Sixteenth in Mayor's series about Vermont policeman Joe Gunther.
Seventeen-year-old Bobby Cutts is killed in a barn fire that appears to be arson, one in a string of fires hitting family farms in northwestern Vermont. Gunther's investigation begins with local real estate speculation, and eventually points to the unlikely involvement of the Newark mob.
I think that Mayor is one of our most underrated crime writers; he deserves to be far better known than he is. He's sixteen volumes into this series, and the Gunther novels haven't gotten stale the way some long-running series have. (How long has it been, for instance, since either of the Kellermans wrote a decent book?)
The details of police work feel right, with interesting bits of knowledge -- did you know that potato chips are a commonly used fuel in arson fires? -- and the rural setting is an interesting departure from the urban norm for procedurals. Mayor's cast of regular supporting characters are appealing and distinctive; Willy Kunkle is one of the best such characters in the genre. (Admittedly, Willy only works in small doses; The Sniper's Wife, in which Willy took center stage, was one of the weakest entries in the series.)
As for the mystery in this particular volume, the clues are fairly planted, and the red herrings are appropriately distracting. Another solid book from an overlooked author.
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