Tucker Peak [Mass Market Paperback]

Archer Mayor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

An overworked sheriff and a string of condo burglaries at a luxurious ski resort have Lt. Joe Gunther and the newly-minted Vermont Bureau of Investigation digging deep for clues. But it doesnt take long for Joe to find the most likely thief missingand his girlfriend dead. As the complications mount, from drug dealing to environmental terrorism to attempted murder, Joe and his team go undercover to infiltrate the closed society of a one-company town, populated by bored millionaires and supported by a small legion of resort employees, not all of whom are what they seem.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 12th book in Mayor's series featuring Vermont cop Joe Gunther (after 2000's The Marble Mask) is the best yet, filled with his usual strong characters, evocative settings, well-researched backgrounds and polished writing. Now the agent-in-charge in Brattleboro for the newly formed (and fictitious) Vermont Bureau of Investigation, Gunther looks into a string of condo burglaries at Tucker Peak, a local ski resort. In tracing a stolen watch to Marty Gagnon, an elusive small-time thief, Gunther's detectives discover someone else is looking for Gagnon, too, threatening and killing his friends. To find the connection between Gagnon and troubled Tucker Peak, Gunther and VBI detective Sammie Martens go undercover. The owners are seeking investors for upgrading and expansion, while an environmental group, Tucker Protection League, is protesting their operations (and suspected of sabotaging ski equipment). Gunther and his "inside man," ski instructor Richie Lane, find themselves in danger because of something or someone they saw, as hints of financial mishandling within TPL surface. The book's beauty lies in how smoothly Mayor incorporates these disparate elements into a coherent and suspenseful plot, with some of the strands winding back around each other. And the longtime relationship between Gunther and his lover, Gail Zigman and the unlikely affair between Sammie and her misanthropic colleague, Willie Kunkle reach firmer ground. Often labeled a "regional" writer, Mayor, with his intelligent plots, wit, relaxed style and understanding of human relationships, deserves wider recognition. (Nov. 12)Forecast: Print advertising in major media, an author tour to New York and Washington, D.C., and New England publicity could help make this Mayor's breakout book.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

A slew of burglaries and accidents at a ski resort in southern Vermont force the local sheriff to bring in Joe Gunther and his team from the Vermont Bureau of Investigation (VBI). This 12th Gunther mystery by Mayer (now a Vermont constable) again vividly portrays the hardscrabble life of southern Vermont, with its ambivalence toward the ski industry that sustains much of the economy and its dependence on snow. The various plot lines, though clever, are perhaps less fascinating than the relationships among the VBI team particularly the brutally frank and cynical Willy Kunkle and tough, young femme fatale Fammie Martens as well as Mayer's social commentary. For Mayer fans and mystery collections. Francine Fialkoff, "Library Journal"
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Reprint edition (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446612081
• ISBN-13: 978-0446612081
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #552,595 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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Archer Mayor's Best so far., October 30, 2001

By 

Andrew (Vermont) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tucker Peak (Hardcover)

I have been reading the Joe Gunther books ever since I started Ragman's Memory, and have read all of the books in the series. Being from Vermont, I can relate to the location that the books are featured in. I have also had the liberty of meeting Archer Mayor at a signing.
Tucker Peak is the latest book in his Joe Gunther series, set at a fictional Ski resort in southern Vermont. There, a series of robberies and crime have occured, bringing Joe and his southern VT VBI team into the picture. They begin with a simple robbery case, and end up with a homoside one, reaveling that there is much more to the book than what meets the eye. Even from the last portion of the book, Mayor gives no indication of who is guilty and who is innocent.
Mayor sets the setting, characters and plot beautifully, capturing the image that is just so close to reality that some authors struggle with. Because he is also a Vermonter, he has the chance to research for his books easily.
He sets Tucker Peak very well, exposing the 'true' Vermont. Tucker Peak is a fictional ski resort, but it is real enough so that I can invision skiing down it's slopes. The towns, roads, cities and area are all familier to me, and that makes the book so much better.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying Puzzle, November 5, 2001

By 

G. Passantino (Costa Mesa, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tucker Peak (Hardcover)

Archer Mayor is like a master artistic puzzle builder. He takes a little bit here, a little bit there, weaves this into that, and what starts out as a seemingly straightforward and relatively innocuous (if crime can be innocuous) crime ends up being a complex labyrinth of events, motives, characters, and decisions that lead inexorably toward the climax and resolution. A mark of a good mystery writer is that the reader is left wondering almost until the last page, but when the answer comes, the reader says, "Of course, it fits perfectly! I should have seen that!" Mayor is one of the best at accomplishing this difficult objective. This skill also lends a sense of reality to his stories that few other mystery writers attain. That is, the complexity of his work shows how much each of us, our lives, our work, our unthinking reactions are intertwined with others - how, for example, in this story, a harmless ad for a watch on E-bay leads to the destruction of human life and paradoxically allows series regulars Kunkle and Sammie discover their need for each other. Tucker Peak is not for mystery readers who want a simple story unfettered by reality solved in 22 minutes (not counting commercials). It is an immensely satisfying read for those who not only want to escape the banality of daily life for a few hours of fiction-more-real-than-real, but who appreciate an intellectual and emotional challenge in the process.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Series: Tucker Peak by Archer Mayor, January 14, 2004

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tucker Peak (Hardcover)

The Vermont resort area of Tucker Peak is the setting used by Archer Mayor in this installment of his long running and enjoyable series featuring Joe Gunther. Tucker Peak is typical Vermont. For natives it is a fun place to work and a place to party all night. To outsiders, it seems a little too much on the rustic side and needs work. But the economies of places like Tucker Peak are changing, just like almost everything in life, and the owners think they have a new plan to rev up the resort and cash in. But their plan is being stopped by a group of radical environmentalists that want the resort to remain the way it has been and not create a further strain on the environment.

Joe Gunther now heads the newly created Vermont Bureau of Investigation and for once, his personal life is relatively stable. This allows Archer Mayor to focus more on the story and less on character development as Joe Gunther and his team becomes embroiled in theft, murder and corporate politics on the mountain.

Initially Joe and his team are called in by the local sheriff, Snuffy Dawson. Sheriff Dawson has his hand full with the daily protests of the environmental group. In addition, there has been a string of home burglaries with the latest involving a VIP by the name of William Manning. Along with his abrasive and condescending personality, Mr. Manning has the clout to get the governor personally involved. Mr. Manning believes that one of the sheriff's deputies who happens to moonlight for a second income as security on the mountain is in on the robbery and he does not want the local Sheriff's department involved in investigating the case. While Sheriff Dawson resents the implication that the deputy can't do the job or that he can't solve the robbery, he is understaffed and needs all the help he can get.

Joe agrees and takes Willy Kunkle out to meet Mr. Manning. Before too long, they see what kind of arrogant human being Mr. Manning is and become interested in the case. Soon, the trail will lead to more burglaries and death on the mountain, while the radical environmental group begins to sabotage the resort. The action comes fast and furious rising to a very strong conclusion, as the case breaks open during a blizzard on the mountain.

This is a very enjoyable book and Mr. Mayor has brought back all the characters from earlier in the series. Some old events are rehashed and psychological issues are dealt with, so if you have not had the pleasure of reading earlier books in this series, I would suggest you do so, before reading this work. While the action is considerable, there is little psychological development of the characters in this novel. They read like old friends who have been through a lot and while they are working, for once their personal lives are relatively stable. No doubt, emotional turmoil is coming, but after the last several novels, it is very nice to see these characters in a more action oriented environment with less personal strain.