Fruits Of The Poisonous Tree (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
1994, #5 Lt. Joe Gunther, Brattlesboro VT; police procedural. Joe finds his life turned upside down when his long-time girlfriend Gail is raped and beaten in her home, only hours after Joe has left her. The effects of the rape on both her and on him are carefully explored, but the main focus is on the solving of the actual crime and Joe’s (and Gail’s) reactions to the working out of the clues and information into a coherent court case. Mayor bites off a bit more than he can manage here, but oh, my, what a magnificent attempt! Over two hundred pages are simply superb, tremendously fast-paced and yet you can’t wait to get to the finish, that’s how good the writing is. But then there’s a big twist in the plot, and the last fifty pages feel like a separate short story tacked onto an otherwise excellent novel - a linked story perhaps, but the juncture seems awkward, and we know, far in advance, exactly what is going to happen. The ending is rushed through and, while satisfactorily PC, doesn’t seem real, not like the rest of the story does. Overall, an excellent read, though, and highly recommended. I would still rate the overall book as a five-star one, since the quality of the work is so high - and its effects are so strong.I suspect Mayor *started* with the finale, and then wove everything all around it. When the story got more and more layered, he still had that last bit to fit in, and it had simply been “outgrown”. The texture and tenor of the first part is so far superior to the last bit, that it’s amazing, like two different writers. Wish he’d been a bit braver and gone for the tougher course, not wrapping it up all oh-so-conveniently and quickly at the end like that. But, boy, even with that last bit added in, what a good read!
Knowing the content of this book since what happens to Gail is brought up in later books in the series I had actually been dreading reading it, but I was pleasantly surprised with how Mayor handled the issue of rape and the aftermath. The feminist group that rallies around Gail was one area where he could have gone into stereotyping and strawmen, but that was thankfully avoided and they were given a very nuanced and respectful portrayal. Even when one of the leaders of the group becomes angry at Joe and snaps at him late in the story Joe realizes she has a point and understands her concern. Considering the book was written in 1993 it holds up very well even today, and it's actually kind of sad that a lot of what's being produced today doesn't show this level of care when dealing with the issue of rape.
What do You think about Fruits Of The Poisonous Tree (2013)?
PROTAGONIST: Lieut. Joe GuntherSETTING: Brattleboro, VermontSERIES: #5 of 21RATING: 4.0WHY: When Joe's long-time girlfriend, Gail, is raped, the repercussions are dramatic. Their relationship becomes quite tenuous, as Gail suffers the aftermath and Joe is unsure how to act. All he knows is that he has to catch the b**tard who did this. In doing so, the wrong man is accused, with the police being convinced by evidence that doesn't hold up. A fine depiction of a sensitive subject and its impact on the victim and her loved ones. On the negative side, there is no way for the reader to determine who the real rapist is.
—Maddy
Remarkable! This book shows how a man who came of age well before the women's movement struggles to support his lover emotionally and politically when she has been forcibly raped. He is also a policeman who has to help investigate the crime. The psychological complexity of the situation is only matched by the clever construction of the plot. Two things bother me, though: the rape survivor is unbelievably strong and the criminal is a sociopath-there just aren't enough of them in society to account for their frequency in fiction (and thank God for that).
—Dennis Fischman
Joe Gunther’s lover Gail is raped, and after a painstaking search and a dangerous manhunt, the district attorney and the police think they have found their man. Gunther’s instincts, however, tell him that the man, scum though he is, may be the victim of a frame-up. Going against the tide, he follows his gut and opens the case back up in the middle of the trial.This was a very good entry in the series. Mayor’s addiction to research yielded a lot of rape counseling and therapy instruction this time around, and of course there’s also the usual death-defying and very bone-headed solo chases (Gunther, hardly invincible, nearly dies twice). I expected a bit more tension from Gail and the DA from Gunther’s decision to consider other suspects, but most of the book is taken up with finding the first suspect, and I suppose Mayor’s going for more realism than the in the typical hokey “maverick detective” story.
—Ensiform
