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A Joe Gunther Novel
by Archer Mayor
Wayne Castine was found brutally murdered and the murderer remains at large. Castine, a suspected child predator, was killed in Brattleboro where he was involved with a tangled network of an extended family living in a local trailer park. Any member of the clan would have had the opportunity to kill him, and, as he was involved with both the mother and her 12 year old daughter, reason to commit the murder. At the same time, Joe Gunther has learned that his girlfriend Lyn Silva’s fisherman father and brother, believed lost at sea off the coast of Maine, might have actually been murdered.
Without enough solid information to warrant law enforcement involvement, Lyn returns to Maine to try and investigate Gunther’s findings. Gunther periodically puts his on-going murder investigation on hold - irritating his colleagues and angering his bosses - to go and help Lyn in Maine. It appears increasingly possible that her father and brother weren’t the good guys that Lyn always believed them to be and that they might have been involved with vicious smugglers who murdered them - and might do the same to Lyn if she keeps pushing.
Torn between his conscience and his heart, a murder investigation and a personal search for the truth, Gunther finds that betrayal and loyalty are often a matter of viewpoint.
"Mayor manages to keep the suspense building and the reader guessing until the end. Series fans will appreciate the local cultural insights and the authentic cop lingo." - Publishers Weekly
"While his latest is not as riveting as some of his previous titles, Mayor still shows why he is one of the most respected American writers of procedurals. For readers who miss Ed McBain and find it difficult to wait for the next Michael Connelly." - Library Journal
"The even-tempered Sage of Brattleboro is as appealing as ever." - Kirkus Reviews
"As always, Mayor delivers rich characters, solid police procedural details, and a rich sense of place." - Booklist
This information about The Price of Malice was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: archermayor.com
Archer Mayor is the author of the Vermont-based crime fiction series featuring Detective Joe Gunther. He is the 2004 winner of the New England Independent Booksellers Association Award for Best Fiction—the first time a writer of crime literature has been so honored. Before turning his hand to fiction, Mayor wrote history books, the most notable of which was Southern Timberman: The Legacy of William Buchanan.
Mayor continues to work as a death investigator for Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner, a Deputy Sheriff for Windham County, VT, an investigator for the Windham County State’s Attorney’s office, the publisher of his own backlist, a travel writer for AAA, and he travels the Northeast giving speeches and conducting workshops. He also has 25 years experience as a volunteer ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Archer Mayor's Website
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