The Sniper's Wife

Rating:
Summary: Strong Series Continues: A Sniper's Wife by Archer Mayor
Review: After thirteen Joe Gunther series novels, it is understandable that Archer Mayor might want to do something different. While many authors would ditch the old series and write something totally different, Archer Mayor decided to do something a bit different. Instead, he decided to devote a novel to the complex and enigmatic character often seen in the Joe Gunther series known as Willy Kunkle. For fans of the series, this is a fantastic development as the back-story on the very complex character of Willy Kunkle is finally revealed completely. For those new to the series, this is not a stand-alone book and as such should be read after reading the other novels in the series. While it could be read independently, to do so would ruin a large chunk of the series as these events are commented in this novel. These factors also make this very enjoyable book difficult to review without committing the same folly.

Newly installed as a Detective in the recently created Vermont Bureau of Investigation, Willy Kunkle receives a call that drags him back into a past that he thought he had left behind. The New York City police have found his divorce papers in an apartment rented by a woman who apparently died of a drug overdose. The investigators want him to come to New York and identify the body and handle all the usual details.

After identifying the body as his ex-wife Mary, Willy begins to nose into the case. Driven by guilt and anger over the past and present day events, Willy treats her death as his own to investigate. He spots inconsistencies with the story he is being given by the local Police and those are reinforced when he physically investigates the crime scene. Then, he begins to backtrack into her life and as he does so, not only must he confront various things from his past but he must also deal with a complex changing case that the local Police should not have been so quick to solve.

To say more in greater detail about this novel would simply blow this book as well as most of the series for any reader. This is a fast, intense read that answers a lot of questions about the character as well as providing a complex mystery. There are constant twists and turns that move the book steadily forward and the back-story is nicely woven into the novel. For fans of the series, this novel is a real treat and one that should not be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Another great one!!!
Review: Another great Archer Mayor book. However....I do belive he gets a little bit redundant with Willie Kunkle...we all know he's been down and out and keeps blaming himself for his own faults, but Archer doesn't have to remind us of this every time Willie meets somebody new, or gets into a new situation. I don't really belive that Joe could have saved a man that was so down on himself all these years....granted Joe "understands" Willie, but there comes a point....anyway, I also think the NYPD would have pulled the plug on ol' Willie. However I really enjoyed the story and am lookling forward to many more from Archer Mayor....(actually I like Joe Gunther...)

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Thriller
Review: Archer Mayor's The Sniper's Wife is a gripping thriller and an enjoyable, compelling read. I have never read any of Mayor's novels before, so I cannot compare them to the rest of the Joe Gunther series, but as a newcomer, I thought this novel was excellent. Willy Kunkle is a man haunted by a number of ghosts, and at the outset of the novel, he gets a new ghost--his ex-wife, who is found dead of an apparent heroin overdose in New York City. Kunkle immediately heads to New York from Vermont to identify the body, but is immediately pulled into finding out the true cause of her death. Things don't add up for Kunkle and he embarks on a one man mission to discover what really happened. The novel reads like one of the better Law and Order episodes--you won't be able to put it down. Enjoy.