Scent of Evil: A Joe Gunther Mystery Novel (Joe Gunther Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Archer Mayor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1992 | Series: Joe Gunther Mysteries (Book 3)

On the hottest day in Vermont history, a highway crew uncovers a severed hand belonging to the very dead Charlie Jardine, a discovery that brings Lt. Joe Gunther onto the case. 12,500 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Introspective and deliberate in his methods, Lt. Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vt., police is a reliable since they're practically synonyms focal point in a mystery that includes graphic emergency medical scenes, adrenalin-producing car chases and lots of cat-and-mouse suspense. After the body of Charlie Jardine, a local stockbroker with a sleazy reputation, is found buried in an embankment near a busy street, Patrolman John Woll, whose wife was seeing the victim, becomes the prime suspect. Gunther isn't convinced that Woll is guilty, however, and his doubts grow stronger when small-time drug dealer Milly Crawford is shot dead before Gunther can get a warrant to search his place for a tie-in with drug-user Jardine. Gunther suspects and then locates a bug in his office, and so must trace its source in the midst of the murder investigation's demands. With enough twists and turns to keep the reader on chair's edge, Mayor's ( Borderline ) action-packed tale includes interesting local history as seen by Gunther, an observant, appealing guide. Author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

An honorable failure in which the author's forensic expertise, plain-speaking, and love of Vermont don't quite compensate for a plot that falls apart three quarters of the way through. Brattleboro's Lt. Joe Gunther (Borderlines; Open Season) must decide whether all the clues leading to alcoholic cop John Woll as the murderer of Johnny-come-lately Wall Street investor Charlie Jardine are real or a setup--and if he didn't kill him, who did? To complicate matters, there's an information leak in the police department; the media is making a three-ring circus of the case; and several more are killed before Gunther can check out their ties to Jardine, whose chief mourner seems to be Woll's wife. Shoot- outs, secret meetings, and a police stakeout in the high school come into play before Gunther, several steps behind the reader, can lock up the case. The most vivid writing details the collapse of a heart wall during emergency bullet-removal, and Mayor's strength remains his lucid explanations of high-tech forensics. But neither can carry a story with an all-too-identifiable villain and flimsy clues. A miss, then, but still an author to be reckoned with. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 360 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press; 1st edition (June 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892964715
• ISBN-13: 978-0892964710
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,520,566 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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A complex, satisfying mystery, July 1, 2001

By 

Old Fisherman "Jim" (Orange, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scent of Evil (Joe Gunther Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Charlie Jardine is found buried in a shallow grave, right in the middle of Brattleboro. It comes to light that Jardine, a young stockbroker had a penchant for drugs and sex and he was even carrying on an affair with one of the Brattleboro cop's wives. However, as Gunther gets more deeply into the case he's frustrated by the killer seemingly being able to out-think him no matter what move he makes. Did the Brattleboro cop kill Jardine in a fit of jealousy? If he did, who killed the Brattleboro cop?

Good, convoluted plot. Mayor once again delivers with a well thought out mystery that leaves you guessing right until the end. This mystery has plenty of sub-plots and red herrings and I doubt you'll guess the killer's identity before Mr. Mayor wants you to. All in all another good entry into the Gunther series and I recommend it.

4 of 4 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
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This review is from: Scent of Evil (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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner in the Joe Gunther series, February 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Scent of Evil (Joe Gunther Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Archer Mayor is one of America's best kept secrets. His Joe Gunther series receives top reviews from publications across the nation and Scent of Evil maintains the fast-paced, high quality reputation we've come to expect from Mayor's mysteries.