A review by ncrabb
The Bone Orchard, by Paul Doiron
4.0
It’s been a while since I magically went to Maine to visit my troubled friend, Mike Bowditch. The visit was long overdue, and as always, when I open a Paul Doiron book, I’m entirely caught up in its excellence.
They call it suicide by cop. That’s the scenario where someone engages in behavior that forces a law enforcement person to take the life of a troubled person. It’s the situation that Maine Game Warden Kathy Frost faced when she and her partner, a by-the-book rookie, had to confront a troubled veteran. Frost, who mentored Mike Bowditch, had no choice but to shoot the man who had threatened her life. The anger on the part of other veterans who knew the dead man was swift and visceral. Many accused Frost of killing a hero, insisting that she and her partner acted too quickly.
Mike Bowditch has left the game warden service to take a job as a fishing guide. His ex-girlfriend has moved back to Maine, and the woman he quietly loves seems to want little to do with him. He remains a loner.
He learns that his mentor has killed the distraught veteran, and he returns to Camden to lend moral support if nothing else. But as he approaches her house, shots ring out, and Kathy Frost is struck. Her dog is also killed by the hidden killer, and Mike is injured when gunshots blow out his windshield.
Kathy is comatose in a Portland hospital, and it’s up to Mike to piece together murky connections that tie to the seemingly accidental death of an elderly neighbor of Kathy’s.
This is Doiron at his excellent best. It’s really crucial that you start with the first book in this series, however. It’s really the only way to track Mike Bowditch’s evolving character. I guess you can read these as stand-alones, but you fail to grasp the changes in Mike’s character if you do that. It’s an excellent mystery with a satisfying surprise ending that you won’t likely predict.
They call it suicide by cop. That’s the scenario where someone engages in behavior that forces a law enforcement person to take the life of a troubled person. It’s the situation that Maine Game Warden Kathy Frost faced when she and her partner, a by-the-book rookie, had to confront a troubled veteran. Frost, who mentored Mike Bowditch, had no choice but to shoot the man who had threatened her life. The anger on the part of other veterans who knew the dead man was swift and visceral. Many accused Frost of killing a hero, insisting that she and her partner acted too quickly.
Mike Bowditch has left the game warden service to take a job as a fishing guide. His ex-girlfriend has moved back to Maine, and the woman he quietly loves seems to want little to do with him. He remains a loner.
He learns that his mentor has killed the distraught veteran, and he returns to Camden to lend moral support if nothing else. But as he approaches her house, shots ring out, and Kathy Frost is struck. Her dog is also killed by the hidden killer, and Mike is injured when gunshots blow out his windshield.
Kathy is comatose in a Portland hospital, and it’s up to Mike to piece together murky connections that tie to the seemingly accidental death of an elderly neighbor of Kathy’s.
This is Doiron at his excellent best. It’s really crucial that you start with the first book in this series, however. It’s really the only way to track Mike Bowditch’s evolving character. I guess you can read these as stand-alones, but you fail to grasp the changes in Mike’s character if you do that. It’s an excellent mystery with a satisfying surprise ending that you won’t likely predict.