Blaze Orange by Paul Doiron
Publication Date: April 28th 2026 by Macmillan Audio
Pages: 58
Audio Book Length: 1hr 7min
Narrator: Henry Leyva
Source: Publisher
Rating: ★★★★
My
Thoughts:
Kathy Frost has just started her job as a Game Warden in rural
Maine, and it’s deer hunting season. She and Charley, the senior Game Warden,
are called out to a hunting accident. Apparently, a seasoned deer hunter accidently
shot and killed a man, mistaking him for a deer since he was dressed all in
brown, but right away Kathy doesn’t think his story rings true.
The Mike Bowditch series has fifteen books, but Blaze Orange
is a standalone short story before Mike comes onto the job. Instead, this
features Mike’s mentor, Charley Stevens.
Charley’s a seemingly folksy man, yet underneath that exterior is a
sharp investigator. Kathy is new to the job so is just getting the sense of him
as they investigate.
I love the Mike Bowditch series! Intriguing and dangerous
cases set in the gorgeous and rugged Maine landscape.
Blaze Orange was an interesting case. Seeing Charley help Kathy
put things together for herself underlined what a wonderful mentor he was. The
1990s setting was fun. A time when you had to make sure you had change if you
needed to make a phone call (phone booths!) because cell phones weren’t widely
available, yet.
This is a very short story, just a little over an hour. A
great way to try out the author and dip your toe into the series!
Henry Leyva narrates this story, as well as the rest of the
series and I love his Maine accents and performance of the author’s dry humor
interspersed throughout.
4 Stars
Book Description:
In “Blaze Orange,” an original short story by bestselling author Paul Doiron, Maine game warden Charley Stevens suspects that a tragic hunting accident is really cold-blooded murder—if only he can prove it.
When a local man is shot dead during deer season in 1990s Maine, all signs point to a heartbreaking mistake, as the victim was dressed head-to-toe in brown, and the shooter is a respected family man known for his gentleness. But as Charley and rookie warden Kathy Frost sift through the quiet tensions of a small community, two details refuse to add up. The victim knew better than to wear neutral colors during deer season. Why wasn’t he dressed in blaze orange? And something that should be at the scene simply isn’t.
To solve the case, Charley must dig into old grudges and buried motives—and Kathy turns to the most unlikely investigator of all.
