Chat [Mass Market Paperback]

Archer Mayor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2008

News travels fast in the small state of Vermont. In this tight-knit society, police officers and investigators proudly maintain a kinship that transcends the boundaries of their jurisdictions. When an unidentified body is found in the peaceful town of Brattleboro, local police and the Vermont Bureau of Investigation both appear at the scene.


But before investigator Joe Gunther can begin to gather evidence of murder, a family emergency sends him to his hometown, where the lives of his mother and brother have suddenly been threatened. Gunther reaches out to a network of police officers who know him only by name and repututation as he attempts to discover the source of this imminent danger.


Meanwhile, his investigative team chases an elusive murderer who has no apparent ties to the victim. In a state that is more like a neighborhood community, secrets are difficult to keep, and it's sometimes impossible to know who can be trusted. Gunther soon finds himself opposing criminals more menacing than any he has ever encountered in order to save those he holds closest to his heart.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Relationships always drive Mayor's plots, but never more so than in this intricate, suspense-filled 18th Joe Gunther novel (after 2006's The Second Mouse). When Gunther's mother and brother are almost killed in a suspicious car accident, he helps Deputy Sheriff Rob Barrows narrow in on a local, lawless family with a grievance against the Gunthers. Meanwhile, the investigation of two similar but seemingly unrelated deaths leads Gunther's colleagues at the Vermont Bureau of Investigation to online chat rooms where older men pick up teen girls. Gunther's former lover, Gail Zigman, makes an appearance, but Lyn Silva, last seen in 2004's The Surrogate Thief, takes center stage as his new love interest. This book takes Gunther all over Vermont, offering occasional breaks from the tension with evocative descriptions of mountains and snow. Though Mayor is considered a regional writer, his books intelligently deal with subjects of national concern, and Gunther's crime-solving skills and personal charisma have broad appeal. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"The writing is strong, with sharp social observations throughout. Gunther grows on you from novel to novel." (Washington Post Book World )

"Mayor's skills are equal to the vigor of his imagination, and we take his word for every twist, every turn, every thunderbolt." (The New Yorker )

HIGH PRAISE FOR MAYOR AND THE JOE GUNTHER SERIES

"Archer Mayor's unassuming voice and down-to-earth style stamp his regional crime novels with a sense of integrity." (The New York Times Book Review )

"Mayor's Joe Gunther novels are among the best cop stories being written today." (Booklist )

"The strength of this durable series has always been its insularity: local settings; sharp small-town characterizations; home-grown police procedures." (Kirkus Reviews )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446196932
• ISBN-13: 978-0446196932
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Archer Mayor is the author of the highly acclaimed, Vermont-based series featuring detective Joe Gunther, which the Chicago Tribune describes as "the best police procedurals being written in America." He is also the 2004 winner of the New England Independent Booksellers Association Award for Best Fiction--the first time a writer of crime literature has been so honored.

Before turning his hand to fiction, Mayor wrote history books, the most notable of which concerned the lumber and oil business in Louisiana from the 1870s to the 1970s. This book was published by the University of Georgia Press back in 1988 and very well received; it has been republished as a trade paperback in 2009.

Mayor--who was brought up in the US, Canada and France--was variously employed as a scholarly editor, a researcher for TIME-LIFE Books, a political advance-man, a theater photographer, a newspaper writer/editor, a lab technician for Paris-Match Magazine in Paris, France, and a medical illustrator. In addition to writing novels and occasional articles, Mayor gives talks and workshops all around the country, including the Bread Loaf Young Writers conference in Middlebury, Vermont, and the Colby College seminar on forensic sciences in Waterville, Maine. In addition, Archer is a death investigator for Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner, a Deputy Sheriff for Windham County, VT, an investigator for the Windham County State's Attorney's office, the publisher of his own backlist, a travel writer for AAA, and he travels the Northeast giving speeches and conducting workshops. He also has 25 years experience as a volunteer firefighter/EMT.

Mayor's critically-acclaimed series of police novels features Lt. Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vermont police department. The books, which have been appearing about once a year since 1988, have been published in five languages (if you count British,) and routinely gather high praise from such sources as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the New Yorker, and many others, often appearing on their "ten best" yearly lists.

Whereas many writers base their books on only interviews and scholarly research, Mayor's novels are based on actual experience in the field. The result adds a depth, detail and veracity to his characters and their tribulations that has led the New York Times to call him "the boss man on procedures".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "I wish I could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner." Hannibal Lector, January 6, 2010

By 

michael a. draper (Guilford, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chat (Mass Market Paperback)

Joe Gunther of the Vermont Special Investigations Unit is investigating the death of two men who don't seem to have anything in common. After researching their history, he learns that they both had been using internet chat rooms. The men possessed child pornography on their computers and Joe and his unit suspect that the men may have been lured to the area by someone seeking retribution for a past sexual attack.

Archer Mayor always adds other investigations to his unit's activities. This attempt at realism seems to indicate an influence on the great Ed McBain, one of the founders of the police procedural.

In "Chat," Joe's brother, Leo, is in a car accident at the start of the story. Leo is with his and Joe's mother. Leo knows cars and tells Joe that it wasn't his fault but it was something in the car. While Leo is in the hospital, Joe and his unit investigate the auto repair shop and find something amiss.

The plot moved along nicely and kept my attention throughout. The author provides a taste of life in Vermont and this is a refreshing and enjoyable addition to the story.

Joe is a terrific protagonist. He's savvy, brave and a good administrator. He also shows his human side in having a new girlfriend and starting a relationship.

The other characters are equally well drawn and interesting. The series never fails to entertain.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Newest Joe Gunther Novels Strikes Close To Home, November 22, 2007

By 

Mel Odom (Moore, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chat (Hardcover)

During the last year, I've become a fan of Archer Mayor's Joe Gunther novels. Set in Vermont, the novels are an intelligent and emotional blend of mystery and slow-boil thriller. When you open one of the Gunther books, you get pulled into a world that is sharply realized and filled with real characters with real histories.

Archer Mayor writes about material he's familiar with. He's a death inspector for the state of Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner, is a deputy sheriff, and has been a fireman and EMT for 25 years. His crime scenes are worked right, and his technology is up-to-date and not somewhere in the ranks of science fiction.

Agent Joe Gunther works for the recently formed Vermont Bureau of Investigation. He's got a military background and a history with the state police. I like Joe a lot because he's the kind of guy I grew up around and still know. They're easy-going but hard-driven, the kind of guys who can talk with you all day and never take their eyes off the prize.

The latest novel, CHAT, brings the reader in close to Joe's family. Although his age is now permanently frozen in his mid-fifties by the author, Joe's been in law enforcement long enough to become something of a legend. He's been married once to a woman who died young of cancer. His family consists of a brother and invalid mother who still share their lives. I loved the way that Mayor introduces his characters and reveals how they relate to each other. Leo and his mother's relationship, and their relationships to Joe, are sparsely portrayed, but entirely believable.

I knew something was going to happen when I started turning pages in the book. Things always do. And when they start, you'd best sit up and start paying attention. Mayor works quickly, and he isn't afraid to juggle several different plot elements and expect you to keep up. When Joe and his mom nearly get killed in the opening chapter, I was keenly aware that I was reading a book that was going to further define Joe Gunther.

CHAT focuses on the threat to Joe's family. An old enemy reaches out of the past to even a score Joe doesn't even know about. It doesn't take Joe long to figure out that Leo's car was sabotaged, ending in a traffic accident that nearly killed him and their mother.

While Joe is digging into that, a naked dead man is found. Then another. In short order, his team is tracking what is evidently a multiple killer, but they have no idea what the motive behind the killings might be.

In the meantime, Joe is still dealing with the fallout from his breakup with longtime lover Gail. But a new woman has moved into town and isn't shy about letting Joe know she's interested in him.

I enjoy reading these books a lot. I always look forward to a lazy weekend I can spend dogging Joe's tracks as he hunts down the bad guys. The prose is light and easy to read, but due to the multi-layered plots, I often find myself reading so quickly to find out what happens next that I miss things and have to go back.

Archer Mayor is a great read, and a fantastic addition to the ranks of mystery sleuths on the shelves. If you haven't read a Joe Gunther novel, feel free to dive into the series anywhere. Even when you find out things about the characters that were revealed in earlier books, it's not really a big deal. You'll still enjoy Mayor's conversational writing and the well-plotted mysteries.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yeah, Joe Gunther is back-solving crimes, October 24, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chat (Hardcover)

It is a picture perfect night when Leo Gunther and his mother leave the movies and head home after a brief ride around the green. Leo, a butcher, lives at home with his mother. However, home is not on the agenda for those two on this night. Leo suddenly loses control and the car goes down an embankment.

At the time of Leo's accident, his brother Joe is a police officer, working for the Vermont Bureau of Investigation, investigating a possible murder. When Joe learns of his brother's accident, he rushes to the hospital to find both his brother and his mother in critical condition. Joe cannot understand what caused the accident and when he begins checking into the facts, he finds that it might be more than just an accident.

The local police agree to help Joe in discovering what really happened to the car and who might have caused the wreck.

This book is several stories in one that are all tied together. Joe has gone his own way while Leo has stayed at home with their mother who is in a wheelchair. Now Joe has to step in and take a stronger role in the family. Joe's ex-girlfriend appears on the scene to be with the family in this emergency but she has moved on and her life is going in a different direction and away from Joe. A new woman suddenly makes an appearance in Joe's life and he has to decide if he is ready for another commitment.

The body that Joe was checking out when his brother's wreck happened is still an open case, yet another body has now been found, and clues indicate the two murders might be connected.

The investigation into Leo's accident uncovers a scheme that might be in part drugs and in another part Internet porn. How can all of these things be connected? It just does not seem possible, but the author manages to draw all the lines together and keep the reader guessing from start to finish.

Chat is a great book that I enjoyed very much.

Armchair Interviews says: The characters were realistic and the story believable.