Archer Mayor and Joe Gunther: Books 12-14

First edition

Archer Mayor's reprint

TUCKER PEAK (2001) takes Joe Gunther and Sammie Martens undercover in the shabby side of condo development of a ski resort. At this point in the series, that means Willy Kunkle is on hand, too -- and not happy about Sammie taking such risks. I don't have a copy handy, so I'll stay brief here and just add the cover art. Check out the excerpt on Archer Mayor's website.

First edition

THE SNIPER'S WIFE (2002) and GATEKEEPER (2003) both have covers designed by Robert Santora, who also did the art involved. Breaking drastically with the series, The Sniper's Wife takes Willy Kunkle, the irascible and irritating Vietnam vet on Joe's team, into New York City to confront his past. The narrative is from Willy's point of view, with Joe Gunther as almost a minor character. From chases to gunfire to flashbacks, it's pretty much Willy's book -- a treat for those who've especially enjoyed this difficult and angry but effective detective in previous volumes.

Gatekeeper veers in the opposite direction, taking on the female viewpoints from the team: that of Sammie Martens, again undercover but this time slipping across Vermont's southern border (beyond the "gate"), and that of Joe's former intimate partner Gail Zigman. Lester Spinney, an investigator familiar from smaller appearances in earlier books, gives Joe a hand.

Softcover

First edition

A lot of bad news about the new world of drug-running and 21st-century crime piles up in these volumes, as the down side of urban life pushes firmly north into the Green Mountain State. The next four books in the series tackle Joe Gunther's role in the Vermont Bureau of Investigation. And then, for books 19-21, we see a new aspect to the Vermont detective's work and directions.

Archer Mayor's reprint

If you've been following this series of posts, you know why we're running them: Archer Mayor presents his 22nd Joe Gunther mystery, TAG MAN, this fall, and introduces the book here at Kingdom Books this coming Saturday (10/15) at 2 p.m., with signing and discussion. Hope you can join us.