Finished reading: January ? 2015 "Cat's out of the bag. You nail this bastard or I'll make you sorry you didn't."(view spoiler)[Tucker Peak is one of those crime paperbacks that you buy cheap and later forget all about... The consequence that this one has been on my TBR shelf for way too long. I haven't read the first eleven books in the series and to be honest I don't think I will. This novel by Archer Mayor is not bad, but it doesn't manage to stand out from the many crime/detective/police novels out there. The pace is a bit slow for my liking and I couldn't really connect to the characters. Part of the problem with the characters could be because of the fact that I haven't read the other books in the series, but I personally don't think so. The different crimes mostly happening in the small ski town in Vermont reach the limit of credibility as well as the undercover investigation itself. I mean, they had an awful lot of luck discovering what they did... But I guess that applies to a lot of detective series. In short, it is an ok read with quite some action involved even though it reads slow. But in the end it does the job.Joe Gunther is now member of the newly-formed Vermont Bureau Of Investigation, and is called to assist in the investigation of a series of burglaries in Tucker Peak. It is a small ski town in Vermont that has been having problems competing with better ski resorts out there, and they can't afford any more trouble. The management is trying to improve the facilities to survive, but the local environmental group is against those plans and tries to sabbotage their work. If the news about the burglaries leaks out, tourists might stop coming at all... Joe and his collegue Sammie decide to go undercover to find the thief, and soon find out there is a lot more going on than a simple case of condo burglaries. Drug-dealing, sabotage, murder... The VBI agents soon have their hands full.Like I said, there is nothing that makes Tucker Peak stand out from other crime novels. I've heard this is not the best one out of the bunch of Joe Gunther novels (25!) out there, but I don't think I will be trying out the other titles any time soon... Unless I get my hands on another cheap copy and I'm in the mood for a dose of crime. The setting in Vermont is interesting though and the prose ok, although a bit slow. I guess it will work fine as a vacation read. (hide spoiler)]
Tucker Peak - GoodArcher Mayor - 12th in seriesNow the agent-in-charge in Brattleboro for the newly formed (and fictitious) Vermont Bureau of Investigation, Gunther looks into a string of condo burglaries at Tucker Peak, a local ski resort. In tracing a stolen watch to Marty Gagnon, an elusive small-time thief, Gunther's detectives discover someone else is looking for Gagnon, too, threatening and killing his friends. To find the connection between Gagnon and troubled Tucker Peak, Gunther and VBI detective Sammie Martens go undercover. The owners are seeking investors for upgrading and expansion, while an environmental group, Tucker Protection League, is protesting their operations (and suspected of sabotaging ski equipment). Gunther and his "inside man," ski instructor Richie Lane, find themselves in danger because of something or someone they saw, as hints of financial mishandling within TPL surface.Not the best in the series, but still good.
