St. Albans Fire by Archer Mayor

Of all of the Archer Mayor (Joe Gunther series) books, I was excited to get to this book. St. Albans is my town. It's an area I know well and have spent plenty of time in businesses suggested in the book.

Moreover, his preface mentions speaking to a high school class, and that talk led to the ideas for this book. My son spoke highly of him after that talk.

Bobby Cutts is a typical Franklin County teen, and he's killed in a tragic barn fire early one morning. His family is devastated. Joe Gunther is called in, and he's immediately suspicious. This wasn't an accidental fire. It was arson.

That lays the groundwork for a book that offers insights into the farming industry while also delving deeply into the value of Vermont land.

Some things didn't ring quite true. Ames never had a back alley. It was part of a large shopping center where all stores are connected, and by high school, Ames was part Peebles and part T.J Maxx.

Other things felt very real. As he spoke of having a burger with the team, Twiggs is exactly the kind of restaurant I imagine they were at. I loved that familiarity.

There are things I felt could have been left out. Gail and her battles with environmental protestors, while true, were distracting from the main story.

All in all, however, I loved it and hope to see more of St. Albans in future Joe Gunther books.