The Catch

June 23, 2008
At the start of Mayor's fine 19th Joe Gunther novel (after 2007's Chat
), Vermont deputy sheriff Brian Sleuter gets shot in the temple while making a routine traffic stop near the Canadian border. The video camera on Sleuter's cruiser taped the murder, so it appears to be a simple case, but Mayor never makes things simple. Since the pair that Sleuter stopped have a drug history, Joe Gunther, head of the Vermont Bureau of Investigation, coordinates with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Boston. In a smash-bang arrest attempt, one suspect is killed, the other escapes. Joe follows him to Maine, where a drug distributor was recently murdered, drawing Joe and his staff into a fight for control of the New England drug trade and a vengeful family feud. The plot meanders and relies on coincidence more than usual in this superior regional series, but a surprise resolution to the cop killing and an unexpected final “catch,” one of many in the story, will leave fans feeling fully satisfied. 30-city author tour.

Joe Gunther, now the head of the Vermont Bureau of Investigation, is determined to catch the person who shot a cop during a routine traffic stop. His chase gets tangled up with an investigation of prescription drug traffickers and a drug war in Maine. These two threads weave in and out of the story, along with a surprise discovery that touches on Joe's girlfriend's past. Christopher Graybill narrates in a quiet voice that's pleasant enough to listen to, but he doesn't quite capture the characters' personalities with the voices he uses, many of which do not sound natural. Unfortunately, this is most glaring in the depiction of Gunther. Listeners who have been following the series may be disappointed. S.S.R. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine