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The Second Mouse

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

A legend among Vermont cops, Joe Gunther has solved more local whodunits than a whole squad of detectives. But his latest case takes him and his team off their Brattleboro home turf, forty-two miles west, to chip-on-its-shoulder, blue-collar Bennington.

On the edge of town, Gunther encounters the lifeless body of Michelle Fisher. Her corpse, pale and seemingly at peace, offers him no clues about who she was or how she died. There are no signs of violence, no disorder. Snapshots and postcards show a woman who laughed hard and lived harder. Yet diaries reveal a rootless life marred by depression and drink. Suicide seems a reasonable conclusion, but Gunther suspects foul play. The house is for sale, after all, and Michelle was its only tenant—one who resisted all efforts to have her evicted. The unsavory landlord is a prime suspect but is safely equipped with an impressively air-tight alibi.

To uncover the truth about the fate of this discarded, all-but-forgotten woman, Gunther must follow a confusing trail of half leads and mounting crimes. He draws near to a violent and careless trio of criminals whose leader is hellbent on making the career move of a lifetime—and willing to step on anyone who might get in his way.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from October 1, 2006
      The death of Michelle Fisher strikes Joe Gunther as a little unusual in Mayor's superb 17th novel to feature the Vermont Bureau of Investigation detective (after 2005's St. Alban's Fire). When Joe calls for her autopsy results, he stumbles on a political snarl that threatens both his investigation and his relationship with chief medical examiner Beverly Hillstrom. Meanwhile, small-time criminal Mel Martin is intent on becoming a big-time criminal with the help of his wife, Nancy, and their friend Ellis Robbinson; for their part, Ellis and Nancy are increasingly disenchanted with Mel and enchanted by each other. Spinning out parallel story-lines and then weaving the strands together with deft precision, Mayor crafts not one but several mysteries and gives nothing away until the very last moment. While there's clearly a lot of history-most notably the recent end of Joe's 20-year romance with politician Gail Zigman, frequently mentioned despite its near-irrelevance to this particular plot-it's entirely accessible to new readers.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Joe Gunther, a Vermont Bureau of Investigation field force commander, is investigating the seemingly natural death of Michelle Fisher and the mysterious disappearance of a petty thief, as well as the activities of a fascist ex-biker terrorist and a plot to steal M-16 rifles from the National Armory. Christopher Graybill characterizes Gunther as an experienced investigator who knits together these divergent cases to methodically solve them. This police procedural is meticulously plotted, and the secondary characters are unforgettable. The villains are led by a bully portrayed by Graybill with such scorn and derision that his verbal jabs fall just short of actual punches. It's a treat to the ears when the bully meets his comeuppance. K.A.T. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

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  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

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  • English

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