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The Surrogate Thief (2004)

by Archer Mayor

Series: Joe Gunther (15)

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1852148,959 (3.97)4
Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

But while usually successful in his fight for the town's future, Gunther hasn't always come out on top... Thirty years earlier store owner Klaus Ober-feldt was robbed and beaten senseless. When Klaus died six months later, a case of assault and battery became first degree murder. The guilty man eventually appeared to be a well-known, small-time crook, but enough time had elapsed for him to vanish. Gunther, distracted by his wife's losing struggle with cancer in the same hospital where Klaus was slipping from life, did something that would plague him for the rest of his career: He let the case go cold, burying it in the past along with his private sorrows. Now serendipitously reopened, the Ober-feldt investigation forces Gunther to revisit ancient history and open old wounds. Torn between righting the past and confronting his demons, the veteran cop faces the most personal and dangerous case of his career. For somewhere on the idyllic Brattleboro streets stalks a long-lost murderer who never quite disappeared-and with Joe's renewed interest, now has good reason to kill again...

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Showing 2 of 2
When Joe has reason to open up an old case, it brings back painful memories of the death of his wife. At the same time, his girlfriend Gail is running for state senate, so isn't as available for support as might be helpful. ( )
  sleahey | Mar 3, 2015 |
Another satisfying Joe Gunther novel. Thirty years ago Joe caught a case. A shop owner was beaten and some money stolen. He went into a coma and died six months later. A switchblade was left at the scene and its owner became the prime suspect. However he vanished, never to resurface.

At the same time, Gunther's wife Ellen was dying of cancer. After her death, Joe took up the search again, to no avail.

It is current day and a gun is used in a domestic dispute. Blood traces on the gun point to the hold up thirty years prior. According to ballistics, the gun was unused in the interim. Joe is now on the case again. And people associated with the original case start dying.

There's a lot going on in this book. Joe's feelings for Ellen and his sense of loss resurface as Gail runs for state senate and their time together dwindles. Mayor's writing is up to his high standards and the plot moves along steadily. The Joe Gunther series is one to read from the first book to the last. ( )
  EdGoldberg | Feb 12, 2010 |
Showing 2 of 2
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Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

But while usually successful in his fight for the town's future, Gunther hasn't always come out on top... Thirty years earlier store owner Klaus Ober-feldt was robbed and beaten senseless. When Klaus died six months later, a case of assault and battery became first degree murder. The guilty man eventually appeared to be a well-known, small-time crook, but enough time had elapsed for him to vanish. Gunther, distracted by his wife's losing struggle with cancer in the same hospital where Klaus was slipping from life, did something that would plague him for the rest of his career: He let the case go cold, burying it in the past along with his private sorrows. Now serendipitously reopened, the Ober-feldt investigation forces Gunther to revisit ancient history and open old wounds. Torn between righting the past and confronting his demons, the veteran cop faces the most personal and dangerous case of his career. For somewhere on the idyllic Brattleboro streets stalks a long-lost murderer who never quite disappeared-and with Joe's renewed interest, now has good reason to kill again...

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