SEPTEMBER 2023 - AudioFile
Game Warden Mike Bowditch is back, keeping Maine safe. When two boaters are killed, he suspects more than an accident, and he begins to probe the island residents and others tied to the victims. Narrator Henry Leyva avoids stereotypical accents except for one or two characters whose laconic Maine speech is strong and enjoyable to hear. He believably delivers the emotions of each character, including the frustration, annoyance, or anger Bowditch occasionally elicits. The audiobook is part of a series--Leyva has done other Bowditch books-- but the listener can jump in without missing a beat. Doiron keeps the listener guessing, and Leyva's narration makes it enjoyable to the end. M.B. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
07/24/2023
Doiron’s long-running series featuring Maine game warden and criminal investigator Mike Bowditch delivers one of its most satisfying shocks yet in this 14th entry (after 2022’s Hatchet Island). Bowditch is celebrating his engagement to Stacey Stevens on a lake in central Maine when a collision on the water disrupts the festivities. Once Bowditch reaches the area, the boats are gone, leaving only a severed human arm with a wristwatch still attached. Galen Webb identifies the likely victim as Kip Whitcomb, the wealthy owner of a private island in the middle of the lake, who is now missing. As Bowditch sets about determining whether Kip’s dismemberment was an accident or an act of foul play, reports surface that the playboy had been cheating on his wife with a younger woman who has also disappeared. Just when the plotting begins to flirt with predictability, Doiron pulls off a sucker-punch fair-play twist that puts entirely new suspects in play. That jolt, combined with vivid descriptions of the Maine woods and authentic depictions of the forensic science, make this a winner. (June)
From the Publisher
Praise for Dead Man's Wake:
"Doiron creates an array of colorful, well-drawn characters, writes in vivid, graceful style, and accurately portray investigative procedures — this time including the handling of underwater crime scenes. He spins his tale with enough twists and turns to keep readers guessing until the end.” —Associated Press
“Doiron’s crisp first-person narrative is thoroughly absorbing and richly atmospheric. Readers will enjoy every pine needle–crunching step.” —Booklist, starred
"Another well-crafted case beautifully built on a foundation of the local geography Doiron knows so well." —Kirkus Reviews
“Both fans and newcomers to the series can sink deep into the pages of Doiron’s latest Mike Bowditch adventure… Wilderness thrillers provide a great break from the real world—get this one on your list.”—Henrietta Verma, First Clue
"Doiron packs in lots of twists and turns, and enough suspense to keep you reading well past bedtime." —BookPage
"This riveting crime thriller and police investigation keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish....engaging, gripping, and atmospheric with good characterization and great world-building details. Even though this is part of a series, it is a great stand-alone read too." —Mystery and Suspense Magazine
Praise for Paul Doiron and the Mike Bowditch mysteries:
“Doiron captures the stark beauty of his setting.” —New York Times Book Review for Stay Hidden
"The characters are well drawn, the Maine landscape is vividly portrayed, and Bowditch pursues his passion to protect the innocent and bring evil doers to justice regardless of personal cost." —Associated Press for Almost Midnight
“As always with a Doiron novel, the characters are so well-drawn you can almost reach out and shake their hands, and the rural landscape is so vividly portrayed that the reader can smell wildflowers, marvel at the swarms of fireflies and feel the sting of the blood-thirsty insects. But the author's finest achievement is the evolution of Mike Bowditch himself.” —Bruce DeSilva, Associated Press for Knife Creek
“Outstanding…Doiron balances nuanced characterizations and intelligent plotting perfectly.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) for Stay Hidden
Kirkus Reviews
2023-04-24
Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch’s engagement party is interrupted by a suspicious noise that leads to the discovery of two corpses.
The sound that interrupts the celebration that Mike’s stepfather, tax attorney Neil Turner (who was married to Mike's late mother), is hosting at his lake house for him; his fiancee, Stacey Stevens; her parents; and Neil’s new wife, yoga instructor Jubilee Batchelder, is that of a Jet Ski, which no one’s supposed to be running on the lake after dark. Stacey notes that it’s not Mike’s district or his job, but when he hears the thump of a collision, he ventures out with Neil and Stacey’s father, Charley, a retired game warden, and they find first a severed arm and then the rest of Kipling Whitcomb, the husband of Mouse Island owner Dianne Fenton-Whitcomb, a wealthy invalid who had no idea (or did she?) that her mate was spending Labor Day weekend in their lake house with another woman. That other woman was hair colorist Gina Randazza, 22, whose husband, petty criminal Joey Randazza of the Direwolves motorcycle gang, becomes the instant suspect of choice for Det. Roger Finch of the Maine State Police once her body is also found in the lake. The investigations are awkwardly divided between Finch’s search for Gina’s murderer and Mike’s look at the apparently accidental death of Kip. Further awkwardness is provided by lake constable Galen Webb, whose longing to take an active role in the case is torpedoed by his quick temper and unwillingness to share everything he knows. Could he possibly be at the bottom of all this?
Another well-crafted case beautifully built on a foundation of the local geography Doiron knows so well.
