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Joe Gunther #1
Open Season
Lt. Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vermont police force has a serious problem: in a community where a decade could pass without a single murder, the body count is suddenly mounting. Innocent citizens are being killed—and others set-up—seemingly orchestrated by a mysterious ski-masked man. Signs suggest that a three year-old murder trial might lie at the heart of things, but it’s a case that many in the department would prefer remained closed. A man of quiet integrity, Lt. Gunther knows that he must pursue the case to its conclusion, wherever it leads.
Open Season is the first of Archer Mayor’s thirty-three Joe Gunther novels, a series of gripping police procedurals set in New England, where small-town charm, stoicism and civility sometimes conceal brutal truths.
Open Season is the first of Archer Mayor’s thirty-three Joe Gunther novels, a series of gripping police procedurals set in New England, where small-town charm, stoicism and civility sometimes conceal brutal truths.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 9, 1988
875 people are currently reading
4499 people want to read
About the author
Archer Mayor
43 books730 followersOver the years, Archer Mayor has been photographer, teacher, historian, scholarly editor, feature writer, travel writer, lab technician, political advance man, medical illustrator, newspaper writer, history researcher, publications consultant, constable, and EMT/firefighter. He is also half Argentine, speaks two languages, and has lived in several countries on two continents.
All of which makes makes him restless, curious, unemployable, or all three. Whatever he is, it’s clearly not cured, since he’s currently a novelist, a death investigator for Vermont’s medical examiner, and a police officer.
Archer has been producing the Joe Gunther novels since 1988, some of which have made the “ten best” or “most notable” lists of the Los Angeles and the New York Times. In 2004 Mayor received the New England Booksellers Association book award for fiction.
Intriguing plots, complex characters, and a vivid landscape are the foundation of Archer Mayor's award-winning New England thrillers.
All of which makes makes him restless, curious, unemployable, or all three. Whatever he is, it’s clearly not cured, since he’s currently a novelist, a death investigator for Vermont’s medical examiner, and a police officer.
Archer has been producing the Joe Gunther novels since 1988, some of which have made the “ten best” or “most notable” lists of the Los Angeles and the New York Times. In 2004 Mayor received the New England Booksellers Association book award for fiction.
Intriguing plots, complex characters, and a vivid landscape are the foundation of Archer Mayor's award-winning New England thrillers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 583 reviews
January 21, 2019
This is the novel that introduced Vermont detective Joe Gunther, the lead character in a series by Archer Mayor that has now reached twenty-nine books and counting. When we first meet Gunther, he's a detective on the Brattleboro, Vermont P.D. He has bigger things ahead of him, but for now he's assigned to investigate a rare murder in a town that hardly ever sees one.
The victim is a man named Jamie Phillips who has walked into the home of an elderly woman in the dead of night. The woman has been receiving threatening messages; her cat has been murdered, and the person responsible has warned her that he will be coming to give her the same treatment that he gave the cat. Frightened out of her wits, the woman, Thelma Reitz, is sitting in her darkened home with a shotgun in her lap, and when Phillips walks through the door, she lets him have it.
Gunther immediately senses that something is out of whack here, and he becomes convinced of it when he discovers that Phillips and Reitz had both served together on the jury in an infamous murder case three years earlier. A young woman had been sexually assaulted and then murdered in her apartment. A ton of evidence pointed at the building's janitor, a young, black Vietnam War vet named Harris. Harris was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison, and everyone assumed that justice had been served.
In the wake of the Phillips/Reitz incident, though, several other jurors are targeted and Gunther realizes that someone is trying to draw attention back to the Harris case. He begins digging back into the case and discovers that maybe it wasn't so open-and-shut after all. This is potentially embarrassing to his department and to the others who were involved in the case, but Gunther persists, being driven along by a mysterious man in a ski mask who seems to be orchestrating events and who also appears to be one step ahead of Joe and his colleagues all along the line.
It's an interesting and cleverly-plotted story, and Gunther is an immediately sympathetic protagonist. One of the strengths of this series is that Mayor has a gift for establishing his settings, and even in this first novel, the town of Brattleboro and the surrounding environs are expertly rendered. The reader feels as if he or she had been plunged into the middle of a Vermont winter.
A couple of the characters who will accompany Gunther through the series are introduced here, and it's fun to see them all once again as we first met them. This is a series that has remained consistently excellent throughout, and anyone looking for a very good regional mystery series would be hard-pressed to find a better one.
The victim is a man named Jamie Phillips who has walked into the home of an elderly woman in the dead of night. The woman has been receiving threatening messages; her cat has been murdered, and the person responsible has warned her that he will be coming to give her the same treatment that he gave the cat. Frightened out of her wits, the woman, Thelma Reitz, is sitting in her darkened home with a shotgun in her lap, and when Phillips walks through the door, she lets him have it.
Gunther immediately senses that something is out of whack here, and he becomes convinced of it when he discovers that Phillips and Reitz had both served together on the jury in an infamous murder case three years earlier. A young woman had been sexually assaulted and then murdered in her apartment. A ton of evidence pointed at the building's janitor, a young, black Vietnam War vet named Harris. Harris was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison, and everyone assumed that justice had been served.
In the wake of the Phillips/Reitz incident, though, several other jurors are targeted and Gunther realizes that someone is trying to draw attention back to the Harris case. He begins digging back into the case and discovers that maybe it wasn't so open-and-shut after all. This is potentially embarrassing to his department and to the others who were involved in the case, but Gunther persists, being driven along by a mysterious man in a ski mask who seems to be orchestrating events and who also appears to be one step ahead of Joe and his colleagues all along the line.
It's an interesting and cleverly-plotted story, and Gunther is an immediately sympathetic protagonist. One of the strengths of this series is that Mayor has a gift for establishing his settings, and even in this first novel, the town of Brattleboro and the surrounding environs are expertly rendered. The reader feels as if he or she had been plunged into the middle of a Vermont winter.
A couple of the characters who will accompany Gunther through the series are introduced here, and it's fun to see them all once again as we first met them. This is a series that has remained consistently excellent throughout, and anyone looking for a very good regional mystery series would be hard-pressed to find a better one.
September 4, 2020
I adore Archer Mayor’s Joe Gunther series. But it turns out, I started with book 10 of the series and never got back to read the first nine. Thanks to Audible’s new Premium Plus program, similar to kindle unlimited for audio, I now have access to the first books in the series. So, I’m taking advantage.
These are all characters I feel I really know after reading the last 20 books, so it’s fascinating to see how Mayor first introduces them, especially Willy Kunkle. While the later books are all about the team, here, Joe is more of a lone wolf.
The plot tackles members of a jury from a three year old case all being targeted, some even murdered. So, Joe goes back to investigate the initial case. It was a rape and murder case and the defendant had been found guilty. But someone obviously wants the case reopened. There’s a great sense of tension and suspense throughout this book. And as the story plays out, some twists I didn’t see coming.
Vermont always figures as a character in this series. And that’s true from this, the very first book.
The narrator, TomTaylorson, is the same throughout the series. He does a great job embodying Joe.
Looking forward to catching up with the rest of the initial books.
These are all characters I feel I really know after reading the last 20 books, so it’s fascinating to see how Mayor first introduces them, especially Willy Kunkle. While the later books are all about the team, here, Joe is more of a lone wolf.
The plot tackles members of a jury from a three year old case all being targeted, some even murdered. So, Joe goes back to investigate the initial case. It was a rape and murder case and the defendant had been found guilty. But someone obviously wants the case reopened. There’s a great sense of tension and suspense throughout this book. And as the story plays out, some twists I didn’t see coming.
Vermont always figures as a character in this series. And that’s true from this, the very first book.
The narrator, TomTaylorson, is the same throughout the series. He does a great job embodying Joe.
Looking forward to catching up with the rest of the initial books.
June 24, 2023
So afraid it would happen ... and it did: up till page 267 I was riveted, by the superb storytelling, the literary magnitude of many descriptions, the whim and witticism: five stars - but then came the denouement, a total let-down, leaving many questions unanswered (f.i., how did "Ski Mask" manage to be one-up on the police throughout the novel; who was his mysterious source?) - and providing no credible motive for the principal murder, an unpardonable offense for any murder mystery. This novel has me "snookered". (One of the delightful new (mostly American- , I surmise) English idioms it taught me: "druthers", "granola-head", "bull session", "humdinger", "ten-four", "add to the hopper", "greasy spoon", etc. - fun for the inquisitive non-native.)
Well, this ever more disappointed and grumpy old man will leave you with a few lines he enjoyed:
- (The story is set in Vermont.) "Did you have a nice Christmas, Lieutenant?" "Not bad." "Me too. I went back home. Expensive, but the wife and I thought it would feel strange having Christmas here." I couldn't think of anything stranger than Christmas in Florida.
- Her voice was high and thin - a piano string stretched as tight as it could go. (...) She stared hard at me suddenly, the tears finally pouring down her face in earnest. The piano wire was broken, and her voice was ragged and full of pain.
- He was a young man, maybe twenty-four, with the obligatory mustache of the nervously assertive male.
- (...), but there's something inside a hard-drinking man that can only see abstinence as a passing and regrettable phase. (...) "Still on the wagon, huh? I don't see how you can drink tonic water without something to kill the taste."
- He gave me a smile custom-made for a fist. I buried my hands in my pockets.
- I felt like I was eavesdropping on a man talking to himself. (...) "Did she ever talk about her past?" "Not once. I'm afraid I cornered the market there, like most old men."
- [The protagonist's brother] Leo, in short doses, was good for the soul. How my mother put up with him, I could never guess.
- (...) lived in a trailer park on the outskirts of West Brattleboro - the last cluster of urban dwellers before Route 9 began its gradual climb into the Green Mountains. In fact, it was so much on the fringe, it was hard to tell whether the homes or the trees were gaining the upper hand in taking over the real estate. My personal bet was on the trees. Mostly evergreens, they stood tall and dark, their bristling skirts massive and ancient in the flat, gray light. The trailers, by contrast, sandwiched between the icy crusts on their roofs and the rough turmoil of ground-up, dirty snow around them, looked like the remnants of a civilization long on the ropes. (...) He stopped before an oblong metal shack, (...) a mobile home whose only movement was towards disintegration.
- He sat in one of a long line of cheek-by-jowl cubicles, each equipped with a metal desk, two chairs and a computer. It reminded me of someone's pessimistic vision of the future. (...) We sat in opposing plastic padded chairs, like contestants in a game show.
Well, this ever more disappointed and grumpy old man will leave you with a few lines he enjoyed:
- (The story is set in Vermont.) "Did you have a nice Christmas, Lieutenant?" "Not bad." "Me too. I went back home. Expensive, but the wife and I thought it would feel strange having Christmas here." I couldn't think of anything stranger than Christmas in Florida.
- Her voice was high and thin - a piano string stretched as tight as it could go. (...) She stared hard at me suddenly, the tears finally pouring down her face in earnest. The piano wire was broken, and her voice was ragged and full of pain.
- He was a young man, maybe twenty-four, with the obligatory mustache of the nervously assertive male.
- (...), but there's something inside a hard-drinking man that can only see abstinence as a passing and regrettable phase. (...) "Still on the wagon, huh? I don't see how you can drink tonic water without something to kill the taste."
- He gave me a smile custom-made for a fist. I buried my hands in my pockets.
- I felt like I was eavesdropping on a man talking to himself. (...) "Did she ever talk about her past?" "Not once. I'm afraid I cornered the market there, like most old men."
- [The protagonist's brother] Leo, in short doses, was good for the soul. How my mother put up with him, I could never guess.
- (...) lived in a trailer park on the outskirts of West Brattleboro - the last cluster of urban dwellers before Route 9 began its gradual climb into the Green Mountains. In fact, it was so much on the fringe, it was hard to tell whether the homes or the trees were gaining the upper hand in taking over the real estate. My personal bet was on the trees. Mostly evergreens, they stood tall and dark, their bristling skirts massive and ancient in the flat, gray light. The trailers, by contrast, sandwiched between the icy crusts on their roofs and the rough turmoil of ground-up, dirty snow around them, looked like the remnants of a civilization long on the ropes. (...) He stopped before an oblong metal shack, (...) a mobile home whose only movement was towards disintegration.
- He sat in one of a long line of cheek-by-jowl cubicles, each equipped with a metal desk, two chairs and a computer. It reminded me of someone's pessimistic vision of the future. (...) We sat in opposing plastic padded chairs, like contestants in a game show.
September 2, 2015
Wow! What an incredible first novel. I'd never tried this author. I decided to try it because Three Can Keep a Secret (Joe Gunther #24) was nominated for the 2014 Nero Award. Am I glad I did!
This had a great plot and some incredible action! It was intelligent and had some appealing characters. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to move on to Book #2.
This had a great plot and some incredible action! It was intelligent and had some appealing characters. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to move on to Book #2.
August 26, 2021
Joe Gunther is a police detective in Vermont. The plot concerns an old murder conviction, and a vengeful figure in a ski mask who seems intent on having the case reviewed. This is a long-running series, but this is the first book in the sequence, so is an excellent introduction to the main characters.
The plot is well managed, and a series of intersecting story strands are dealt with cleverly, and brought to a satisfying conclusion. Mayor writes well, and has an ear for a good phrase. I was surprised that one of the US reviewers thought his characters were weak - I found them convincing.
I enjoyed this book. It's not breaking new ground in detective fiction, but it's well written, well edited and a good introduction of an excellent series.
The plot is well managed, and a series of intersecting story strands are dealt with cleverly, and brought to a satisfying conclusion. Mayor writes well, and has an ear for a good phrase. I was surprised that one of the US reviewers thought his characters were weak - I found them convincing.
I enjoyed this book. It's not breaking new ground in detective fiction, but it's well written, well edited and a good introduction of an excellent series.
April 14, 2017
Set in Brattleboro, Vermont, Open Season is the first in Archer Mayor's Joe Gunther series of police procedurals. Gunther is the prototype of the veteran detective: battle-scarred, solitary but not antisocial, and dogged. Gunther's character, perhaps because it's the first in the series, is lightly drawn. The plot wasn't entirely predictable, but it wasn't difficult to piece together how the crime would be solved. I'd be curious to see how and to what extent the locale plays in subsequent novels, so I may follow one or two more in the series.
April 12, 2012
Archer Mayor's police procedural featuring Joe Gunther has a lot going for it, so it took me a while to figure out why it was taking me so long to read it.
Here's what it has: A good, original plot, with some odd twists and turns; a wonderful sense of place in Brattleboro, Vermont; a sympathetic, well-drawn protagonist who narrates in first person with a distinctive voice; a great climax that really does, finally, keep you turning the pages.
After some reflection, I could put my finger on a couple of things that slow the book down. One is that the dialogue is at best prosaic and at worst wooden. There is no wit. The characters plod through their dull lines.
The other thing is that there are too many characters who don't contribute to the plot or add anything else meaningful to the reader. Gunther's love interest, Gail, is hardly even one-dimensional, intermittently there, and often inexplicably absent. The police chief, Brandt, is just plain annoying, fussing around with a pipe (who does that? why bother?) and in general contributing nothing to the novel except distracting the reader and slowing down the pace. A troubled colleague, Kunkle, likewise is really just a distraction, adding nothing of any significance to the plot and not really helping us understand Gunther.
Gunther's close friend and mentor, Frank, is a bit more interesting, but ultimately the reader understands too little of his motives and sees too little of him to feel anything like sympathy, let alone caring for him. Oddly, Gunther's nemesis as he is forced to reopen a three-year murder case -- known as Ski Mask because that's what he wears as he makes it clear to the police they jailed the wrong person -- emerges as a quirky character that in some way both Gunther and the reader actually do care about.
For me, the pluses outweigh the minuses and I can give the book 4 stars, keeping in mind the subjective nature of these ratings. I liked the book for the reasons listed and especially liked the climactic scenes in a driving New England snowstorm. However, having visited Vermont once with Joe Gunther, I couldn't say I'd hurry back for another adventure with him.
Here's what it has: A good, original plot, with some odd twists and turns; a wonderful sense of place in Brattleboro, Vermont; a sympathetic, well-drawn protagonist who narrates in first person with a distinctive voice; a great climax that really does, finally, keep you turning the pages.
After some reflection, I could put my finger on a couple of things that slow the book down. One is that the dialogue is at best prosaic and at worst wooden. There is no wit. The characters plod through their dull lines.
The other thing is that there are too many characters who don't contribute to the plot or add anything else meaningful to the reader. Gunther's love interest, Gail, is hardly even one-dimensional, intermittently there, and often inexplicably absent. The police chief, Brandt, is just plain annoying, fussing around with a pipe (who does that? why bother?) and in general contributing nothing to the novel except distracting the reader and slowing down the pace. A troubled colleague, Kunkle, likewise is really just a distraction, adding nothing of any significance to the plot and not really helping us understand Gunther.
Gunther's close friend and mentor, Frank, is a bit more interesting, but ultimately the reader understands too little of his motives and sees too little of him to feel anything like sympathy, let alone caring for him. Oddly, Gunther's nemesis as he is forced to reopen a three-year murder case -- known as Ski Mask because that's what he wears as he makes it clear to the police they jailed the wrong person -- emerges as a quirky character that in some way both Gunther and the reader actually do care about.
For me, the pluses outweigh the minuses and I can give the book 4 stars, keeping in mind the subjective nature of these ratings. I liked the book for the reasons listed and especially liked the climactic scenes in a driving New England snowstorm. However, having visited Vermont once with Joe Gunther, I couldn't say I'd hurry back for another adventure with him.
July 17, 2021
Excellent debut mystery! Very well written. Kept me guessing to the end. What a twisted story. Not exactly a happy resolution for anyone but sometimes that’s how life plays out. I will definitely read more in this series.
March 29, 2016
This murder mystery starts out with a bang. An old lady kills an intruder with a shotgun, in Brattleboro, Vermont. This type of crime is rare in Brattleboro and then Detective Joe Gunther finds out that it was a setup. More strange crimes happen and they all have one thing in common: All of the victims served on the same jury. Detective Gunther does solve who is orchestrating the crimes, but not before more people die. He must reopen the murder case of the man that the jury convicted. When he does, he finds reason to doubt the guilt of the convicted man.
I liked the author's description of Vermont winter storms:
"Night had fallen halfway into the trip, narrowing our already limited view to a hypnotizing funnel of onrushing snow."
This was an Amazon free book, number 1 in a series. I give it 4 out 5 stars. The plot is believable and the characters are written well.
I liked the author's description of Vermont winter storms:
"Night had fallen halfway into the trip, narrowing our already limited view to a hypnotizing funnel of onrushing snow."
This was an Amazon free book, number 1 in a series. I give it 4 out 5 stars. The plot is believable and the characters are written well.
July 30, 2012
Very satisfying opener to a series featuring Detective Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro Police. An elderly woman shooting a man over a fake dognapping results in Gunther uncovering that they both were members of a jury that convicted a black janitor of a woman�s murder three years ago. A series of dirty tricks by a ski-masked man framing other members of the jury leads him to look both for the correct murderer and the persistent and increasingly dangerous suspect with a grudge. The pressure on good hearted Gunther accelerates as the body count starts to rise, the press begins to compromise the investigation, and the city authorities look for a scapegoat for the original faulty conviction. A great combination of noir bleakness mixed with sweetness and rural charm, a well crafted and suspenseful mystery, and a colorful cast of good guys and bad guys. I�m hooked.
September 14, 2014
Fun to read references to Vermont. The detective Gunther is a great character. Mayor writes a great story. Fun read.
August 20, 2019
When every rock you look under conceals more old, unanswered questions, what do you do? There were a lot of rocks, but I enjoyed the story and recommend the book.
July 2, 2024
I don’t often read thrillers, but Archer Mayor’s 1988 Open Season had enough of a crime mystery woven into its plot to keep me interested, and a sufficient lack of improbable feats such as not to put me off.
Debuting small-town Vermont cop, Joe Gunther, its opening device of murder-jury members targeted by a ruthless Scarlet Pimpernel-like vigilante is immediately engaging; and the narrative develops with elegant simplicity, like the ripples from a stone tossed into a pond.
Determined sleuthing in adverse winter conditions gradually brings Detective Gunther to understand his adversary – a former special forces operative schooled in staying one step ahead of the law … and seemingly out to avenge a miscarriage of justice.
The cozy-minded reader might find sporadic graphic violence and sexual references a little unsettling, though I would be hard-pressed to say these were gratuitous – more a case of c’est la vie, it goes with the territory.
I was intrigued to discover there are 33 Joe Gunther books, spanning the last five decades, the latest published as recently as 2022; and I shall certainly read another.
Debuting small-town Vermont cop, Joe Gunther, its opening device of murder-jury members targeted by a ruthless Scarlet Pimpernel-like vigilante is immediately engaging; and the narrative develops with elegant simplicity, like the ripples from a stone tossed into a pond.
Determined sleuthing in adverse winter conditions gradually brings Detective Gunther to understand his adversary – a former special forces operative schooled in staying one step ahead of the law … and seemingly out to avenge a miscarriage of justice.
The cozy-minded reader might find sporadic graphic violence and sexual references a little unsettling, though I would be hard-pressed to say these were gratuitous – more a case of c’est la vie, it goes with the territory.
I was intrigued to discover there are 33 Joe Gunther books, spanning the last five decades, the latest published as recently as 2022; and I shall certainly read another.
December 28, 2017
Because of my obsession with reading series books in sequence, I waited for months for the library to acquire this first-in-the “Joe Gunther” series. It was worth the wait. Archer Mayor was a new author for me, and he writes about small-town police in Vermont. Such a small town, Brattleboro, Vermont, is experiencing one murder after another. They are not just murders, but several are staged to attract attention. This is an exciting police mystery—somewhat bloody, but keeps you guessing how Lt. Joe Gunther will solve the case. I am anxious to read the rest of Mayor’s twenty-two Gunther novels.
April 17, 2012
Good solid opener for a police series set in Vermont. A little too much detail in the seamier side of things, but good characters and strong setting. Will read another in this series for sure.
November 18, 2012
First in a lengthy series featuring Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, VT police. Nice writing.
March 24, 2021
For a long time I've been looking for a detective series that has the qualities I like in the Bosch novels. Namely police procedural with a good character for the main homicide detective and a plot that reads as a whodunit style mystery. I've tried several with varying degrees of success, but not really checked all those boxes. I stumbled upon these Joe Gunther books by Archer Mayor because they are all included in the Audible plus catalog so they are free with my membership. I tried one of the more recent entries, Bomber's Moon, and it was good enough so I decided to go back to the beginning of the series and try book 1.
Open Season was a really nice surprise and a much better book than Bomber's Moon. The case starts out in a very intriguing way with a string of crimes that are much more than what they first appear to be at face value. The plot gets more layered from there involving a mysterious masked man, a violent murder for which the person in prison may be innocent, and a cover-up conspiracy. It's on the main character of Lt. Joe Gunther to sort it all out. The story is told from his POV only similar to the Bosch novels, and we get to see him walk through every step of the investigation and unravel the multiple threads. The plot is resolved in a way that is satisfying if not perfect in my opinion. What was most surprising is that this book was written in 1988 yet, with some minor details of the forensics not withstanding, this story doesn't really feel that dated at all.
If you like a good detective mystery I think you would like this book, and the entire series seems to available on Audible if you have a subscription.
Open Season was a really nice surprise and a much better book than Bomber's Moon. The case starts out in a very intriguing way with a string of crimes that are much more than what they first appear to be at face value. The plot gets more layered from there involving a mysterious masked man, a violent murder for which the person in prison may be innocent, and a cover-up conspiracy. It's on the main character of Lt. Joe Gunther to sort it all out. The story is told from his POV only similar to the Bosch novels, and we get to see him walk through every step of the investigation and unravel the multiple threads. The plot is resolved in a way that is satisfying if not perfect in my opinion. What was most surprising is that this book was written in 1988 yet, with some minor details of the forensics not withstanding, this story doesn't really feel that dated at all.
If you like a good detective mystery I think you would like this book, and the entire series seems to available on Audible if you have a subscription.
April 12, 2019
Meat and potatoes for the crime fiction/police procedural fan. This book has good character development, an original plot and a great sense of place (Brattleboro, VT.). It was first published in 1988, the first in a long series that I somehow missed up to this point, but I will look forward to more.
January 14, 2018
Liked it very much. My first in the series, and I hope to read them all in order (that will take a while)! Interesting story, some good characters, different environment from the norm. My thanks to JT for the review which got me started. I don’t think I had ever heard of this series, and it has an amazing number of books!
June 29, 2020
Although I had heard the name Archer Mayor, I was unfamiliar with Joe Gunther or this series. I am surprised this series has never been recommended before. I really enjoyed this. Really a 4.5. Solid mystery reads like a current thriller. Hard to believe it is 32 years old. Great main character, supporting characters and setting. I am going to enjoy this series.
January 28, 2021
Mehh, it was so so & I’m not a fan of books set before like 2000 (mid 1980s here).
September 19, 2018
Highly recommend this book and others in the series about Joe Gunther as police officer in Brattleboro, Vermont.
August 3, 2019
I recently came across an article that mentioned Lieutenant Joe Gunther as the protagonist in a long running series and I was interested enough to go check the books out. Liking what I saw led me to putting the first book on my Paperwhite. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story.
I read quite a number of thriller novels and this one made me feel intrigued and interested immediately. Joe Gunther is a likeable character and I appreciate the way he worked with his colleagues in the small Vermont town to figure out what was happening and then how to capture the person causing the trouble. Someone behind the scenes is manipulating a series of incidences with each one being so different from the previous one. Unfortunately the first incident resulted in a person being killed. The connection between the victims came to light slowly so the story was suspenseful with tension building up slowly over the process of investigation.
Open Season is a book that made me feel right at home in Vermont watching Joe look into an old case and working to solve an active, current case. I like the writing style of Archer Mayor and have already put the next two books on my e-reader and look forward to reading them soon.
I read quite a number of thriller novels and this one made me feel intrigued and interested immediately. Joe Gunther is a likeable character and I appreciate the way he worked with his colleagues in the small Vermont town to figure out what was happening and then how to capture the person causing the trouble. Someone behind the scenes is manipulating a series of incidences with each one being so different from the previous one. Unfortunately the first incident resulted in a person being killed. The connection between the victims came to light slowly so the story was suspenseful with tension building up slowly over the process of investigation.
Open Season is a book that made me feel right at home in Vermont watching Joe look into an old case and working to solve an active, current case. I like the writing style of Archer Mayor and have already put the next two books on my e-reader and look forward to reading them soon.
January 31, 2019
That author Archer Mayor’s small-town Vermont Detective Joe Gunther series now numbers at 29 (with no end in sight) obviously speaks to the popularity of these police procedurals. “Open Season” (1988) herein is the debut novel of both the author and the set. An interesting plot surrounding a marauder working his way through the jury members of a three-year-old trial of a murdered woman, with the dubious outcome of a man imprisoned with loose ends galore, was both suspenseful and entertaining. As the previous case must be re-opened, Gunther has ample opportunity to show off his investigation and logic skills; and he seemed a likable leading man during this first reading.
We weren’t as impressed with all the relationships of his law enforcement colleagues – it seemed that internal politics and bickering, with the town officials throwing fuel on the fire, led to a lot of irritating scenes that did little or nothing to enhance the story-line nor endear the support characters to us readers. Driving around on snowy "impassable" roads was a stretch as well. But the apparent success of the set suggests another try, so we shall do so when we get around to it. {3.5}
We weren’t as impressed with all the relationships of his law enforcement colleagues – it seemed that internal politics and bickering, with the town officials throwing fuel on the fire, led to a lot of irritating scenes that did little or nothing to enhance the story-line nor endear the support characters to us readers. Driving around on snowy "impassable" roads was a stretch as well. But the apparent success of the set suggests another try, so we shall do so when we get around to it. {3.5}
May 11, 2012
This was a free download and my first book by this author. I found the plot well crafted, the progression reasonable and the small town politics all too believable.
I would like to have had more connection with the characters. While they weren't stock characters, I found myself wanting to actually like them better than I did.
While this is not a series I will buy to read/keep and re-read, my local library does have several by this author and I liked this book well enough to look for more there.
I would like to have had more connection with the characters. While they weren't stock characters, I found myself wanting to actually like them better than I did.
While this is not a series I will buy to read/keep and re-read, my local library does have several by this author and I liked this book well enough to look for more there.
April 22, 2015
Enjoyed the small-town politics (city management vs. the cops), depth of characterizations, details of setting, sure-footed pacing. Some elements of the plot seemed rather implausible, but that's the nature of thrillers. How have I missed this author? I'd put him in the same rank as Michael Connelly.
September 12, 2015
Good mystery.
Innocent man in jail, Gunther has to prove his innocence. Early 80's, long before the all the advanced blood testing and DNA. But he's been followed by a man also wants to find who the real killer is.
Innocent man in jail, Gunther has to prove his innocence. Early 80's, long before the all the advanced blood testing and DNA. But he's been followed by a man also wants to find who the real killer is.
August 25, 2020
After reading James’ review of this first in the Joe Gunther series I knew it was one I’d enjoy. Indeed, my favorite kind of in between book for when I need a read I can use to escape to another place (Brattleboro, VT) and season (winter), and follow the clues that don’t add up until they do. Joe’s kind of old to debut in a cop series, but at this count there are 28 after this. He’s a little damaged, a little cynical, and nowhere near perfect, but he’s dogged. Here he reopens a supposedly solved murder. Reading this now is timely for the treatment of the one legitimately bitter black man who is serving time for a crime he didn’t commit. Joe is sympathetic, but others certainly aren’t. The crime is a strange one and the digging gets more than a few politicians’ feathers ruffled.
October 25, 2021
First in the series. Decent mystery. Good enough to try another.
November 13, 2017
This was a Goodreads recommendation. Good beginning to a series I will continue with. Thanks Goodreads!
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