Bellows Falls

Anyone who thinks life in small-town America is either idyllic or safe hasn't read Archer Mayor's series of murder mysteries set in Brattleboro, Vermont. Drugs, sex, murder--all those big-city crimes have their counterparts in the Green Mountain State, and Mayor's fictional police officer, Lieutenant Joe Gunther, is no Andy Griffith of Mayberry. In Bellows Falls, hard-boiled Gunther finds himself up to his neck in spousal abuse, sexual debauchery, teen crime, police corruption, and cold-blooded murder as he investigates a seemingly simple case of sexual harassment. Forget the cheddar cheese and maple syrup--visitors to Archer Mayor's Vermont get a close-up view of rural New England's dark side.