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Franklin the Mouse

A Clash Of Maine Mulish Mindsets

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2020

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‘Massacre Pond’ is the fourth installment in Mr. Doiron’s Mike Bowditch series. He has become one of my go-to authors when I’m looking for a well-constructed entertaining mystery. It is not necessary to read the previous three works (The Poacher’s Son, Trespasser, Bad Little Falls) but you will miss out on some of Bowditch’s interesting background. The game warden is a wonderful character in which you find yourself rooting for him even when he messes up.

‘Massacre Pond’ begins with the mysterious slaughter of moose on a rich woman’s private land. I have lived in Maine my entire life. It was easy to spot that the fictional Elizabeth Morse, her business, and desire to donate a sizeable chunk of her land to the federal government so it would hopefully be turned into a national park somewhat mimic our state’s Roxanne Quimby the co-owner of Burt’s Bees. Ms. Morse’s actions also echo the response by rural Mainers about Ms. Quimby’s intentions. Her receiving death threats were not uncommon. Mr. Doiron states in the Author’s Note at the back of the book that he “… never met (Roxanne Quimby) and who is not the model for “Queen Elizabeth” Morse.” Be that as it may, the similarities added for me another level of believability to ‘Massacre Pond.’ Beyond the mystery is a good story about doing what’s right and doing what’s political expedient. One of Bowditch’s antagonists is his career-focused supervisor Marc Rivard. The unlikable Lt. Rivard seems like a textbook case of the Peter Principle. Complicating matters even more is that Bowditch’s relationship with his peers is one of mutual misgivings. Add to that a case of the 26-year-old warden’s unreciprocated love as well as a guilt-ridden relationship with his mom and you’re in for a believable introspective mystery. Like life, the story is covered in some moral grey areas and a few loose ends.

What I find especially enjoyable about the series is that, I feel, Mr. Doiron gets the whole Maine scene right. I grew up in the rural paper mill town of Madawaska, Maine and can relate to the concerns and actions of the people who inhabit the author’s world. Mr. Doiron also includes a few colorful “eccentric” characters such as Chubby LeClair, Karl Khristian, and Billy Cronk. There is a light touch of humor at certain points. Like the more famous Maine authors, Stephen King and Richard Russo, Mr. Doiron’s attention to details and good character development are what make ‘Massacre Pond’ such an enjoyable read. I’m hooked.

Mamma K 1947

The Mike Bowditch Series Keeps Getting Better and Better

Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2015

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If ever there was a Maine author to write mysteries set in Maine with authority it's Paul Doiron. The former editor in chief of "DOWNEAST, the Magazine of Maine," Doiron has an excellent understanding of Maine's history, socio-economic structure, political climate, and current struggles.

Doiron takes an unsolved mystery about the massacre of several moose north of the town of Rangely in 1999 and uses it as a base for the plot of "Massacre Pond," the fourth in the Mike Bowditch series. But he also touches on several of Maine's contemporary problems, particularly the dying fishing and wood product industries, and Mainers' increasing economic dependence on tourism. Throw in some of Maine's environmental concerns, such as the protecting of wilderness lands versus carefully (or not) controlling northern Maine's potential for building vacation homes and he has created an absolutely convincing description of some of the problems we Mainers are currently grappling with.

In "Massacre Pond," Mike Bowditch, is now in his third year as game warden after being reassigned from the relatively cushy mid-Maine, where the first two Bowditch books are set, to what is truly the most rural and coldest part of Maine, the area north and east of Moosehead Lake. The action in Book 3 takes place during a very cold and snowy Maine winter. Now in Book 4, Massacre Pond, it is an unnaturally warm October and Mike is still at the same post, when he is asked to investigate the senseless shooting of a bull moose out of season. The discovery is made by Billy Cronk, who readers meet in Book 3. Billy is a veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, but beneath his forbidding-looking physique there is a soft hearted man with a wife and four children to support. His job: to manage the property of Betty Morse, who earned her fortune selling herbal medicine, and has quietly been buying enough land from defunct paper mill owners to create a National Park. But not everyone wants to see a national park on Betty Morse's property because it would displace so many people, destroy much of what is left of Maine's pulp and paper industry, and limit access to snow mobilers in the winter.

So what kind of sicko is killing moose (for there is more than one) on Betty Morse's property? As game warden, it is Mike's job to find the perpetrator. But he is blindsided by others in his department, who know about Mike's questionable past (Book 1), or see solving the moose massacre as way to publicly advance their own careers.

Having been branded a hothead who doesn't listen to orders very well, Mike is determined to keep his nose clean by following orders that generally keep him out of the hunt for the moose murderers. But he still has his regular warden activities to attend to, and in the process he uncovers some dangerous men, who he believes are involved in the moose killings.

Staying away from the limelight, which is, increasingly becoming a three ring circus, Mike manages to solve the mystery. But his life is still a mess. Back in Portland his mother is ill, and seeing himself through her eyes he begins to wonder if he is really cut out to be a game warden. There are problems with his love-life, too, for he is in love with his best friend's daughter, who is also a game warden--and engaged to someone else..

Doiron writes with the authority of someone who knows Maine. His descriptions are excellent, particularly about simple things few people "from away" have experienced: the crunch of newly fallen leaves, the magnificent waves along the Maine coast after a storm, the smell of a lake. More importantly he continues to develop Mike Bowditch as a complicated man whose life experiences have been tearing him in two conflicting directions. Is he a game warden, or a guy with a BA from Colby College who can't quite figure out who he is?

I started this book the day before Thanksgiving, read a couple of chapters before I went to bed Thanksgiving night, and decided to read a little more over breakfast the following morning. The next thing I knew it was dinner-time and I finished "Massacre Pond.". I can't wait to read book 5.

Southwest Woman

Nobody notices who really did it

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2018

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Mike Bowditch is a mess. He's ticked off supervisors and been transfered to a backwoods part of the state. He's caught up in a conflict between a rich woman who wants to lock her large acquisitions of land in a Park. Locals, who have historically hunted there and none too happy. Shots are fired. Bowditch's love life is a mess, he has squirrels in his home and he's been sent on worthless errands. High dudgeon, locals and old bosses all add to his problems and pressures. And his slightly estranged mother jumps into the plot. All the emphasis on potential baddies and nobody thought of the people with the strongest motive. I thought this book was a muddled mess, and was surprised when I figured out who did it and had half a book to go. I don't think I'll bother with this author again.

J. P. Weimer

A Real Gem of a Book--A Great Mystery!

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2015

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I have a cadre of favorite mystery writers that I keep going back to (e.g., C.J. Box, Michael Connelly, William Krueger, and Jon Talton), but I'm always on the lookout for a new writer (and, thus a new series). I've found both in author Paul Doiron and his Maine game warden Mike Bowditch series. Doiron is wonderful in terms of turning a phrase, and in orally painting the Maine landscape. And, I haven't found anyone better in delineating the individuals who inhabit this rugged part of the country. I don't like describing in detail a particular novel (don't want to spoil it for the prospective reader), but I will say that Massacre Pond is a spell bounder. I couldn't seem to read it fast enough. I've already read Doiron's Bad Little Falls and The Bone Orchard (out of order in his sequence of books), and am looking forward to reading The Precipice. This guy is good.

Top reviews from other countries

Strv 74

Equal to CJ Box

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 28, 2014

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This is the fourth book written by Paul Doiron about Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch. I have read all of them. A Game warden in the US is actually a sort of policeman and initially it is hard to understand why a Game warden gets involved in "real" crimes but this is a US thing. Anyway this is a mystery story located in Maine.

Paul Doiron is a fine writer. He is capable to combine great character description, great settings and a mystery into such a blend that it is a joy to read. This book is as good as his other three. Initially it is a little slow but you get drawn into the story and in the end it is hard to put down. I found it to be a delightful way of spending a day reading this one.

It is easy to compare Mike Doiron's books about Mike Bowditch with the far larger series of book by C J Box about his Game Warden Joe Pickett. I have read 14 of his books, so far, as well and find them to be excellent but I would be hard pressed to chose between Paul Doiron and C J Box. They are equally good.

So if you have never read anyone of these two authors there are at least 18 good books waiting for you!

Ed

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2017

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Good service and book exactly as described.

Multi-mystery Fan

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada on December 6, 2016

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I enjoyed this book very much - a real page-turner - highly recommend!