What started, at least as far as publication date goes, in May 2010, has now reached the 15th novel and many short stories with the 16th full length novel due out in June 2026 featuring Mike Bowditch. These stories crafted by Maine author Paul Doiron have truly brought me across the state I call home into various mysteries relating to Maine Game Warden’s investigations.
While I was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts and residing in Dover, New Hampshire as an infant, my family soon moved to Kittery, Maine where I spent the majority of my first 10 years on this Earth. Additionally, I spent ages 20-30 in Massachusetts, but now at nearly 40 I have spent main parts of my life in Maine, calling myself a Mainer. This made reading every book, story, and tale featuring Bowditch not only a enjoyable experience but one where I was able to connect with locations, people, and culture of our great state.
Mike Bowditch is a wonderfully crafted character with personal struggles, but also with a fight to do what’s right no matter the cost or the slight bending of the rules. Over these many novels and short stories, Doiron has created Maine’s version of Jack Bauer that has never really wained in entertainment, excitement, or adventure. Every time I open a Mike Bowditch tale I know I am in for a grand old time.
I read these novels over a couple of years hoping to catch up. Slotting in a Bowditch novel between other books on my TBR. I have now caught up and readying myself to jump into Storm Tide which is due out in June 2026. I highly recommend reading every of Doiron’s Mike Bowditch mysteries!
The Poacher’s Son
Set in the wilds of Maine, this is an explosive tale of an estranged son thrust into the hunt for a murderous fugitive–his own father
Game warden Mike Bowditch returns home one evening to find an alarming voice from the past on his answering machine: his father Jack, a hard drinking womanizer who makes his living poaching illegal game. An even more frightening call comes the next morning from the police: they are searching for the man who killed a beloved local cop the night before–and his father is their prime suspect. Jack has escaped from police custody, and only Mike believes that his tormented father might not be guilty.
Now, alienated from the woman he loves, shunned by colleagues who have no sympathy for the suspected cop-killer, Mike must come to terms with his haunted past. He knows firsthand Jack’s brutality, but is the man capable of murder? Desperate and alone, he strikes up an uneasy alliance with a retired warden pilot, and together the two men journey deep into the Maine wilderness in search of a runaway fugitive. But the only way for Mike to save his father is to find the real killer–which could mean putting everyone he loves in the line of fire.
Having read Pitch Dark as my first introduction to Paul Doiron‘s Mike Bowditch series of novels, it was great to go back to where it all started with The Poacher’s Son. Getting a real sense of who Bowditch is and how he became the character I discovered several books into the series. Doiron lays a strong foundation here, especially through what we learn about Bowditch’s family and backstory, setting the stage for all the follows.
Set in my home state of Maine, Doiron does a fantastic job with crafting a mystery that makes full use of the state’s unique landscape. His deep knowledge of Maine’s backwoods shines through and works seamlessly in the story. The setting ups the suspense without overshadowing the main story. The Poacher’s Son pulled me in more than most mysteries, partly due to the fact I recognized nearly every place he mentioned.
What actually surprised me the most about The Poacher’s Son was how Doiron led the story in directions I never expected it to go. He tosses in twists, turns, red herrings, and plenty of other surprises that had me gripped to the story. While I read his most recent novel first, if I had stumbled upon this one in 2010 I would’ve be hooked in for each following story.
The Poacher’s Son is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Trespasser
In Paul Doiron‘s riveting follow-up to his Edgar Award–nominated novel, The Poacher’s Son, Maine game warden Mike Bowditch’s quest to find a missing woman leads him through a forest of lies in search of a killer who may have gotten away with murder once before.
While on patrol one foggy March evening, Bowditch receives a call for help. A woman has reportedly struck a deer on a lonely coast road. When the game warden arrives on the scene, he finds blood in the road―but both the driver and the deer have vanished. And the state trooper assigned to the accident appears strangely unconcerned.
The details of the disappearance seem eerily familiar. Seven years earlier, a jury convicted lobsterman Erland Jefferts of the rape and murder of a wealthy college student and sentenced him to life in prison. For all but his most fanatical defenders, justice was served. But when the missing woman is found brutalized in a manner that suggests Jefferts may have been framed, Bowditch receives an ominous warning from state prosecutors to stop asking questions.
For Bowditch, whose own life was recently shattered by a horrific act of violence, doing nothing is not an option. His clandestine investigation reopens old wounds between Maine locals and rich summer residents and puts both his own life and that of the woman he loves in jeopardy. As he closes in on his quarry, he suddenly discovers how dangerous his opponents are, and how far they will go to prevent him from bringing a killer to justice.
I might start to sound like a broken record as I make my way through the Mike Bowditch series of novels, but I really enjoy how Paul Doiron is able to weave a gripping mystery into the rugged landscape of the Maine wilderness. I’m sure it comes easy to Doiron, as a Maine native, but there is still something truly special about the way he does it.
Trespasser was nearly as strong as The Poacher’s Son, but as the sophomore Bowditch novel, it falls just behind it. By this point in the series, we have a clearer understanding of who Bowditch is and what drives him to solve this mysterious cases as a Game Warden. We see personal growth, even as his continues to risk his career to catch the perp he is after.
Trespasser is filled with twists, action, and a few heartfelt moments that honestly gave me goosebumps. It’s another thrilling mystery set in the wilds of Maine that had me hooked from the very first page. Doiron continues to give me reason to read the next in the series.
Trespasser is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Bad Little Falls
Maine game warden Mike Bowditch has been sent into exile, transferred by his superiors to a remote outpost on the Canadian border. When a blizzard descends on the coast, Bowditch is called to the rustic cabin of a terrified couple. A raving and half-frozen man has appeared at their door, claiming his friend is lost in the storm.
But what starts as a rescue mission in the wilderness soon becomes a baffling murder investigation. The dead man is a notorious drug dealer, and state police detectives suspect it was his own friend who killed him. Bowditch isn’t so sure, but his vow not to interfere in the case is tested when he finds himself powerfully attracted to a beautiful woman with a dark past and a troubled young son. The boy seems to know something about what really happened in the blizzard, but he is keeping his secrets locked in a cryptic notebook, and Mike fears for the safety of the strange child.
Meanwhile, an anonymous tormentor has decided to make the new warden’s life a living hell. Alone and outgunned, Bowditch turns for assistance to his old friend, the legendary bush pilot Charley Stevens. But in this snowbound landscape -— where smugglers wage blood feuds by night -— help seems very far away indeed. If Bowditch is going to catch a killer, he must survive on his own wits and discover strength he never knew he possessed.
The highlights of Bad Little Falls are its cold, wintry setting in Downeast Maine along with Mike’s first encounter with Stacey, Charlie’s daughter. It was also refreshing to see Bowditch in a new part of the great State of Maine after the fallout of the first two books in the series. As a big fan of the first two books in the Mike Bowdtich series, I found this third installment somewhat not up to snuff. Bad Little Falls wasn’t terrible by any stretch, but it lacked the impact of The Poacher’s Son and Trespasser. When all is said and done, it’s likely it won’t end up being a very memorable book for me in this series.
Bad Little Falls might not be my favorite of the Mike Bowditch stories, but succeeded at keeping me entertained and left me eager to dive into the next book in the series, Massacre Pond. I’m truly curious to see what kind of trouble Bowditch will find himself in this time around.
Bad Little Falls is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Massacre Pond
On an unseasonably hot October morning, Bowditch is called to the scene of a bizarre crime: the corpses of seven moose have been found senselessly butchered on the estate of Elizabeth Morse, a wealthy animal rights activist who is buying up huge parcels of timberland to create a new national park.
What at first seems like mindless slaughter―retribution by locals for the job losses Morse’s plan is already causing in the region―becomes far more sinister when a shocking murder is discovered and Mike’s investigation becomes a hunt to find a ruthless killer. In order to solve the controversial case, Bowditch risks losing everything he holds dear: his best friends, his career as a law enforcement officer, and the love of his life.
The beauty and magnificence of the Maine woods is the setting for a story of suspense and violence when one powerful woman’s missionary zeal comes face to face with ruthless cruelty.
Massacre Pond is a strong entry in the Mike Bowditch mystery series. In this the fourth book in the collection, we get the series’ signature blend of engaging plot, vivid landscapes, and gripping mystery, we get Bowditch himself taking a significant step toward maturity, both as a person and as a game warden. He tends to follow the rules and stay within the bounds of his job and the law more often, though not always, than before.
While Bowditch shows a ton of real growth in Massacre Pond, the book also marks a major step forward for author Paul Doiron. In this book, Doiron molds his skill, delivering richer characters, more intricate plots, and a touch of well-placed humor. This made for a more enjoyable reading experience.
The central mystery of the slaughtering of moose on the estate of Elizabeth Morse drives the story, but Massacre Pond also puts Bowditch through some deeply personal challenges as well. These moments hit hard, if not harder, than the emotional struggles he face in the first novel, The Poacher’s Son. It will be interesting to see how it shapes his character moving forward.
Massacre Pond was a wonderful and quick read. I loved exploring more of the wilderness of Maine and watching our main character grow. Now, I am eager to for the next book in the series.
Massacre Pond is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
The Bone Orchard
In the aftermath of a family tragedy, Mike Bowditch has left the Maine Warden Service and is working as a fishing guide in the North Woods. But when his mentor Sgt. Kathy Frost is forced to kill a troubled war veteran in an apparent case of “suicide by cop,” he begins having second thoughts about his decision.
Now Kathy finds herself the target of a government inquiry and outrage from the dead soldier’s platoon mates. Soon she finds herself in the sights of a sniper, as well. When the sergeant is shot outside her farmhouse, Mike joins the hunt to find the mysterious man responsible. To do so, the ex-warden must plunge into his friend’s secret past―even as a beautiful woman from Mike’s own past returns, throwing into jeopardy his tentative romance with wildlife biologist Stacey Stevens.
As Kathy Frost lies on the brink of death and a dangerous shooter stalks the blueberry barrens of central Maine, Bowditch is forced to confront the choices he has made and determine, once and for all, the kind of man he truly is.
The Bone Orchard is one of the better novels in Paul Doiron‘s Mike Bowditch series so far. While the story itself could be a standalone tale, having read the previous four books added to the overall story. In this installment we get a bit more insight into why Mike Bowditch cares for Kathy so much and sheds light on his decision to leave the Maine Warden Service. These details are essential, but the tidbits can give you a better understanding of the series.
Doiron continues to improve his ability to tell a Mike Bowditch tale while deepening the character. We see real growth as a person for Bowditch in The Bone Orchard, revealing his deep care for Maine in both the wildlife and the people who call it home. Bowditch is wonderfully written, but so are the supporting cast in The Bone Orchard.
The Bone Orchard is a well-paced and thrilling mystery in which Mike Bowditch continues to shine. Paul Doiron keeps the momentum going with Maine’s favorite Game Warden, Mike Bowditch, and left me eager for his next adventure in my home state.
The Bone Orchard is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
The Precipice
When two female hikers disappear in the Hundred Mile Wilderness-the most remote stretch along the entire Appalachian Trail-Maine game warden Mike Bowditch joins the desperate search to find them.
Hope turns to despair after two unidentified corpses are discovered-their bones picked clean by coyotes. Do the bodies belong to the missing hikers? And were they killed by the increasingly aggressive wild dogs?
Soon, all of Maine is gripped with the fear of killer coyotes. But Bowditch has his doubts. His new girlfriend, wildlife biologist Stacey Stevens, insists the scavengers are being wrongly blamed. She believes a murderer may be hiding in the offbeat community of hikers, hippies, and woodsmen at the edge of the Hundred Mile Wilderness. When Stacey herself disappears along the Appalachian Trail, the hunt for answers becomes personal.
Can Mike Bowditch find the woman he loves before the most dangerous animal in the North Woods strikes again?
My biggest worry about reading the entire Mike Bowditch mystery series was that it might become repetitive or dull. However, Paul Doiron surprisingly keeps things fresh, and with The Precipice, Doiron takes us to one of Maine’s most adventurous settings yet, the mountains.
While there a number of things that draw people tom Maine, the Appalachian Trail is easily one of the biggest. It would’ve been a missed opportunity for Doiron not to send Mike Bowditch into this rugged part of the state. Visiting this extreme location with Bowditch added to the lore of the series. Not only do we get to see more of the diversity of Maine’s outdoors, we get more growth from Bowditch and his relationship to Stacey Stevens.
The Precipice is another great outing for Mike Bowditch as we hit the midway point in the series, at least so far. Paul Doiron continues to evolve as a writer, just as Bowditch continues to grow as a character.
The Precipice is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Widowmaker
In Paul Doiron’s Widowmaker, when a mysterious woman in distress appears outside his home, Mike Bowditch has no clue she is about to blow his world apart.
Amber Langstrom is beautiful, damaged, and hiding a secret with a link to his past. She claims her son, Adam, is a wrongfully convicted sex offender who has vanished from a brutal work camp in the high timber around the Widowmaker Ski Resort. She also claims that Adam Langstrom is the illegitimate son of Jack Bowditch, Mike’s dead and diabolical father. He is the half brother Mike never knew he had.
After trying so hard to put his troubled past behind him, Mike is reluctant to revisit the wild country of his childhood and again confront his father’s history of violence. But Amber’s desperation and his own need to know the truth make it hard for him to refuse her pleas for help.
In search of answers, Bowditch travels through a mountainous wilderness to a place hidden from the rest of the world, where the military guards a top-secret interrogation base, sexual predators live together in a backwoods colony, and self-styled vigilantes are willing to murder anyone they consider their enemies.
Mike Bowditch must exorcise the demons of the past before the real-life demons of the present kill him.
In Widowmaker, we return with Mike Bowditch to the mountains of Maine. When I first started reading this seventh book in the series, I assumed Paul Doiron was using Widowmaker as an unofficial name for Sugarloaf Mountain, as there is a slope there with that name, and was avoiding directly referencing Sugarloaf, for whatever reason. But instead, the story focuses around a fictional resort called Widowmaker, which plays a key role in the mystery.
Similar to the first book in the series, The Poacher’s Son, Widowmaker takes a slightly different approach by placing Mike Bowditch at the center of the mystery. While not the entire story revolves around him, he has a more prominent role in the actual mystery than in some of the other books. Which is a welcome sight.
Widowmaker explores more of Bowditch’s relationship with Stacey Stevens as well as has him pushing to reflect on his past, especially his complicated history with his own father. This gave use some great emotional depth, while also delivering a strong mystery. It’s another solid novel from Paul Doiron.
Widowmaker is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Knife Creek
In Knife Creek, a new edge-of-your-seat thriller from Edgar finalist Paul Doiron, Mike Bowditch delves into a long buried investigation to uncover a dangerous secret.
When Maine game warden Mike Bowditch is tasked with shooting invasive feral hogs that are tearing up the forest in his district, he makes a horrific discovery ― a dead baby buried in a shallow grave.
Even more disturbing: evidence suggests the infant was the child of a young woman who was presumed to have died four years earlier after she disappeared from a group rafting trip.
As Bowditch assists the reopened investigation, he begins to suspect that some of his neighbors aren’t who they seem to be. When violence strikes close to home, he realizes that his unknown enemies will stop at nothing to keep their terrible secrets.
Mike Bowditch has bucked the odds his whole career, but this time the intrepid warden may have finally followed his hunches one step too far.
Knife Creek is one of the most intense and interesting entries in the Mike Bowditch series so far. A mixture of thrilling mystery and emotional weight, giving us a start that is both gripping and relentless. This is one of those novels that really reminds me that Bowditch is Maine’s Jack Bauer.
Doiron brings some visceral horror to the Mike Bowditch series in Knife Creek, delivering gut-wrenching and heartfelt moments in the Saco River area of Maine. He also weaves in timely, headline-worthing issues that add real-world feelings to the story. All this going on all while Bowditch’s relationship with Stacey is progressing, but will it last.
Knife Creek is a fantastic novel, an impressive feat for the eighth book in a long-running series. I can see why people were clamoring for more Bowditch and little did we know we were heading into book 16 in 2026. While I am always excited to start the next in this series after finishing a book, but this has me quickly running to my shelves.
Knife Creek is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Stay Hidden
A woman has been shot to death by a deer hunter on an island off the coast of Maine. To newly promoted Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch, the case seems open and shut. But as soon as he arrives on remote Maquoit Island he discovers mysteries piling up one on top of the other.
The hunter now claims he didn’t fire the fatal shot and the evidence proves he’s telling the truth. Bowditch begins to suspect the secretive community might be covering up the identity of whoever killed the woman, known as Ariel Evans. The controversial author was supposedly writing a book about the island’s notorious hermit. So why are there no notes in her rented cottage?
The biggest blow comes the next day when the weekly ferry arrives and off steps the dead woman herself. Ariel Evans is alive, well, and determined to solve her own “murder” even if it upsets Mike Bowditch’s investigation and makes them both targets of an elusive killer who will do anything to conceal his crimes.
Mike Bowditch is now a Maine Game Warden Investigator and kicks off his new gig with a doozy. Situated on a rural Maine island, things are not what they seem and get even worse. Another great location and setting for a Bowditch mystery.
One of the best things about these stories are the varying settings based in the great State of Maine. Each location has its own challenges and obstacles, while also acting almost as its own character. Stay Hidden based on an island allowed for a unique storyline where a close group of people are over-protective of each other which is not far from how it really is on these islands.
These stories are great stand alone tales, but of course have a wider connection to the foundation built by Paul Doiron over the first eight novels. Another solid outing for Doiron and our favorite Game Warden.
Stay Hidden is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Almost Midnight
While on vacation, Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch receives a strange summons from Billy Cronk, one of his oldest friends and a man he had to reluctantly put behind bars for murder. Billy wants him to investigate a new female prison guard with a mysterious past, and Mike feels honor-bound to help his friend. But when the guard becomes the victim in a brutal attack at the prison, he realizes there may be a darker cover-up at play―and that Billy and his family might be at risk.
Then Mike receives a second call for help, this time from a distant mountain valley where Shadow, a wolf-hybrid he once cared for, has been found shot by an arrow and clinging to life. He searches for the identity of the bowman, but his investigation is blocked at every turn by the increasingly hostile community. And when Billy’s wife and children are threatened, Mike finds himself tested like never before. How can he possibly keep the family safe when he has enemies of his own on his trail?
Torn between loyalties, Mike Bowditch must respond in the only way he knows how: by bending every law and breaking every rule to keep his loved ones safe and the true predators at bay.
You would think that 10 books into an on-going series things would become repetitive and dull, that is simply not the case. Paul Doiron continues the Mike Bowditch story with Almost Midnight in great fashion. In this, the 10th book in the series, we not only get a thrilling mystery to solve, we actually get two, but we also get to tag along with some familiar faces from previous stories, including one that has become the new love interest to Bowditch.
This inclusion of previous characters might seem like you need to read the others to really get a grasp, but Doiron does a fantastic job balancing history with the present to allow this story to still have a stand alone feel. This allows the reader to jump into Almost Midnight without much backstory needed. However, us longtime readers will get a kick out seeing some old faces.
Reading this in November was great as the winter season is upon us. It was pure luck that I jumped into Almost Midnight during this time of year, but worked out great. This story has me eagerly awaiting getting started with the next installment!
Almost Midnight is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
One Last Lie
“Never trust a man without secrets.” These are the last words retired game warden Charley Stevens speaks to his surrogate son, Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch, before the old man vanishes without explanation. Mike suspects his friend’s mysterious departure has to do with an antique warden badge that recently resurfaced at a flea market ― a badge connected to a cold case from Charley’s past that the Maine Warden Service would rather forget.
Fifteen years ago, a young warden was sent on an undercover mission to infiltrate a notorious poaching ring and never returned. He was presumed dead, but his body was never recovered. Mike is desperate to find Charley before he meets a similar fate. His investigation brings him to the miles of forest and riverside towns along the Canadian border―but he soon learns that even his fellow wardens have secrets to keep. And Charley’s past isn’t the only one coming to light; his daughter, Stacey, has resurfaced to search for her missing father, and Mike must grapple with the return of the woman he once thought was gone forever.
Forced to question his faith in the man he sees as a father, Mike must reopen a cold case that powerful people―one of whom may be a killer―will do anything to keep closed.
One of the reasons to dive into a Mike Bowditch mystery is the setting, a trip across Maine’s wilderness and the people and animals who occupy these places. However, it was quite refreshing for Paul Doiron to kick-off One Last Lie in the Everglades in the wilderness of Florida. While the book takes place mostly in Maine we do cover a good amount of miles and I was hooked to every moment.
It’s not just the new locations, it was the familiar faces that make One Last Lie something special. While the book can be read as a standalone, it’s the classic characters that made it worthwhile. Bowditch is on the search for longtime friend and surrogate father, Charley Stevens, and meeting back up with Stacey while on the search for Pythons.
One Last Lie has heart as well as adventure and mystery. You can feel the need for Bowditch to find his longtime friend, but also his frustration for the situation he is put in.
One Last Lie is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Dead by Dawn
Mike Bowditch is fighting for his life. After being ambushed on a dark winter road, Bowditch crashes his Jeep into a frozen river. Trapped beneath the ice in the middle of nowhere, having lost his gun and any way to signal for help, Mike fights his way to the surface. But surviving the crash is only the first challenge. Whoever set the trap that ran him off the road is still out there, and they’re coming for him.
Hours earlier, Mike had been called to investigate the suspicious drowning of a wealthy professor. Despite the death being ruled an accident, the victim’s elegant, eccentric daughter-in-law insists the man was murdered. She suspects his companion that day, a reclusive survivalist and conspiracy theorist who accompanied the professor on his fateful duck-hunting trip―but what exactly was the nature of their relationship? And was her own sharp-tongued daughter, who inherited the dead man’s fortune, as close to her grandfather as she claims? The accusations lead Mike to a sinister local family who claim to have information on the crime. But when his Jeep flies into the river and unknown armed assailants on snowmobiles chase him through the wilderness, the investigation turns into a fight for survival.
As Mike faces a nightlong battle to stay alive, he must dissect the hours leading up to the ambush and solve two riddles: which one of these people desperately want him dead, and what has he done to incur their wrath?
After 11 novels and a few short stories, I have to imagine crafting a new tale featuring Mike Bowditch can be more challenging for Paul Doiron, but what he does with Dead by Dawn keeps things fresh and interesting.
In Dead by Dawn, we get two different timelines that eventually meet up. One dealing with Bowditch’s fight to survive a wintery car wreck in the freezing waters of Maine and the other what took place prior to this horrible crash that lead up to his fight to live. It’s a fun way to tell this story and works perfectly.
It does seem like Bowditch continues to find ways to get himself into a pickle and not the first time he is close to death’s door. Although we have come attached to Bowditch and his fight for justice along the way, it was riveting to see him use his vast knowledge and skills in his fight for his life. It was a nice touch to have so much focus solely on Mike, as well as Shadow, and see how he handles being in such a precarious predicament.
Breaking up Mike’s fight for survival, Doiron tosses us back to the beginning of this mystery allowing us as the read to attempt to find out what lead up to the current timeline. The pacing and flow worked so well, giving us just the right amount of Bowditch’s near death experience while also giving us a backstory. Not to mention featuring a few people from Mike’s past.
Dead by Dawn was a great mixture of survival and mystery. Paul Doiron continues to creating gripping tales surrounding our favorite Maine Game Warden, while also giving us something fresh.
Dead by Dawn is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Hatchet Island
A call for help from a former colleague leads Maine game warden investigator Mike Bowditch and his girlfriend Stacey Stevens on a sea kayaking trip to a research station far off the coast. Stacey spent summers interning on the island, a sanctuary for endangered seabirds, and they are shocked by the atmosphere of tension they encounter when they come ashore. The biologists are being threatened and stalked by a mysterious boatman who they suspect is trespassing on the refuge late at night. And now the sanctuary’s enigmatic founder, whose mind has been slowly unraveling, has gone missing.
Camped on an islet for the night, Mike and Stacey waken to the sound of a gunshot. When they return to the refuge at dawn, their darkest fears are confirmed: two of the three researchers have been brutally murdered and the third has disappeared, along with the island skiff. Mike’s quest to find the missing man leads to a nearby island owned by a world-renowned photographer and his equally brilliant wife. The inhabitants of this private kingdom quickly close ranks, and Mike increasingly comes to believe that someone in the village knows more about the killings than they dare admit.
With no one to trust and miles from shore, Mike Bowditch must stop a ruthless murderer determined to make sure a terrifying secret never sees the light of day.
With each new Mike Bowditch story, Paul Doiron has the unique ability to introduce us to new and interesting Mainers to the tale with such authenticity. Both good and bad characters. This makes each story have a life-like feel as someone who was born in raised in Maine would understand.
In addition to these great new characters, Bowditch is finally spending some quality time with Stacey Stevens. For us long time readers, this is a longtime coming. These two work so well together and give such depth to Bowditch’s story. While things aren’t exactly what they had hoped it was nice to see them out on the open water together and seeking each other affection on land.
Not only does Hatchet Island give us new and diverse characters along with some familiar faces, it’s the location that makes the story worthwhile. Doiron brings us back to the islands off the coast of Maine for a locked door-esque style mystery. A nice change of pace from the woods of Maine.
While I enjoyed Hatched Island thoroughly, I did miss the face of Charlie Stevens, who only makes a brief appearance this time around. Paul Doiron some how continues to keep me attentive to these mysteries in the wilds of Maine.
Hatchet Island is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Dead Man’s Wake
On the evening of their engagement party, Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch and Stacey Stevens witness what seems to be a hit-and-run speedboat crash on a darkened lake. When they arrive at the scene, their spotlight reveals a gruesome sight: a severed arm floating just beneath the surface. As day breaks, the warden dive team recovers not one but two naked corpses: a dismembered man and the married woman with whom he was having an affair. Mike begins to suspect the swimmers’ deaths were not a senseless accident but a coldly calculated murder.
Meanwhile, the hunt is on for the mysterious boater. Suspects abound on the lake, nicknamed “Golden Pond,” including the violent biker husband of the murdered woman who may have taken vengeance on his wife and her paramour; a strange woman who claims to have witnessed the crash, but then changes her story; a very aggressive realtor and his wife who were determined to catch trespassers; and the lake’s earnest young constable whose eagerness to help may hide darker motives.
Alone among his fellow officers, Mike starts to sense the involvement of a trained marksman, smarter and more dangerous than any enemy he has ever faced before. As Mike and Stacey get closer to identifying the killer, their own lives are suddenly on the line as they confront a lethal killer who plans to silence them forever. The finale is a tour de force of drama and suspense.
It is something special when the author of series of interconnected novels such as Paul Doiron and his The Mike Bowditch Series can craft a story at the 14th novel as good as Dead Man’s Wake. Not only is the story itself a tremendous tale, but it furthers the over arching thread laid before it with 13 novels and many short stories.
Dead Man’s Wake is a gripping mystery on the fresh water of one of Maine’s most iconic bodies of water. We have followed Mike Bowditch into Maine’s deep woods, up to the top of mountains, and along the state’s coast. Finding ourselves on an island in Maine’s freshwater with a boating mystery was another glimpse at Maine’s amazing wilderness and adventure.
Because the story takes place around a boat, there is a fair amount of boating language that might entice those boating fans to read this story. However, it does revolve around a severed arm and a few murders.
Once again Doiron furthers Bowditch’s growth as a Game Warden, but also as a man and as one half of a romantic relationship. It was refreshing to see Mike and Stacey Stevens relationship taking yet another step forward. The two characters are very likable and Doiron has written them in a way that you can’t help but root for them. Not to mention we get more of Stacey’s parents along the way.
This novel features boats and more of Charley’s plane, both in some high-stakes drama.
Dead Man’s Wake was a fantastic entry into the Mike Bowditch Mysteries. With a ton of high-stakes mystery as well as wonderful characters, Paul Doiron once again hits one out of the park, allowing me to eager await my next Bowditch adventure.
Dead Man’s Wake is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Pitch Dark
Game Warden Mike Bowditch must chase down a cunning and dangerous fugitive in the North Maine Woods in this nail-biter of a thriller, Pitch Dark by Edgar Award-nominated Paul Doiron.
Legendary bush pilot Josie Jonson can’t believe her luck when a skilled builder just happens to show up after she purchases land near Prentiss Pond. All Mark Redmond asks in return for building Josie’s dream cabin is that he be left alone to homeschool his 12-year-old daughter, Cady.
For Maine game warden investigator Mike Bowditch, the intensity of Redmond’s secretiveness is troubling, especially in light of suspicious criminal activity being reported around the area―including rumors of an armed man offering large sums of money in exchange for the location of Redmond and Cady. Josie, though hesitant to violate the trust of her prized builder, eventually agrees to fly Mike and his father-in-law Charley Stevens to the secluded pond in an attempt to protect Redmond and Cady.
What happens after they arrive sets in a series of events that pushes Bowditch into impenetrable Maine forest towards Canada, alone and unarmed in pursuit of a mysterious fugitive.
Paul Doiron has created a thrilling, action-packed novel with Pitch Dark that could be one of his best outings featuring Mike Bowditch. He gives us vivid descriptions of Northern Maine, characters we care for, and action-packed chases that keep you immersed in the wilderness of Maine, quickly turning each page to see what happens next. Pitch Dark is surely an unforgettable story based in my home State of Maine.
Pitch Dark is available at bookstores everywhere from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
Storm Tide (Coming Soon!)
When the magnificent home of entrepreneur Brian Malloy mysteriously goes up in flames, Maine game warden Mike Bowditch tries to pull Malloy’s burning body from the fire but is too late. Malloy was suspected of murdering his young, illegitimate son. Now it looks like someone else has delivered a verdict.
Miles away, on a lonely stretch of icy railroad track, the body of Axl Deming, once accused of a brutal rape, is found literally cut in half. Though the two murders seem unrelated, a cryptic text from an unknown number draws Bowditch to the scene―and hints at a chilling connection. He suspects someone is orchestrating the executions of criminals who escaped justice, and for reasons he can’t explain, his own name is on the list, but the state police aren’t convinced. His search for the truth takes him through frozen harbors, trackless forests, and remote islands, far from rescue.
Meanwhile, Bowditch is facing a disciplinary hearing that could end his career. His wife Stacey, just weeks from giving birth, is being stalked by a stranger in a white van. And when he realizes someone has also been watching their home, the case turns increasingly personal.
To protect his family, Bowditch must work alone to uncover who’s behind the killings―and stop them before he becomes their next victim.
REVIEW COMING SOON!
Storm Time hits bookstores everywhere on June 30, 2026 from Minotaur Books. The audiobook, narrated by Henry Leyva, is available via Libro.fm!
