What do You think about The Ragman's Memory (2013)?
Last year Amazon offered most of the earl entries in this series as part of the Kindle Daily Deal, and I leaped at the chance to stock up on this reliable and intriguing look at life in Brattleboro, New Hampshire. Archer Mayor's cop is a good guy to have around when I'm sick or stuck in an airport.The Ragman reference is to survivors of the Battle of the Bulge: "In the end, after the Americans had gained the upper hand and were pushing the German bulge back to the border, they started finding people like Bernie--wide-eyed, shell-shocked ghosts of their former selves walking around like robots. They called them 'ragmen,' which may be the best description I've ever heard. Many were brought back to some form of mental stability, others were less lucky."Bernie is in a nursing home at this point, but he holds the key to this intriguing tale.
—Kay
1996, #7 Lt. Joe Gunther, Brattleboro, Vermont; police procedural.What do a rag, a bone, and a hank of hair have to do with corruption in the building trades and nasty goings-on by The Powers That Be (financially) in Brattleboro? Mayor beautifully weaves together several odd deaths, a bird’s nest, a lost bum with rabies and a lot of money, a love affair gone bad, a young girl just looking to get away from it all, a reclusive millionaire and his nasty brother, and a WW2 vet who never left 1945 and endlessly replays battles in his mind. Beautiful stuff, well-paced and, unlike the previous book, entirely set among Brattleboro’s various citizens and peculiar neighborhoods. Wonderful read - I love “visiting” with Joe.
—Abbey
