Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "Dead Man's Wake", the latest in the Mike Bowditch Warden Investigator series by Paul Doiron.
On the evening of Mike and Stacey's engagement party, a party attended by both sets of parents, there is a ruckus out on the lake, and Mike is worried about the possibility that someone might have been injured if one or more of the boaters were behaving irresponsibly.
When their initial investigation (of course, Stacey and her father - retired Warden Charley are involved) turns up an arm, and then a body, this pretty much straightforward murder mystery begins to unfold.
As it turns out, the body belongs to Kip Wentworth, the husband of the owner of Mouse Island. a small island out in the lake; and to add a further twist, he was not alone on the island.
The investigation, which encompasses bikers, a disgruntled wannabe Warden with secrets galore, a wealthy family with secrets of their own, land speculators and a mystery woman (of course!) throws up a number of red herrings, and has a twist at the end that I guarantee you won't see coming.
Excellent entry in the series.

3.5 stars
I have mixed feelings about this book. This is #14 in the Mike Bowditch series and the first time I read one of Paul's books. This book is plot driven- and slightly gruesome. It kept my interest as I tried to solve the murder and I feel like I learned some tidbits of information.

Lets start with what i didn't like:
🔦Random characters kept popping up. They weren't really part of the story and seemed unnecessary.
🔦 Good thing this was an ARC, and the final editing isn't finished because there were so many grammatical errors it was a bit distracting.
🔦all of the characters were pretty flat. The females in the book (who weren't related to Mike) were so sour and rude. It seemed odd to make them all have the exact same personality. The males were all extremely narcissistic. Even Mike seemed pretty flat. He thinks he is a great Warden, and takes his job seriously-but he's constantly getting put down(verbally or physically) it made for an unreliable character.

Now for what I liked:
🔦I always enjoy a whodunit
🔦Plot moved at a good pace and kept me flipping the pages to see what happens
🔦I love the lake and boating so I enjoyed the scene.
🔦I appreciate the research that must have gone into this to keep it somewhat believable.

Twisty whodunit in the wilds of Maine - with Game Wardons and murder and a wolf dog, gotta love that. Many red herrings and suspense to keep you guessing.

Dead Man’s Wake by Paul Doiron.
This is the 14th book in Mike Bowditch Mysteries but my first.
Mike Bowditch is on a lake for his engagement party. He hears a loud boat speeding on the lake at dusk which is not safe. Mike is a Maine game warden and when he hears the boat hit something he investigates. They find an arm and a body but they don’t know how he died. As a game warden, Mike investigates the boat accident but the police will investigate the death. Interesting twists keep you reading. Very enjoyable.
I thought the action was a little slow - too much detail on the search process but I do like the characters and the series shows a lot of promise. I plan to read the previous books.
Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to preview the book before the publication date.

I loved it! Great mystery with lots of tense moments. While Game Warden Mike is sharp and canny he has met his match in this one. Beautiful scenery and a tangled outcome.

Dead Man's Wake is the 14th book in the Mike Bowditch series but can be read as a stand alone book. Paul Doiron's books are some of my favorites. His love for Maine shows through in his writing. I loved the interplay between Mike and his step-dad and watching Mike mature in his relationships in this book. The mystery is solid and the pace is quick. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and St, Martin's Press for my ARC of this book.

I wasn't familiar with this series, so maybe I'm missing some of the context of this book. It's a solid mystery, if a bit predictable, and many of the characters are interesting and well-drawn. And the great love Doiron has for Maine and it's natural beauty comes through loud and clear.

What bothered me was some of the facile characterizations and stereotypes related to police, bikers and women to name a few. But I read an ARC so maybe some of this will be toned down after final exciting is done.

The last quarter redeems the book though - it was my favorite part.

It's a fun quick read first those times when you want an adventure that's entertaining and not too challenging.

Thank you to the publisher, Minotaur/St.Martin, and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review prior to publication.

This is a book that just takes a grab of you... I have read a few of Paul Doiron's books, and I think this may tie for his best novel yet. I would give it more than 5 stars. Such realistic descriptions of underwater, overwater, and nature.... It just makes you feel like you are there. Please keep those wonderful novels coming Mr. Doiron!!!

I have never read a Mike Bowditch story before, but after reading this, I will definitely be checking out the previous books. I really liked the random tidbits of information that I learned along the way, feeling like I better understood the work of a game warden. Doiron did such an awesome job of describing the scenes to where I could easily picture things as if I was also there. The story kept me engaged the entire time and I loved the thrill of trying to figure out who done it. Thank you to the publishers for allowing me to read this book early, it was an excellent and thrilling story!

I slapped my forehead so hard after realizing this was the 14th book in the series! My obsessive personality to learn the backstory of the characters itched me so much, but unfortunately, I didn't have enough time and energy to devour each adventure in a short time. Luckily, this book is standalone, and the author mentions previous events from the previous books that affect the trajectory of the main story, but I still wanted to know more, and at some parts, I felt a little lost.

As a newcomer to Mike Bowditch's crime mystery world, I found myself quickly getting into the story. The pacing was good, and the settings in Maine and portraits of locals were interesting. I enjoyed Mike and his fiancee Stacy Stevens' relationship dynamics. The mystery's unfolding and perpetrators are a little foreseeable, but at least the chapters are action-packed, well-executed, and keep your interest intact. I finished it in a short time. I couldn't get much invested in the installment, but I'll probably start from the top to appreciate the series more objectively.

The story opens with Maine Game Warden investigator Mike Bowditch attending his stepfather Neil Turner and his younger soon-to-be wife Jubilee's engagement party. His fiancee Stacy and Stacy's parents Cheryl and Ora are also attendees at the lake house ceremony in Maine. The ceremony abruptly cuts off with a loud noise of a jet ski and roars of speed boats. An unexpected and tragic discovery turns their celebration into a nightmare: they found two people in the lake brutally murdered, a married man and his secret young lover, who is also married to a very dangerous biker who might be related to a biker gang. One of them is dismembered, and the woman is drowned.

Mike finds himself investigating the murder mystery as he also deals with locals who are always friendly to cooperate, law enforcement, the families of the victims, and he also has to face his own family problems as well.

Overall, this was an absolutely fast-paced, interesting, and easy-to-read page-turner! I definitely think it's worth rounding up my 3.5 stars to 4!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for sharing this digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Dead Man’s Wake: A Novel by Paul Doiron opens with an engagement party. Stacy Stevens and Mike Bowditch are being celebrated by Mike’s stepfather, Neil Turner and his new wife, Jubilee, as well as Stacy’s parents, Charley and Ora Stevens. They are at the stepdad’s lake house in central Maine. Great Pond was the inspiration for the play and subsequent movie, On Golden Pond, and is busy this Labor Day weekend evening. The roar of speedboats as well as the loud noise of occasional jet ski has been something all day and evening. The fact that it is dark has not slowed down those racing across the surface of the lake.

All too predictably with so many racing around after dark, the sounds of a crash are heard. It is clear to everyone in the group that a speedboat and a jet skier collided out in the waters somewhere around the nearby Moose Island. Mike sees a speedboat circle back and then the running lights are turned off. The person or persons on that boat know they hit somebody and are trying to hide in the dark night.

With limited resources, and as the only law enforcement around and available, Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch has to go out to the general area of the crash and look for any injured survivors as well as anyone deceased. After some investigation, a detached human arm is found. Most likely, the person that lost the arm is dead.

What follows is a complicated read featuring a watery crime scene, a wealthy family and their legacy, and a past full of resentment and hate. As is benefits the long running series, the read is not one that focuses on character development as many here are long running characters that readers well know and love. Instead, the primary focus is on the case. Identifying the victims out in those lake waters, the suspects, and working the case. A complicated and entertaining read, the latest in the long running series, Dead Man’s Wake: A Novel is very much worth your time.

My reading copy was an ARC via NetGalley.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

I was not aware that this was a book in a long running
series as that is not indicated anywhere on the book. .
However I do feel like you could read this book as a stand alone
not having read the prior books and not lose any understanding of the
story.

This would be the perfect book for you if you like a good who done it, without
the MC being your typical Police or Detective.

Review of eBook

Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch and his fiancé, Stacy Stevens, are celebrating their engagement at a party put together by his stepfather, Neil Turner and his wife, Jubilee. Outside, a Jet Ski rider buzzes the lake.

When they hear a crash, they head out to the lake where they make a gruesome discovery. Soon Mike is involved in an investigation involving two bodies found in the lake. At the same time, there is a search in progress for the unknown hit-and-run boater involved in the crash.

Were the two people found dead in the lake victims of the boat crash or victims of something more sinister?

=========

Although “Dead Man’s Wake” is fourteenth in the Mike Bowditch series, it works well as a stand-alone. Despite being a bit predictable at times, the unfolding story presents an intriguing mystery wrapped up in a well-written story that keeps the reader involved in the telling of the tale. Convincing, realistic characters and a strong sense of place work together; readers are sure to feel they are on the edge of the Great Pond.

As Mike investigates, there’s plenty of action and a few surprises leading to an explosive denouement.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#DeadMansWake #NetGalley

I was excited to read the latest instalment of the Mike Bowditch series since I’d enjoyed the previous book. I had not read all of them. This one didn’t live up to my expectations.
Mike is an investigator for the Warden Service in Maine, and the setting on a renowned pond is well portrayed with wildlife, flora and fauna. The plot follows several agencies, with specific authorities and powers, in locating witnesses and determining the cause of a terrible accident over a holiday weekend.
An adulterous married man in the company of a much younger woman (married to a mean biker) are dead in the lake. One is dismembered, the other might have drowned. A confession which should wrap everything up just muddied the waters.
There were many family members, law enforcement and local residents in the story. Mike’s fiancé, Stacey, was by far the most interesting, personable and compassionate. I wanted to know more about her and their backstory. The majority of the other characters left me cold, none very likable. If the intent was to portray Mainers as snarky and brusque, it succeeded. Mike’s pet Wolf/dog creature is strange, much like the Mainers were. In one scene the kerosene lamps were blazing white then a lone kerosene lamp flickered, inconsistent. Overall the premise has great potential, however it felt rushed, scattered and like the author was meeting a deadline.
The digital advance reader copy of “Dead Man’s Wake” by Paul Doiron, published by Minotaur Books, was provided by NetGalley. These honest thoughts and opinions are all provided voluntarily without any compensation to me.

As a long part time resident of Maine I’ve read and enjoyed every Doiron book. Each one takes place in a different area of Maine but features the same interesting characters . This book involves murders on an island in Belgrade Lakes. It’s helpful if you’ve owned and used a boat as I have since boats and their operation figure in much of the story.
Doiron’s writing is lively and fluid and his major legal protagonist, Mike Bowditch, is an interesting and complex character. The only boring thing about Bowditch and his adventures is that readers can be certain that in a late chapter he will almost be killed—but of course survive and get the bad guy. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dead Man's Wake fascinated and stirred my sense of solving a mystery because it involved the warden service and patrolling the waters, bays, and islands. Paul Doiron pens an inspiring tale that keeps you engaged throughout the novel trying to determine who is the villain. Also

Standard fare Paul Doiron/Mike Bowditch. The story starts out with a man's arm (decapitated by a boat on a lake) showing up in a lake where Bowditch and family happen to be. As more people get involved another body shows up and the story goes from there. It felt sluggish to me. The big whopper was the "Who" as in "Who-dunnit" shows up at 87% through the story and has barely been in the story to that point. The usual mayhem/gun play follows. Then Doiron/Bowditch explain how this all came about.
Bowditch fans will probably like it. I've read all his previous Bowditch books, and I was not blown away.

Dead Man's Wake is number 14 in a series but can be read as a standalone novel. Mike Bowditch is a game warden and he and his fiancé witness a hit-and-run accident on a lake. They soon discover two bodies, and Mike starts to investigate the murders. While this is a standalone, I personally think it would have been helpful to know the backstory of all the characters involved because there were things that were alluded to that I had no knowledge of, not having read any of the other books. I just felt there was something missing for me, but I think those who have read the other books will also enjoy this installment in the series. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC.

Mike Bowditch and Stacy are at Mike's stepfathers house with Charlie and Ora for their engagement party. While outside, they hear a boat driving fast on the small lake and Mike knows that means trouble. Sure enough, the boat hits someone and leaves the scene. While investigating, Bowditch and the locals find another body and it had nothing to do with a boat accident.

I really enjoy this series and look forward to more Bowditch books. This one needs some major editing before it gets published, but it's one of my favorites so far in the series. I'm looking forward to the next one. Charlie and Ora are some favorite characters and I love how savvy Charlie is and still teaches Bowditch some new tricks.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

Another entry in the Maine Game Warden series with Mike Bowditch. I've read several of the previous installments, and yes, while there are similarities between them, each novel is different. Mike can't keep his inquisitive mind to himself, and thus gets entangled into another mess of a case. I've enjoyed getting to know the characters in Bowditch's world, and this novel gives more breadth to his stepparents Neil and Jubilee.

A good, solid mystery set in Vacationland.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.