Genre: Book
Grade: B+
Notable People: Paul Doiron
Title: The Bone Orchard
Review: Penned in 2014, this is the 5th in the Maine Game Warden, Mike Bowditch series. The first few entries in the series had left me unsure of whether I would continue, but, Doiron’s writing is improving dramatically. If you like Game Warden stuff, better to check out CJ Box’s Joe Pickett-Wyoming series…in another class altogether- but Bowditch is an interesting and complex character and the very far Northern Maine setting is somewhat unique. In this one, Bowditch has left the Maine Warden Service after his mother’s death and is working as a fishing guide in the North Woods. His mentor (Sgt. Kathy Frost) is forced to kill a troubled war veteran in an apparent case of “suicide by cop,” and soon, Bowditch, winds up in the middle of the whole thing, and the usual murder and mayhem ensues. Doiron seems to feel about the gentrification of Southern Maine (Bowditch likes stay in the North woods instead), the way David Mapstone feels about the sullying of Phoenix, in the Jon Talton series I am reading simultaneously. The constant bitching about change gets a bit old in both series. But the story here is captivating, the writing smooth and the characters and setting engaging. Very quick read and worth a try (start at the beginning).