In the meantime, the story moves over to Mel Martin, a local thug looking to go big. Mel, his wife Nancy, and his accomplice in crime Ellis Robbinson hijack a National Guard armory and steal two M-16s. Mel is a definite low-life and hard guy.
Mayor quickly deepens his characters, getting more into Joe’s life as he deals with his break-up and pursues his feeling that something is wrong with Michelle Fisher’s death. He asks the state medical examiner to do an autopsy but Dr. Beverly Hillstrom (a character that’s been in the series for a while) tells him she’s on a strict budget.
Going to see Hillstrom to ask for the favor more personally, Joe soon discovers that she’s being blackmailed by a petty politician with enough skeletons in the closet to outfit and orthopedic school. Joe gets sidelined taking care of the blackmailing sleazebag in a thoroughly satisfying manner, then gets Hillstrom back on the case.
As Mel Martin goes on with his scheming, his wife and partner start up an affair that threatens to explode in a particularly violent manner. Deepening those characters, the reader gets a chance to buy into them as Nancy turns out to be a woman who really needs love and Ellis is dealing with his sick mother dying of cancer.
After Hillstrom’s autopsy, Joe finds out that Michelle Fisher’s death wasn’t natural. She died of propane inhalation. The death investigation gains momentum, but it isn’t long before fate intercedes to thread that storyline in with that of Mel Martin and company. The two stories hurtle headlong to a rip-roaring conclusion.
Archer Mayor is a simple but eloquent writer. His scenes quickly advance the plot and the characters, and they’re deceptively easy to read. I found myself just cruising through the story, flipping pages long past when I should have been asleep or otherwise occupied.
People who love mysteries but haven’t given Archer Mayor and Joe Gunther a try should pick up The Second Mouse or any of the other titles. I found it easy to slip right into Gunther’s world even with this, the 17th book, and having no other experience with the writer or the hero. This is solid entertainment with a definite sense of setting and way of life.
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
Hey, you're "the" Mel Odom! I've read some of your stuff. Heck, I might have read more of your stuff than I realize, as I have heard through the grapevine that you occasionally names other than your own.
Anyway, I agree about coming across a series after many books have been written. It's delightful! I just finally discovered the "#1 Ladies Detective Agency" that way, and I'm still catching up, so the find is still very fresh for me.
Cheers!
2 - Mel Odom
Thanks, Phil. Yep, I'm "that" guy. And finding new authors is always awesome.
3 - Katie McNeill
This one looks good too. The crime stuff isn't always my favorite but I'm always open to something new. As long as it's a good read.