Excellent for the first 311 pages, then the final page .. leaves the story and reader hanging.
NO ending which is very unusual for Mayor. ( )

When Ben Kendall, a Vietnam vet, is found dead in his home surrounded by everything he has been hoarding, his death is believed to be accidental. However, when his medical examiner cousin, Beverly Hillstrom, catches word of his death, she believes that there is more to his death and becomes suspicious. Beverly contacts Detective Joe Gunther of the Vermont Bureau of Investigation.

When Joe and his team begin their investigation into Ben's death, they unearth much more than they had planned. It appears that Ben not only has PTSD, but he has brought back some photographs that are worth killing over.

How many more innocent people will be killed before the culprit gets his hand on the photos? Will the killer be found before someone very close to Joe becomes the next victim?


I really enjoyed the novel. It kept me reading and wanting to know what occurs next. Archer Mayor did a very fine job of keeping the reader engaged. I would recommend the novel for anyone who is a fan of mystery and police procedurals.

*I received an advance reading copy courtesy of Goodreads First Reads Giveaways ( )

This novel may start out a bit slow, but like a snowball rolling downhill, it gradually picks up speed. Little by little, the story unfolds as the scenes change back and forth from the detectives to the hit-men. And gradually, the truth emerges, the truth that will mean the downfall of powerful but evil man, unless his hit-men are successful. Reading about Joe Gunther and the other characters of this series is like hearing about old friends. This tightly written suspense novel will have you flipping pages until the end. ( )

Ben Kendall was known to be a hoarder. The piles of debris outside his home tended to indicate that. Anyone who looked inside would know it as well, but he allowed very few access. Once he finally made it home from Vietnam he had wanted to be left alone all these years. For the most part he had been. That meant he also did not get the help he needed to deal with the trauma of war and what he saw and experienced there as a combat photographer.

Medical examiner Beverly Hillstrom did as much for Ben as he would allow over the years. With the recent discovery by a burglar of Ben’s decomposing body in his home, Beverly isn’t really sure what happened to her first cousin. The Vermont State Police are handling the case. Having taken a look at the autopsy there are things that have her curious. Unfortunately, she does not have somebody like VBI agent Joe Gunther working for the state police. The good thing is she does have an increasing connection with Joe and he is willing to make a phone call. Another good thing is the fact that the lead investigator for the Virginia State Police, Owen Baern, is very open to Joe taking a look. That includes going out to the house and working their way into where Ben was found.

It does not take long before Joe and Owen realize this is not a simple case of a hoarder being crushed to death by his own stuff. Somebody else, besides the burglar who reported the body, was in the house at the time of the death or shortly before. Hoarders are always rumored to have high value treasures buried in their homes. Whether somebody else was going after rumors of wealth and killed Ben several weeks ago or somebody was specifically searching for materials connected to the exhibition of photographs Ben took during the Vietnam War is open to debate. Not only is it important to figure that out to bring Ben’s killer to justice, considering the fact that Beverly’s daughter, Rachel, was involved in getting the photographs displayed as part of a well-publicized art exhibit, she could be in danger if the photographs and other things she has been working with are the target of the killer or killers.

With a series that began in Open Season the latest in Joe Gunther series showcases the continuing evolution of the characters themselves as well as in their relationship to each other and society as a whole. This is a series that should definitely be read in order. It is not a static series where folks don’t age and change. Instead, it is one where those involved continue to change-- sometimes in large ways -- as folks in the real world do as events and situations occur. That life like aspect coupled with a solidly good mystery make Proof Positive: A Joe Gunther Novel” as well as the many other books in the series excellent reads.

Proof Positive: A Joe Gunther Novel
Archer Mayor
http://www.archermayor.com
Minotaur Books (St. Martin’s Publishing Group)
http://www.minotaurbooks.com
September 2014
ISBN#978-1-250-02639-2
Hardback (also available in audio and e-book formats)
303 Pages
$25.99

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Texas Public Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014 ( )

When Beverly Hillstrom, Vermont’s chief medical examiner and girlfriend of Vermont ProofPositiveBureau of Investigation detective Joe Gunther, asks him to look into the death of her cousin, Ben, how could he refuse? Ben, a Vietnam War Signal Corps photographer and a hoarder, was found crushed to death under a pile of his collection. The cause of death from Hillstrom’s autopsy was inconclusive. When Ben’s estranged ex-wife is found tortured and murdered soon after, Gunther’s senses are on high alert. As they search Ben’s house, another body is found. The murders coincide with a local exhibit, organized by Hillstrom’s daughter Rachel, of Ben’s photos. Soon, a curator of the exhibit is attacked in her bedroom and the Rachel’s faculty advisor, who assisted in the exhibit, is kidnapped. Gunther surmises that the photos may be at the crux of the killings and Rachel, too, may be in danger. Gunther’s VBI team goes all out to unravel this baffling situation.

Gunther and the regular crew, Sammie Martens, Willy Kunkle and Les Spinney, are back in full force in this absorbing 25th book in the Joe Gunther series, Proof Positive. One of the things I like about this series, is similar to the characters in Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series, these characters age as the books progress. Their personalities and life situations evolve over time. They’re not static as they are, for instance in the Sue Grafton’s alphabet series. I also love the Vermont setting: the mountains, the snow, the forests and rivers. I especially like how he talks about the industrial history of Vermont. I see that as I drive through all of New England, the old factories shuttered.

Mayor has created an interesting, unique set of criminals as well. They match wits very well with the VBI detectives. There is mystery and suspense to satisfy any reader.

I admit that I skipped a few books in the series. I just didn’t get around to reading them (too much other good stuff). However, it still felt like a family reunion. Those unfamiliar with the series will still enjoy Proof Positive immensely. The book stands alone quite nicely. A perfect book for fans of police procedurals, detective fiction and good mystery writing. ( )