Occam's Razor

For those interested in police procedural work and how small town law enforcement operates,along with the politics involved, there is no better series. Rich in geographical detail; I like to keep a roadmap of the North Eastern states beside me as I trace Joe Gunther's travels around the area, invetigating and running down clues,in this case strange killings linked to hazardous waste. This is the tenth entry in the series and each book builds upon it's predecessors. In order to fully understand Joe and Gail's relationship in this book, one should go back to "Fruits of the Poisonous Tree" and go on from there. Or better still, start at the beginning "Open Season" and read the whole series in order of publication.

By far, one of my favorite Archer Mayor novels. I really liked the clash of politics and law enforcement in this great book. It is the pinacle of the Joe Gunther series, and offers a different mind set as a valid explanation on how things can change for better or worse. This book was a huge step into a new frontier for Mayor and his fans. I highly reccomend this for a cold, winter night. It really makes you want to turn the pages. I cannot recomend it more highly.

Even before I open it,I knew this book would be another winner. What a treat to see this talented writer finally begin to get the notice he so richly deserves. The three Cambrige (MA) bookstores I called were already sold out. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading this series, start with the first one and look forward to countless hours of enjoyment.

A meticulously crafted story with no editorial glitches,(misspellings, improper verb tenses, erroneous factual imformation, etc.)that detract from the story line. As an avid mystery reader, mostly police procedurals, I am aware of many authors who either must have poor editoral staff or are in too much of a hurry to get their next character installment into the stores to be accurate. As a loyal Mayor fan, from Joe Gunther's first appearance, I find that Mayor's work is believable not only because his characters are realistic, but the situations he develops are in general not imaginary. Similar ones usually have been or are just cropping up in the news. The situations may be elaborated upon, simplified or altered for purposes of the story line, but they definitely constitute a slice of real life. Some may find this latest of Mayor's a bit slow and ponderous in places, but I savored and enjoyed the fine, descriptive writing of rural New England becoming set upon with urban problems. Gunter's realtionship with Gail is also very believable and maybe even instructive. Although, I enjoyed and savored Dark Root, I do think Occam's Razor is Mayor's best yet. PS. I'm not just writing this review because of the mention of my hometown, Occam's Razor is a darn good read.

In Brattleboro, Vermont, the train decapitated a homeless person. At least his ragged outer attire makes the deceased appear to be a vagrant. However, Police Lieutenant Joe Gunther has some doubts as the dead person wore clean underwear and his body has toxic sores all over it. Witnesses claim that three men left the victim by the tracks. As Joe digs into the train incident, a brutal double murder occurs. Joe sees no link until he receives an anonymous tip connecting a local politician to the three dead people. Joe begins to look deeper, not yet realizing that he is caught in the middle of a deadly power struggle that has its roots in a past decade. OCCAM'S RAZOR is an entertaining who-done-it that fans of police procedural stories will fully enjoy. The story line is exciting as Joe methodically works his two investigations. Vermont and secondary characters add to the color of the tale. However, as occurred with the previous nine installments, Joe's dedication and honesty provides a focus that turns this into a wonderful, believable police investigation novel.Harriet Klausner