The Manchester Public Library Mystery Book Lovers Club met today and discussed Open Season by Mayor Archer. Open Season (1988) is Mayor’s first book in his Joe Gunther series based in Brattleboro, VT. Since then Mayor has completed 23 Gunther stories.
Apparently it’s open season for the former members of a jury that served on the murder trial of Kimberly Harris several years ago. One is shot and killed, another is framed for felonious assault, another framed for stealing a police car. Someone is is utilizing bizarre efforts to focus attention on the Harris trial – was Bill Davis wrongfully convicted? Thus begins Gunther’s investigation in which it seems that a mysterious person is trying to get him to reopen the case while others seem intent stopping Gunther and on leaving well enough alone.
Most club members felt the book was well-written, particularly in giving the turn of a good descriptive phrase. The settings were well described and had an authentic Vermont “feel” to it.
I felt several things did not “feel” right and subtracted a bit from my enjoyment: when you consider that Gunther is a Korean War vet and that the book was written in 1988, that makes him about 56 years old; yet Gunther comes across as a younger character. It is also odd that a small town like Brattleboro (population 12,000) has a dedicated detective bureau with 7 men!
Several indicated that it was a fun “police procedural” with lots of potential suspects.
Several mentioned that it was an “enjoyable” mystery that was hard to put down. In fact the “grading scores” ranged from 77 to 96 with 85 being the average: a solid B.
I will be reading a subsequent Joe Gunther story to see how Mayor’s writing progresses. I hope to find that Gunther is a more developed, richer character and that the plot is more believable than in Open Season.
Meanwhile, it is safe to say, some of my fellow mystery book lovers, who felt more attracted to the book that I did, will be seeking out additional books from the Gunther series in the months ahead!
