Material supplied by the good people of the Dallas Public Library System.


Kevin R. Tipple ©2018

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