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 … 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, Mike 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. There they meet a beautiful woman who claims to be Jack’s mistress but who seems to be guarding a more dangerous secret. The only way for Mike to save his father now is to find the real killer—which could mean putting everyone he loves in the line of fire.
The Poacher’s Son is a sterling debut of literary suspense. Taut and engrossing, it represents the first in a series featuring Mike Bowditch.
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Absolutely loved this first in series by Paul Doiron. I read Knife Creek first, and knew I wanted more of the gritty but tenderhearted Mike Bowditch, the Maine game warden that does like my heroines do…persists with a case when lesser souls would follow procedure. In this first book, his mettle is tested when his “bar brawler” of a father is …
Good plot, great characters, snappy dialog. It’s Doiron’s first novel, but you wouldn’t know it. I recommend this one to anyone who likes mysteries. You don’t have to be a hunter to enjoy it.
Paul Doiron’s first novel had been recommended to me by a lot of my fellow mystery writers, but I confess that it took me a while to get around to reading it. What a mistake. Set in Maine, it’s an emotionally taut tale of a young game warden trying to come to terms with his past and the shadow cast over it by his hard-drinking father, a stone of a …
I love this series
When Publishers’ Weekly reviewed my novel, Rinn’s Crossing, it said–not as good as Paul Doiron, but fans of his will be intrigued.
I was like: who is Doiron and if he’s in my review he better be better than Shakespeare. I found him with a quick Google and discovered he lived right down the road from me. We’ve emailed, but due to a certain virus …
Fantastic debut novel. The series gets better with each subsequent novel.
This well written book introduced me to the writing of Paul Doiron. I have since read several of his books and they all hold interest and engage the reader. His story line is inventive and his characters believable.
Nicely integrated family story with nature & how to use or abuse its resources.
Excellent! I am reading it for the second time and will read more of this author’s works! I live in Maine and recognize that much of this book’s action can and does (and did) occur in the back woods of rural states like ours. We are thankful for our excellent warden’s service.
Good read …great series
I love Maine and this book took me into the wilds of Maine I have never seen. I loved the characters and the story.
An action-packed mystery/thriller that gives wonderful insight into the life of a game warden.
I couldn’t get the ending right in my mind. It was a question of who done it right from the start, didn’t know for sure until last pages of last chapter,
Could have done without all the naming of towns and places in upper Maine.