The Ragman's Memory (Joe Gunther #7)

A small girl brings Joe Gunther a bird’s nest—made partially of human hair. In the search to put a body, and an identity, to the hair’s owner, Joe comes upon an unexplained death, a grisly murder, and a sudden disappearance. All seem to be entangled in a puzzling web of municipal corruption, blackmail, and industrial espionage. A shell-shocked World War II vet nicknamed “The Ragman” may hold the key to it all, if Joe can get him to talk before the murderer strikes again.

“…by practicing his craft with dazzling skill and by digging for the deeper moral issues behind every grass-roots crime, [Archer Mayor] has made an honorable art form of the regional mystery.” —Marilyn Stasio, New York Times