Poacher's Son

By: Paul Doiron

Narrated by: Henry Leyva

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

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 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 by Paul Doiron featuring Mike Bowditch.

©2010 Paul Doiron (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Not a run-of-the-mill tale.

The not so-run-of-the mill tale was as much about difficult family relationships and the life's decisions we make as well as the who-done-it storyline. The reader was excellent, I shall hear his voice in my mind for some time to come. The location of the story was far from the big cities of many, and I could see, hear, and smell the lushness of the vast wilderness.

A good whodonit with excellent narration, but...

OK, so I can understand why so many reviewers gave this book four and five stars, but I cannot go there. I think for this review I will bullet point the good and the bad.

Positives:

1. The setting! I loved the exploration of Maine and its culture. Some of my favorite mystery series allow the setting to act as a character itself. (For example, Wyoming in the Joe Picket series and Alaska in the Kate Shaguk series). I believe that Maine will be a perfect setting for this series which features a game warden as the protagonist, because the people of this state are unique and the culture is very specific to this area. I can foresee so much humor and curiosity here.

2. Mike Bowditch seems like he will be a strong and moral protagonist.

Negatives:

1. The characters were a bit cartoonish and one-dimensional. Mike was portrayed as too good. He needs to be drawn with more flaws and vulnerabilities. Joe Pickett is sometimes too moralistic and perfect but his wife and daughters bring out his vulnerabilities. I hope that this will happen for Mike too or I will lose interest quickly. Also, the "bad guy" here was Mike's dad who was drawn as completely evil without any redeeming qualities. I found him unbelievable and boring.

2. Mike Bowditch's relationship with his father isn't dynamic enough. He is convinced that his dad is innocent but there is nothing that has happened to make him think this way. Everything that is outlined about their past would lead to the conclusion that his dad was guilty. There are no positive and loving interactions. There are no events that show the dad to be a good and moral person. This leap of faith is impossible to follow and as a reader I couldn't stay with the story and didn't ever find myself believing as Mike did.


As far as the narration goes -- it was excellent. I know very little about Maine as I live in Colorado and have never been there. But I have had some good friends who were from Maine and I found Henry Leyva's accent believable. There were moments that seemed perfect to my untrained ear. I felt that he perfectly embodied Mike. At some point I will probably listen to the next book and I hope that he is the narrator for it as well.

Loved it

Love this one! I love Maine, enjoy outdoorsy game warden main characters, and devour mysteries. The Poacher's Son is a great read. I highly recommend it. Narrator was also excellent.

Easy to follow story....,

The story is easy to follow because it limits the number of characters and stays with storyline from the beginning. I recommend the book even though the narrator can be less than exciting.

Intense and personal! I loved it!

I loved the book. As an outdoorsman myself, it was easy to get sucked into the setting. I loved how personal the book got, including some scenes the actually made me feel angry and sad with the protagonist. Very good stuff. My only gripe was the narrator sometimes messing up the accent of the various characters, but overall it was great. I look forward to the next in the series.

Meh…just average

Other reviews have dissed the narrator. However, I’m from the Midwest and I think the narrator did a great job of a north eastern accent. It was good enough for me; I knew what he was trying to do.

The storyline is a whole other bag of worms. It was pretty bland. Throw in a couple of characters, throw in some cliché phrases that don’t add to the story, throw in a few more characters, kill a couple people, and then try to wrap it all up lately in the end. Very boring.

I could not like or hate the main character, Mike. The writing was such that I felt disconnected from the main character. Quite a bummer when you’re trying to get into the book.

Solid start to a series, but...

For the love of god, Bangor, Maine is pronounced “Ban-gore” not “Banger”. Every movie and audiobook, even Stephen King’s, mispronounce it. And Skowhegan is pronounced exactly as it’s spelled, not “Sko- hegan” as the narrator said about a hundred times. As a Mainer, it’s thoroughly annoying to hear this stuff. Maybe make a phone call to Maine before you narrate the book. Just sayin. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the book. And the narrator did a pretty solid job of nailing a Maine accent.

Book Good, Narrator Bad

The book was great but the narrator butchers the Maine accent and common landmark names. Probably forgivable if you're not familiar with Maine but agonizingly painful for those of us who live hear.

Boneheaded Main Character

Mike makes a ridiculous amount of bad choices. I really like imperfect characters but this dude is just a moron. It actually becomes exhausting listening to it.

Love Is Strange

Altho this is NOT a romance novel by any stretch the depictions of relationships reveal a lot about how dysfunctional ones might look. Perhaps that helps explain some things about Mike Bowditch. His difficulty with forming close attachments his choice to pursue a career which guarantees as much close contact with creatures as it does with people. It may explain his impulsive sometimes self destructive behavior. Sometimes the choices he makes are maddening causing him more trouble than he deserves. On this one I lined up with Mike’s thinking trying to figure out who the culprits would be. I was in for a complete surprise. Where there’s even just a wisp of smoke there’s likely to be fire!