Review: Blaze Orange by Paul Doiron

 

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: ★★★★

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

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.

Audiobook Review: Pitch Dark by Paul Doiron

 

Pitch Dark (Mike Bowditch #15) 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?

Review: Dead Man's Wake by Paul Doiron

 

Dead Man's Wake (Mike Boditch #14) by Paul Doiron

Publication Date: June 27th 2023 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio

Pages: 320

Audio Book Length: 9hrs 26min

Narrator: Henry Leyva

Source: Publisher & Library Audio Copy

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Mike and his fiancée Stacey Stevens are at his stepfather’s lake house for their engagement party when they hear a boat crash. As a Game Warden for the Maine Warden Service and with no one else available Mike set out to find out what happened with his future father-in-law, Charley, a retired Game Warden, in tow. They find gruesome remains and evidence of two deaths.

Mike investigates with the State Police Detectives. It’s very much a crime procedural with Mike interviewing witnesses and traveling around the small islands to gather evidence. I enjoy Mike’s interactions with his mentor/friend/future father-in-law Charley. He’s such a rascal, but a big help in solving the case. Even Stacey helps a lot with being able to fly and just being a sounding board helping Mike puzzle through the clues. I was happy that Mike seems to be maturing and thinking things through more before acting. A conscious decision on his part to do better and think of the other people in his life. I did miss Shadow, his part wolf dog in this installment.

The coast of Maine and the little islands are a big part of the story, Mr. Doiron brings the area to life with his lovely writing. Yes, it’s a fast-paced plot, but I like how he takes a moment to feature nature’s beauty all around.

This is book fourteen in the Mike Bowditch series, but I’ve skipped around and read out of order. I think you could read this as a stand-alone, but you’d miss some of the character backstory. The ending brought a smile to my face!

I alternately read and listened to a library audio copy. I’ll still keep working my way through the previous mysteries. The audios are great with Henry Leyva narrating the series. He has a great easy-going voice, that I now picture as Mike, and he does the Maine/Boston accents well. I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

4 Stars

Book Description:

Game Warden Mike Bowditch's engagement party is interrupted by the discovery of a gruesome double murder in Dead Man's Wake, a new thriller from Edgar Award-winning author Paul Doiron.

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 beneath the surface. As day breaks, the warden dive team recovers not one but two naked corpses: the 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. Alone among his fellow officers, Mike begins to sense the involvement of a trained professional, smarter and more dangerous than any enemy he has faced. As Mike and Stacey get closer to identifying the killer, their own lives are suddenly put on the line, leading to a confrontation designed to silence them forever.