Synopsis:
The call came at four in the morning. An unknown intruder had broken into the home of a local woman as she slept. Tying her to the bed and blindfolding her, he indulged in a little knife play, destroyed the bedroom, and raped her repeatedly.
For Brattleboro police lieutenant Joe Gunther, the case cuts deep: the victim is his long-time lover and best friend, Gail Zigman, and the attack took place in the very bed he left just a few hours earlier.
The leafy streets, sweet with earthy scents of the nearby Vermont hills, yield a sour trail of unsavory clues, all pointing to vagrant handyman and ex-con Bob Vogel. With three rapes already to his name, it looks as if he's been at it again.
But appearances can lead to assumptions, and although Vogel runs for cover as soon as he's approached by the police, Joe cannot ignore the nagging feeling that something is amiss. Risking his friendship with Gail, the respect of his peers, and finally his own life, Joe doggedly keeps on the trail, trying to find out if the evidence against Vogel is genuine, or tainted...what policemen call "fruits of the poisonous tree."
Reviews:
This latest case featuring Brattleboro, Vt., detective Joe Gunther is the series' most ambitious entry-and its most flawed. Two hours after Joe leaves the bed of his lover, Gail Zigman, she is raped. The rapist's methodology-including tiny knife wounds, property destruction and underwear draped across a lamp shade-strongly hints at the identity of Gail's assailant: local deadbeat and drunk Bob Vogel, who has raped before and gotten away with it. This time the case against Vogel is a sound one, especially after he stabs Joe during a chase in an underground tunnel. But there are subtle discrepancies between Gail's rape and Vogel's earlier ones. Is there a copycat rapist on the prowl? Mayor's attempt to enter the traumatized minds of Gail and Joe is courageous and partially successful, but too many cardboard characters impede the story. The feminists supporting Gail are too strident, the local newspaperman is too crusading, the local politicians are too self-serving and the prime suspect is too, too vile. This novel is, overall, a morass-and an unexpected one after the author's success with such earlier Joe Gunther novels as Borderlines. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
When his friend and lover, Gail Zigman, is raped hours after he leaves her bed for home, Brattleboro, Vt., chief of detectives Lt. Joe Gunther is naturally wild to get on the case. He's grateful when he's assigned to head it in tandem with Todd Lefevre, an investigator for abrasive state's attorney James Dunn. At first, the evidence is slow to come in: Gail didn't have a chance to see anything but her clock, didn't recognize her assailant's voice, and can't imagine who it might have been--unless it's town crank Jason Ryan, who had a royal set-to with Gail at the last selectmen's meeting. Joe takes his share of lumps from townsfolk who can't imagine how he'll run an unprejudiced investigation, but gradually the net closes over a suspect who not only fits the psychological profile of the rapist but comes with a bonus of circumstantial evidence: a house full of damning items, from photos of Gail to a lingerie catalogue mailed to her address. The case seems perfect until Dunn, avid for election-season publicity, leaks information that compromises the case just as Joe's at the point of an arrest. The suspect flees, of course, tries to kill Joe when he's cornered- -and then has the gall, bolstered by a deceptively quiet defender, to protest his innocence. Could Joe's seamless web of evidence have a hole? Mayor alertly turns the greatest weakness of his previous books (The Skeleton's Knee, 1993, etc.)--telltale flaws in the evidence against his perps--into the greatest strength of this tense procedural. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
The unspeakable has happened to Gail Zigman: an intruder has broken into her home, tied her up, beaten and raped her. Fortunately, Gail is strong spirited, tough, and determined to overcome the trauma. It helps that her boyfriend is Brattleboro police lieutenant Joe Gunther, who, besides being a sensitive and enlightened male, is also a hell of a good cop. Putting his own horror and sorrow over the tragedy aside, Joe doggedly tracks down every known sex offender in the area, distributes the rapist's M.O. to police departments across the state, and analyzes and reanalyzes possible motives. Even though the rapist has left behind almost no evidence, Joe stubbornly pursues every lead, no matter how small. But it's only after Gail offers to act as bait in a dangerous trap to nab the elusive suspect that Joe finally has the satisfaction of solving the difficult case. This well-written police procedural has a lot going for it, not the least of which is its sensitivity to the terrible emotional and physical toll that rape perpetrates on its victims. A good choice for medium and large collections. Emily Melton
This police procedural has little to do with childish things. Rudely awakened early in the morning, Brattleboro, Vermont, detective Joe Gunther learns that his long-time girlfriend has been raped. Since she's the board of selectmen's chair, the case becomes a cause celebre, with journalists, politicians, feminists, and other police pointing fingers and claiming attention. Although close to the victim, Gunther heads the investigation, carefully following all details of proper procedure. Mayor's (The Skeleton's Knee, LJ 11/1/93) smooth, measured prose thoroughly describes both behind-the-scenes and on-the-street aspects of his search. Recommended.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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