Enjoyed the usual plot line(s) re: investigation of 1) death of a young not-so-good woman 2) business sabotage in a family owned grocery wholesaler, and 3) , search for connection between #1 & #2. And by the way, Willy's injured arm causes serious problems and is finally surgically relieved of pain.
Then all is magically solved in the final 20 pages, with huge gaps in continuity. Really like Archer Mayor, but this one is disquieting because of plot line jumps that are not expected or explained. Joe seems much diffeRent and is moving in a older, quieter path. ( )

Early summer in Vermont should be a time of beauty. For the most part it is all across the state including the area that surrounds the local ski resort at Bromley Mountain. The natural landscape beauty is marred by the body of a young woman as Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel by Archer Mayor begins.

The murder, and that is exactly what it was and there is no doubt, will be handled by the Vermont Bureau of Investigation. In particular, the team led by Joe Gunther. A team that works well together despite, and quite possibly because of, their differences. It does not take Joe and his team long to identify a suspect by the name of Mick Durocher. Once in custody, he quickly confesses to killing and disposing of the body in the dead of night. While he is obviously guilty of dumping her, did he actually do it?

And what is his connection if any, to the recent attacks against the operations of a local business owner? And what the heck is up with Willy Kunkle who seems increasingly strange?

These questions and many more are explored and ultimately answered in the latest installment of this ongoing very good series. As happens again in this book, this is less a series about Joe Gunther and more of a series about the ensemble cast. As such readers are again treated to multiple points of view detailing the personal and professional lives of the characters as they do their jobs. As in real life, these characters are not robots and work goes home with them.

Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel also illustrates a more reflective Joe Gunther who has some lifestyle choices to make going forward. At the same time he seems to have an appreciation of all he has accomplished. The reader is left with the impression that this is one of those “fork in the road” type books. The kind where the book bridges the gap between what was and what is coming down the pipeline regarding a major change in the series. That impression could also be your humble reviewer intermingling his own personal life with things in the book that are not there as the reviewer seeks his own purpose going forward.

A series that began long ago with Open Season continues strongly with Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel and is very much recommended.

Bury The Lead: A Joe Gunther Novel
Archer Mayor
http://archermayor.com/
Minotaur Books
https://us.macmillan.com/minotaurbooks/
September 2018
ISBN# 978-1-250-11328-3
Hardback (also available in eBook format)
292 Pages
$27.99

Material supplied by the good people of the Dallas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2018 ( )

As nice as it is to revisit family each year in Archer Mayor's Joe Gunther sereis, sometimes the gathering is not inspirational, as is the case with Bury the Lead (or lede, in newspaper terms, which really has very little to do with the story). Gunther and group is involved in a murder in which a man is seen driving up a mounting with something resembling a body in the back and driving down without it. It appears to be an open and shut case, but of course, that's not true.

At the same time there have been mysterious sabotage like occurrences as the local grocery distributor, one of them leading to the death of a truck driver.

While all of this is going on, Willie and Sam are battling their own personal issues while Joe and Beverly are getting closer.

Bury the Lead is a hum drum, average, run of the mill mystery. In my humble opinion, Mayor should sidelime them for a bit and try creating something new and different. He's too much in his comfort zone and after 20 plus episodes in as many years, it's time to give them a siesta. Sorry Archer...it's just my opinion. I've read all your books, so you know I'm a fan. ( )

Oh, another great read from Archer Mayor, featuring Joe Gunther and the Vermont Bureau of Investigation team. It opens with an easy case, the discovery of a young woman's body, the disposal of it partially on a security camera and a confession. But did he really do it?

The second case, in hindsight is described as being a Shakespearean tragedy. A family owned wholesale grocery supply business comes under attack. These escalate from small fires to multiple deaths.

Against the serious police work the lives of the VBI staff, Sammie and Willy, Lester and Sue and Joe and his developing relationship with Beverley, the Chief Medical Examiner, play out. Mayor is so good with both plot and character development.

4 1/2
Reviewed October 3/2018 ( )