The Catch: A Joe Gunther Novel (Joe Gunther Mysteries)

Joe Gunther, a Vermont cop for most of his adult life and now the head of the VBI (Vermont Bureau of Investigation) gets the call that every law enforcement person hates and every friend and family member of a policeman fears -- a cop has been shot and killed. A deputy sheriff was shot to death during a routine traffic stop on a dark country road. From what can been seen on the cruiser's tape recorder of the killers, it is believed that they were a couple of Boston-based drug runners who had been stopped by the deputy on their way from Canada down to Boston. Which is what brings Gunther and his team to the investigation - an attempt to shut down the major drug running operation. Specially that of one Alan Budney, disaffected son of a lobsterman, now a drug kingpin, who uses the closed, clannish lobster fishing community and his extended family in particular, to move drugs along the New England coast

“the Catch is As Authentic As It Gets.”—the New York Times Book Review

joe Gunther, A Policeman For Most Of His Adult Life, Gets The Call That Every Cop Hates: A Fellow Officer Has Been Killed In The Line Of Duty. During What Appears To Have Been A Routine Traffic Stop On A Dark Country Vermont Road, A Deputy Sheriff Was Shot To Death. From What Can Be Seen On The Cruiser’s Video Recorder, The Killers Appear To Be A Couple Of Boston-based Drug Runners.

“superior…will Leave Fans Feeling Fully Satisfied.”—publishers Weekly

gunther And His Vermont Bureau Of Investigation Are Brought In To Identify The Killers—and Track Them Down Up And Down The Northeast Shoreline. Meanwhile, Alan Budney, The Disaffected Son Of A Maine Lobsterman, Is A Man With Big Ambitions—to Usurp And Replace The State’s Primary Drug Kingpin, A Plan That Will Inevitably Place Him On A Dangerous Collision Course With Gunther’s Investigation…

“mayor’s Skills Are Equal To The Vigor Of His Imagination, And We Take His Word For Every Twist, Every Turn, Every Thunderbolt.”

—new Yorker

the New York Times - Marilyn Stasio

archer Mayor Doesn't Do Quaint. He Might Use Poetic Imagery To Describe The Austere Beauty Of New England's Rugged Mountains And Snowbound Villages, But As Far As Their Crime Content Is Concerned, His Police Procedurals Are About As Authentic As It Gets.

Joe Gunther, a Vermont cop for most of his adult life and now the head of the VBI (Vermont Bureau of Investigation) gets the call that every law enforcement person hates and every friend and family member of a policeman fears--a cop has been shot and killed. A deputy sheriff was shot to death during a routine traffic stop on a dark country road. From what can been seen on the cruiser's tape recorder of the killers, it is believed that they were a couple of Boston-based drug runners who had been stopped by the deputy on their way from Canada down to Boston. Which is what brings Gunther and his team to the investigation--an attempt to shut down the major drug running operation. Specially that of one Alan Budney, disaffected son of a lobsterman, now a drug kingpin, who uses the closed, clannish lobster fishing community and his extended family in particular, to move drugs along the New England coast.--Publisher description When a deputy sheriff is killed during a routine traffic stop and the murder is preserved on the cruiser's videotape recording, Joe Gunther, now head of the Vermont Bureau of Investigation, is called in to find the killers