(1988) First in a long series that introduces Joe Gunther, a lieutenant in the Brattleboro VT police department. A strange killing where one former juror in a murder case kills another juror in a suspected breakin of her house. This leads to a series of murders and assaults all related to the victim of the original murder. Someone is serving time for the original murder, but all of this is leading Joe to believe that the wrong man was convicted and there is vengeance being wrought. It turns out that that is the case as the father of the victim ( a former Army special ops) is on a vendetta to find the real killer. Joe seems to have met his match as the father is always one step ahead of him right to the end when the father and Joe confront the cause of the murder but Joe finally gets the father in the end in a standoff. Pretty good, and I will continue to read the series.Goodreads: Lt. Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vermont police force has a serious problem: in a community where a decade could pass without a single murder, the body count is suddenly mounting. Innocent citizens are being killed¥and others set-upÂ¥seemingly orchestrated by a mysterious ski-masked man. Signs suggest that a three year-old murder trial might lie at the heart of things, but it's a case that many in the department would prefer remained closed. A man of quiet integrity, Lt. Gunther knows that he must pursue the case to its conclusion, wherever it leads.Open Season is the first of Archer Mayor's twenty-three Joe Gunther novels, a series of gripping police procedurals set in New England, where small-town charm, stoicism and civility sometimes conceal brutal truths.

I both read the Kindle ebook and listened to the Whispersync audiobook of this first book in the Joe Gunther series. This police procedural was a bit grittier than my normal mystery reading but I liked Gunther and the Vermont setting. I will be reading more from this series! ( )

This author is another find for me this year. Open Season scores on all major points - the protagonist is interesting and likeable, the plot is gripping, and the descriptions of the winter-time Vermont are vivid. What I did not like were the few vital questions that are left unanswered, and the villain's omniscience which is inexplicable. However, I had a good time with Mayor's storytelling and hope that the future books in this long series have the said issues taken care of, as I am planning to read more of this series. ( )

Slow at first so I was surprised when it gripped me and pulled me in. Very good, now, I'll read the rest of these. I liked it a lot. ( )

Fabulous read! Bought this while vacationing in VT in Oct 2016; Books are the best kind of souvenirs !! This is a real page-turner with a terrific opening, lots of plot twists, and a wonderful main character with flaws, but a clear moral center.
Definitely going to read more of the series. ( )