Review: Proof Positive (Joe Gunther #25) by Archer Mayor

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (Sept. 30 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1250026393
• ISBN-13: 978-1250026392

Book Description

 Ben Kendall was a troubled man. Coming back from Vietnam with PTSD and scars that no one else could see, he hid away from the world, filling his house with an ever-increasing amount of stuff, until finally, the piles collapsed and he was found dead, crushed beneath his own belongings. But what at first glance looks to be a tragic accidental death of a hoarder, may be something much more--and much deadlier. Ben's cousin, medical examiner Beverly Hillstrom, unsettled by the circumstances of his death, alerts Joe Gunther and his Vermont Bureau of Investigation team. 

Ben, it seems, brought back something else from Vietnam than personal demons--he also brought back combat photos and negatives that someone else wants desperately to keep from the public eye. When Beverly's daughter Rachel made her cousin Ben--and his photos--the subject of her college art project, some of those photos appeared on the walls of a local art gallery. This in turn resulted in the appearance of a two man hit squad, searching for some other missing negatives. With Joe Gunther and his squad trailing behind the grisly research results of the hit team, and the deadly killers closing in on Rachel, Gunther has little time to find and protect Rachel before she ends up in the same grisly state as her cousin before her. Archer Mayor's "Proof Positive" is another enthralling installment in the Joe Gunther Series.


About the Author

 Over the years, Archer Mayor has been photographer, teacher, historian, scholarly editor, feature writer, travel writer, lab technician, political advance man, medical illustrator, newspaper writer, history researcher, publications consultant, constable, and EMT/firefighter. He is also half Argentine, speaks two languages, and has lived in several countries on two continents.

All of which makes makes him restless, curious, unemployable, or all three. Whatever he is, it’s clearly not cured, since he’s currently a novelist, a death investigator for Vermont’s medical examiner, and a police officer.

Archer has been producing the Joe Gunther novels since 1988, some of which have made the “ten best” or “most notable” lists of the Los Angeles and the New York Times. In 2004 Mayor received the New England Booksellers Association book award for fiction.

Intriguing plots, complex characters, and a vivid landscape are the foundation of Archer Mayor's award-winning New England thrillers.

 http://archermayor.com/

My Review


The novel Proof Positive by Archer Mayor is the 25th book in the Joe Gunther series.  While I'm sure the first 24 books in the series are equally good, Proof Positive can be read as a stand alone novel though I do think it would be very helpful to have read them.

We hear a lot about hoarding these days so I found Proof Positive to be very contemporary. So did a Vietnam Vet hoarder die when decades of accumulated refuse collapsed upon him? Or is it something more sinister? It is up to Joe Gunther and the Vermont Bureau of Investigation to find out.

Ben's up until recently unknown photos of Vietnam seem to be causing concern now that they are appeared in an art gallery showing. Who wanted those photos buried forever?

There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader glued to the pages! Interesting ending. Ready for book 26!