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Gatekeeper
Archer Mayor Book Review

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Plot Summary of Gatekeeper
"

Mysterious, Oct 2003, 23.95, 296 pp.
ISBN: 0892967668

The Governor of Vermont directs his state's Bureau of Investigation to enter the war against drugs when recent crimes shows a massive increase in drug trafficking. The interrelationships between the various layers of police forces fail to unite as dissonance over jurisdiction rules. Desperate to carry out his state's executive officer's order, VBI Second in Command Joe Gunther sends Detective Sammie Martens undercover as drug distributor Greta Novak. She persuades the Massachusetts mob that runs the Vermont business that she is the right person to organize trafficking in an efficient and effective manner.

Meanwhile a convenience store robbery leads to the discovery that Laurie Davis, niece of Joe's long-time lover, has been committing armed robberies to support her heroin habit. Now Laurie is in a coma in Brattleboro Hospital as this time the storekeeper shot her. Another VBI detective Lester Spinney realizes that in spite of his occupation, his teenage son is a user. To VBI, the war on drugs has turned personal.

The Joe Gunther police procedurals can always be counted on to provide the audience with an insightful look at law enforcement. GATEKEEPER is an entertaining look at the war on drugs from a state, local, and personal perspective (wonder what happened to the federal war – did we declare victory?). Though not quite as exciting as some of Joe's previous cases, readers will appreciate the deep look at jurisdiction issues, the drug pyramid scheme, and how no family, even those of cops, seems immune from usage. GATEKEEPER is a strong tale that would be the best of most sub-genre authors, but more at the B+ level for superstar Archer Mayor.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Gatekeeper
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - vigilante getting revenge
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - drug dealers
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - an organization
Profession/status: - criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 0 (not a murder mystery)
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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