Archer Mayor's Blog, page 4

BURY THE LEAD — coming in September.

Creeping closer to a milestone – book #30!
But this year brings book #29 . . .

 

A murderer’s confession is in doubt.
Grocery distribution is in jeopardy.
Family complexities abound.

 

Personal appearances start in September. Check out the Events page for Archer’s schedule.

 

Mystery Fanfare!

29 books in a single series? Ain’t ya running out of ideas? Ain’t ya getting bored? Ain’t ya tired of hangin’ with the same old characters?

Nope.

Those’re questions I sometimes get at signings and author events, but in fact, I’m no more tired of my writing than I am of leading my life, keeping company with my family and friends, or waking up every morning and dealing with life’s (occasionally) gentle chaos.

And the comparison is apt.

The Joe Gunther series may have begun as a means to an end: a job writing books told with compassion, skill, and care, in the effort to become a professional, full-time writer. Over time, though, they’ve become an expression of my discoveries about human nature, a way to sort through and share a few of the foibles and complexities we humans all think are ours alone (and aren’t,) indulge in the English language as a painter does with colors, and have some fun along the way.

There are a lot of mysteries out there featuring dead guys, bad guys, good guys, and car chases. Mine do all that—if you allow the word “guys” to stand for all genders.

But what I’ve found most compelling over time—and what I hope infuses my series with freshness and a sense of reality—is that the series is as much about such “guys” as are a newspaper’s daily articles about everyday life.

That’s why I’m not running out of steam or groping for new ideas. I write about real places, real problems, and composites of real people. And my plots are rarely that far removed from what occurs across the country on a regular basis. Women killing each other because their daughters are competing for a cheerleading squad? Men shooting each other over a parking place? We are quite a species, and that’s old news!

So there’s the true spinal cord of the series: the reason they’re more why-dun-its than who-dun-its. But what about those car chases, which I’ll expand to include all the gizmos that’ve become a feature of modern fiction? DNA, electronics, money manipulations, guns, forensic science, and the like? I LOVE poking my nose into that stuff—especially the things I know little about.

The latest book is entitled, TRACE. It’s got a lot going on—actually three separate investigations being conducted simultaneously. But in its midst, it has a scene where the police are tracking an armed fugitive at night using a rotation of dog teams.

Ever wonder how they do that? REALLY do that? I did. All those TV shows and movies, with the dogs in the background and some breathless person saying, “The dogs got a scent, Sarge!”

But how?

So I reached out to a pal of mine with forty years experience running scent dogs for the police. He introduced me to Brio, his own dog, and we went out on the job. I’m still a cop, if semi-retired, so access was pretty simple. But the experience? Wow! I wrote an eleven-page scene in which the above mentioned search is launched and runs to its successful conclusion, and then I sent it to Chris, my dog handler pal, for editing. “The dog’s nose would be up at this point in the search,” he would write back. Or, “By now, she (the handler) would’ve taken him off the leash.” “Don’t use that flashlight then—ruins night vision,” was another, and, “Protect your dog! It knows its job, but it’ll sacrifice its life if you let it.”

Cool stuff. Interesting stuff. Stuff readers love, it turns out.

Am I about to run out of gas? Not hardly. Nor am I going to get tired of holding hands with my wife, stepping into the woodworking shop for a project, or riding to the store on my motorcycle. The advertisement said, “Life’s a mess. Clean it up?”

Or write about it, learn from it, and enjoy!

Mystery Fanfare!

28 books in a single series? Ain’t ya running out of ideas? Ain’t ya getting bored? Ain’t ya tired of hangin’ with the same old characters?

Nope.

Those’re questions I sometimes get at signings and author events, but in fact, I’m no more tired of my writing than I am of leading my life, keeping company with my family and friends, or waking up every morning and dealing with life’s (occasionally) gentle chaos.

And the comparison is apt.

The Joe Gunther series may have begun as a means to an end: a job writing books told with compassion, skill, and care, in the effort to become a professional, full-time writer. Over time, though, they’ve become an expression of my discoveries about human nature, a way to sort through and share a few of the foibles and complexities we humans all think are ours alone (and aren’t,) indulge in the English language as a painter does with colors, and have some fun along the way.

There are a lot of mysteries out there featuring dead guys, bad guys, good guys, and car chases. Mine do all that—if you allow the word “guys” to stand for all genders.

But what I’ve found most compelling over time—and what I hope infuses my series with freshness and a sense of reality—is that the series is as much about such “guys” as are a newspaper’s daily articles about everyday life.

That’s why I’m not running out of steam or groping for new ideas. I write about real places, real problems, and composites of real people. And my plots are rarely that far removed from what occurs across the country on a regular basis. Women killing each other because their daughters are competing for a cheerleading squad? Men shooting each other over a parking place? We are quite a species, and that’s old news!

So there’s the true spinal cord of the series: the reason they’re more why-dun-its than who-dun-its. But what about those car chases, which I’ll expand to include all the gizmos that’ve become a feature of modern fiction? DNA, electronics, money manipulations, guns, forensic science, and the like? I LOVE poking my nose into that stuff—especially the things I know little about.

The latest book is entitled, TRACE. It’s got a lot going on—actually three separate investigations being conducted simultaneously. But in its midst, it has a scene where the police are tracking an armed fugitive at night using a rotation of dog teams.

Ever wonder how they do that? REALLY do that? I did. All those TV shows and movies, with the dogs in the background and some breathless person saying, “The dogs got a scent, Sarge!”

But how?

So I reached out to a pal of mine with forty years experience running scent dogs for the police. He introduced me to Brio, his own dog, and we went out on the job. I’m still a cop, if semi-retired, so access was pretty simple. But the experience? Wow! I wrote an eleven-page scene in which the above mentioned search is launched and runs to its successful conclusion, and then I sent it to Chris, my dog handler pal, for editing. “The dog’s nose would be up at this point in the search,” he would write back. Or, “By now, she (the handler) would’ve taken him off the leash.” “Don’t use that flashlight then—ruins night vision,” was another, and, “Protect your dog! It knows its job, but it’ll sacrifice its life if you let it.”

Cool stuff. Interesting stuff. Stuff readers love, it turns out.

Am I about to run out of gas? Not hardly. Nor am I going to get tired of holding hands with my wife, stepping into the woodworking shop for a project, or riding to the store on my motorcycle. The advertisement said, “Life’s a mess. Clean it up?”

Or write about it, learn from it, and enjoy!

Joe Gunther #28 – TRACE – is now in stores!

The Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI) has been pulled onto three cases at the same time; meanwhile, VBI head Joe Gunther has to take time off to care for his ailing mother. Click here for the full excerpt and buy my book links.

Trace (2017)

Buy The Book

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound



The Plot

The Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI) has been pulled onto three cases at the same time; meanwhile, VBI head Joe Gunther has to take time off to care for his ailing mother.

Those cases are now in the hands of the individual investigators. Sammie Martens is assigned a murder case. The victim is a young woman, the roommate of the daughter of Medical Examiner Beverly Hillstrom. A recent transplant from Albany, New York, Sammie must find out what put a hit man on the trail of this seemingly innocent young woman.

Lester Spinney takes over a famous cold case, a double murder where a state trooper and a motorist were killed in an exchange of gunfire. Or so it has seemed for years. When Lester is told that the motorist’s fingerprints were planted on the gun he’s supposed to have fired, it opens the question—who really killed the state trooper?

Willy Kunkle’s case starts with a child’s discovery of three teeth on a railroad track, leading eventually to a case of possible sabotage against critical military equipment.

In cases that lead the team all over Vermont and nearby, Archer Mayor once again shows why his novels featuring Joe Gunther and the VBI team are among the finest crime fiction today.

Trace

Buy The Book

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound



The Plot

The Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI) has been pulled onto three cases at the same time; meanwhile, VBI head Joe Gunther has to take time off to care for his ailing mother.

Those cases are now in the hands of the individual investigators. Sammie Martens is assigned a murder case. The victim is a young woman, the roommate of the daughter of Medical Examiner Beverly Hillstrom. A recent transplant from Albany, New York, Sammie must find out what put a hit man on the trail of this seemingly innocent young woman.

Lester Spinney takes over a famous cold case, a double murder where a state trooper and a motorist were killed in an exchange of gunfire. Or so it has seemed for years. When Lester is told that the motorist’s fingerprints were planted on the gun he’s supposed to have fired, it opens the question—who really killed the state trooper?

Willy Kunkle’s case starts with a child’s discovery of three teeth on a railroad track, leading eventually to a case of possible sabotage against critical military equipment.

In cases that lead the team all over Vermont and nearby, Archer Mayor once again shows why his novels featuring Joe Gunther and the VBI team are among the finest crime fiction today.

Book #28 TRACE — now in stores!

“Trace” – Archer’s 28th — yes 28th! — Joe Gunther mystery is now in stores.  Here’s a slight teaser about the plot… we don’t want to give too much away:

The Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI) has been pulled onto three cases at the same time. However, VBI head Joe Gunther has to take time off to care for his ailing mother, so those cases are now in the hands of the individual investigators.

So head over to your favorite local bookstore. Or find it online.  And thanks for being a loyal Archer follower! Click here for the full excerpt and buy my book links.

Book #28 will be in stores September 26, 2017!

“Trace” – Archer’s 28th — yes 28th! — Joe Gunther mystery will be in stores on September 26, 2017.  Here’s just a slight teaser about the plot… we don’t want to give too much away:

The Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI) has been pulled onto three cases at the same time. However, VBI head Joe Gunther has to take time off to care for his ailing mother, so those cases are now in the hands of the individual investigators.

So mark your calendar, or go ahead and pre-order anytime from your favorite independent bookstore.  And thanks for being a loyal Archer follower! Click here for the full excerpt and buy my book links.

Book 28 will be in stores September 26, 2017!

“Trace” – Archer’s 28th — yes 28th! — Joe Gunther mystery will be in stores on September 26, 2017.  Here’s just a slight teaser about the plot… we don’t want to give too much away:

The Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI) has been pulled onto three cases at the same time. However, VBI head Joe Gunther has to take time off to care for his ailing mother, so those cases are now in the hands of the individual investigators.

So mark your calendar, or go ahead and pre-order anytime from your favorite independent bookstore.  And thanks for being a loyal Archer follower!

Snow Blind

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The Plot

Snow Blind is a short story in the Joe Gunther mystery series, by New York Times bestselling author Archer Mayor. A classic Vermont snowstorm, a confused young man, and of course, a crime.