Audiobook Review: Pitch Dark by Paul Doiron

 

Pitch Dark by Paul Doiron

Publication Date: June 25th 2024 by Macmillan Audio

Pages: 304

Audio Book Length: 8hrs 22min

Narrator: Henry Leyva

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm |  Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Mike Bowditch gets a call from a neighboring game warden needing guidance. He has a possible missing person. A man, not from around Maine, rented an ATV, despite warnings of bad weather and land conditions. Before venturing off, he was asking for information on a reclusive man, Mark Redmond, and his young daughter, Cady, seen around Prentiss Pond, a remote location close to the Canadian border.

 

Mike finds out that Mark is building a cabin for Josie Johnson, a bush pilot and family friend. The story raises Mike’s suspicions and so he and his father-in-law, Charley, travel out to check on Mark and his daughter, Cady. From there things go south. Mike, Charley and Josie end up tied up with a killer escaping.

 

The story took off at a breakneck speed after that with Mike pursuing this killer through the remote Maine wilderness, overcoming many obstacles, both from nature and of the human variety. I was glued to the story! While I do think Mike runs headlong into danger, most of the time he tries to think things through. Circumstances do not always allow for plotting and planning, especially with criminals. However, they usually don’t count on Mike’s dogged determination! The situation culminates in an exciting conclusion! Some things were left open, so I’m anxious for the next book!

 

One of the things I love about this series is that Doiron manages to vividly describe the Maine landscape, rough and beautiful, without slowing the plot.  

 

Pitch Dark is book fifteen in the series, but I feel you could read it as a standalone and still enjoy the story. I stepped in late in the game at book twelve and I’ve read enjoyed every new installment since!

 

I’ve listened to the series with Henry Leyva performing and he’s come to “be” Mike Bowditch to me. Doiron’s wry humor comes through loud and clear through his performance and I enjoy his Maine and Canadian accents. I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed and a little higher in some of the more intense scenes. A definite recommend!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Game Warden Mike Bowditch must chase down a cunning and dangerous fugitive in the North Maine Woods in this nail-biter of a thriller from Edgar Award-nominated author Paul Doiron, Pitch Dark.

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. But hours after landing, the trip takes a dark turn when they witness a horrific murder and are taken captive themselves.

Freeing himself, Mike is forced to set off through the impenetrable Maine forest towards Canada, alone and unarmed in pursuit of a mysterious fugitive. As he navigates a windblown landscape choked with deadfalls and blocked by swollen streams, he marvels at his enemy’s bush craft. The killer possesses skills surpassing his own, and Bowditch can't tell if he is the cat or the mouse in this dangerous game. Can Mike Bowditch stop his adversary in time to save the life of a young girl, or will he be forced to watch another innocent soul die?