Ben Kendall was a troubled man. Coming back from Vietnam with PTSD and scars that no one else could see, he hid away from the world, filling his house with an ever-increasing amount of stuff, until finally, the piles collapsed and he was found dead, crushed beneath his own belongings.
But what at first glance looks to be a tragic accidental death of a hoarder, may be something much more—and much deadlier. Ben's cousin, medical examiner Beverly Hillstrom, unsettled by the circumstances of his death, alerts Joe Gunther and his Vermont Bureau of Investigation team.
Ben, it seems, brought back something else from Vietnam than personal demons—he also brought back combat photos and negatives that someone else wants desperately to keep from the public eye. When Beverly's daughter Rachel made her cousin Ben—and his photos—the subject of her college art project, some of those photos appeared on the walls of a local art gallery.
This in turn resulted in the appearance of a two man hit squad, searching for some other missing negatives. With Joe Gunther and his squad trailing behind the grisly research results of the hit team, and the deadly killers closing in on Rachel, Gunther has little time to find and protect Rachel before she ends up in the same grisly state as her cousin before her. Archer Mayor's Proof Positive is another enthralling installment in the Joe Gunther Series.
"The Catch"
Joe Gunther gets the call that every law enforcement person hates and every friend and family member of a policeman fears -a cop has been murdered in the line of duty.
Deputy Sheriff Brian Sleuter has been shot to death during a routine traffic stop on a dark country road.
From what can been seen on the cruiser s tape recorder of the killers, it is believed that they are a couple of Boston-based drug runners who were stopped by the deputy on their way from Canada down to Boston.
Archer Mayor |
That brings Gunther and his major crimes team into the investigation -- and eventually to Alan Budney, the disaffected son of a Maine lobsterman, now a drug kingpin, who uses the closed, clannish lobster fishing community, and his extended family in particular, to move drugs along the New England coast."
Read more about Mayor here.
"Paradise City"
Joe Gunther and his team at the Vermont Bureau of Investigation are alerted to a string of unrelated burglaries across Vermont. Someone, in addition to flatscreens, computers, and stereos, has also been stealing antiques and jewelry.
Meanwhile, in Boston, an elderly woman surprises some thieves in her Beacon Hill home and is viciously murdered. The Boston police find that not only is the loot similar to what's being stolen in Vermont, but it may have the same destination. Word is out that someone powerful is purchasing these particular kinds of items in the "Paradise City" of Northampton, Mass.
Gunther, the Boston Police, and the vengeful granddaughter of the murdered old lady convene on Northampton, eager to get to the bottom of the mystery and find the "responsible parties"—although each is motivated to mete out some very different penalties.