Open Season [Import] [Hardcover]

Archer Mayor (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Piatkus Books (May 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861888502
• ISBN-13: 978-0861888504
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,402,340 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

45 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sets the Tone for the Gunther Series, July 17, 2008

By 

stoic (Mobile AL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Open Season (Joe Gunther Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Archer Mayor's first Joe Gunther mystery was Open Season. It is indicative of the Gunther novels both in its strengths and (unfortunately) in its weaknesses.

Open Season (and the Gunther novels in particular) are strong in many respects. Mayor can craft an intricate plot that is difficult to unravel. Another great aspect of the Gunther novels is their New England setting; Mayor is one of those writers who makes the setting vivid and realistic.

There are also a few drawbacks to Open Season that Mayor never managed to correct as he continued with the Gunther series. Mayor's characters are weaker than his plots. Unlike his settings, the characters never strike me as wholly real; to be fair, the characters are not one dimensional, but they never entirely come alive, either. Mayor's novels also have a strong undercurrent of political correctness. This is a real problem for a mystery novelist; once you know Mayor's viewpoint, some aspects of his novels become very predictable.

In the end, I would recommend Open Season to those who want to read a mystery with a vivid New England setting. While I would not say that Open Season qualifies as "literary junk food," I would say that it is best for those readers who want simple escapism.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 Stars - Enjoyable but not Memorable, January 12, 2002

By 

JD Schaefer (San Rafael, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Open Season (Joe Gunther Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first in the series about Joe Guther, a police lieutenant in Brattleboro, Vermont. The story does very well in portraying life in Vermont and the politics in a small city in which everyone has to answer to someone.

The character development is well done and the love interest aspect is satisfying. There are a plenty of subplots, maybe too many, but the overall story is inventive without being too complicated. However the various successful developments of solving the mystery do seem to be very conveniently available.

The solution is more of following the dots than putting the pieces of the puzzle together to get the big picture, the way most police solve crimes.

Better than the average crime novel but if you read 1-3 a week, you might have trouble remembering much about the book 2 weeks after finishing it.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Master Artist With Words, May 24, 2001

By 

David A. Naess "howdydave" (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Open Season (Joe Gunther Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

All of Archer Mayor's books have a gripping story line. Although the stories are first class, the pictures drawn with words as the story unfolds are the best that I have ever encountered. The magnificent metaphors can create, in less than one sentence, images that may take other authors pages. Although each book is independent in and of itself, I enjoy reading the stories in sequence. There is a steady progression in character development and interpersonal relationships as we go from story to story.

If you are a mystery fan, I am sure that you will enjoy the entire series as much as I have. If you are a student taking a course in creative writing, I don't think that you will find a better word artist than Archer Mayor.