The Company She Kept - (Joe Gunther) by Archer Mayor (Paperback)

About the Book

"During the height of a particularly brutal Vermont winter, one morning a woman's body is found hanging high above the interstate. The woman, found with the word "dyke" carved on her chest is quickly determined to be the victim of a brutal murder. That alone is enough to bring in Joe Gunther and his VBI (Vermont Bureau of Investigation) team. But when the victim is identified not only as a state senator, bus as an intimate friend of the governor's, it unleashes a publicity maelstrom that makes the investigation makes a difficult investigation more challenging. While the anti-lesbian message is an obvious feint meant to mislead investigators, it does reveal that the governor is gay, and forces her to publicly acknowledge that fact. In the meantime, while the publicity rages on to even greater heights, the police begin to focus intensely on the dead senator's life. One thing they uncover is that she had a fondness for recreational marijuana. In Vermont, however, neither lesbianism nor marijuana use are the stuff of murder. It's up to Gunther and his team to cut through this particular stack of weed to find out not just who, but why?"--]cProvided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

During the height of a harsh Vermont winter, the body of a woman is found hanging from the steel-mesh retaining net lining the cliffs along the interstate. She was brutally murdered, with the word "dyke" carved into her chest. She was also a state senator and best friend and ally of the current governor, Gail Zigman. At Zigman's personal request, Joe Gunther and his Vermont Bureau of Investigation team agree to help the Vermont State Police in their investigation before the victim's high profile and powerful friends create the inevitable publicity maelstrom.

Raffner was indeed a lesbian, and the word carved into her chest might be evidence of a hate crime, or it might be a feint designed to confuse and mislead investigators. But the question remains-what was she involved with, who wanted her dead, and what company was she keeping? What Gunther and his team discover during their initial investigation isn't the stuff of a simple murder. Someone killed a prominent figure and fabricated an elaborate scene for a purpose.

And this might only be the beginning...in Archer Mayor's The Company She Kept.

Review Quotes

"Mayor does a good job dramatizing the political and cultural conflicts, but it's the special push-the-envelope talents of Gunther and his team that make this series so enjoyable." - Publishers Weekly

''Another fine entry in a series that has been engaging crime devotees for more than a quarter century.'' - Booklist

"Mayor does for Vermont what Tony Hillerman does for Arizona, showing readers the mixed cultures of a remote place and how its harsh yet glorious environment influences their lives - and crimes." - New York Journal of Books

About the Author

ARCHER MAYOR, in addition to writing the New York Times bestselling Joe Gunther series, is a death investigator for the state medical examiner, and has twenty-five years of experience as a firefighter/EMT. He lives near Brattleboro, Vermont.