by Archer Mayor
Part of Joe Gunther, book 31
First published 2021
Vermont state trooper pulls over John Rust for drunk driving in what seems like a routine traffic stop. Rust's defense attorney brings in a private investigator to examine the recent death of Rust's younger brother, hoping to find circumstances that might help the case. The brother died at twenty-eight from complications tied to a brain injury he sustained as an infant. The investigation reveals the injury came from shaken baby syndrome, making the death a homicide. Joe Gunther and his Vermont Bureau of Investigation team take over the case. What starts as an old crime quickly turns dangerous when unknown parties with vengeful motives begin killing in the present. Rust vanishes as the investigation deepens. Gunther and his team must dig through decades of buried secrets, avarice, and betrayal. The past refuses to stay buried, and those who thought their crimes were forgotten discover that justice has a long memory.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: cold-case, hidden-past
Setting: Vermont
Period: 21st-century
431 pages · Hardcover · Thorndike Pr
Content warnings: death, murder