Gatekeeper by Archer Mayor

My late mother-in-law introduced me to Archer Mayor's novels. I'm working through them all over time using my Kindle Unlimited subscription as much as possible. Some of the Joe Gunther books aren't offered through that platform, so I've bought them. This one is.

Joe Gunther is a fictional character, but his knowledge and expertise come from Archer Mayor's experience working as a death investigator for the medical examiner's office and Windham County detective. His novels are mostly set in Vermont, in many towns and cities I've spent time in. I love knowing the area as Joe travels from town to town solving murders or crimes. Even when he went to NYC, I knew that area too, so it still felt so familiar.

In Gatekeeper, written in 2012, the focus is on the stream of drugs from Holyoke, MA, to Rutland, VT. Murders are tied to the drug-running business, and Joe and his team are called in to help find the murderers.

The sad part of this book to me is that 14 years have passed, and nothing has stopped the drugs that come up from NYC to Holyoke, to Rutland and Burlington, to St. Albans and Swanton. Murders keep happening. Junkies keep committing robberies and break-ins.

Of all of the books I've read so far, this wasn't a favorite. It wasn't bad, but I didn't love Sam in this book. I hated knowing how little has changed, too. It's not going to stop me from reading, however. My own town is coming up soon, and I can't wait to compare it back then to how it is now.