Open Season

By Archer Mayor

An old lady finds her pet cat gutted and laid out for her to see. Then she receives a message that she will be next. So when a man walks into her house uninvited at night, she does the logical thing and shoots him dead. Too bad when it turns out the man was the innocent victim of a set-up.
So begins this murder mystery. As the detective in this story, Joe Gunther, follows the clues, a convoluted puzzle is revealed involving a young murdered woman, the jury that convicted a possibly innocent man of her murder, and a masked stranger who doesn't hesitate to kill to further his cause: justice. But just who he wants justice for remains to be seen.

This was a pretty good mystery story. The killer's motives remain pretty murky till nearly the end of the book, as does the truth behind the dead girl's murder. The detective, Joe Gunther, is an appealing character, an every day kind of guy who makes mistakes and doesn't always figure things out real fast. He is no brainiac type of detective but he has a real strong sense of justice, and will dig to solve the puzzle no matter the opposition his superiors may have about stirring up trouble. And trouble there is as the police force is made to look like dummies or patsies when it become more clear that the original investigation was seriously flawed. Made for a good and engaging read.