Prefacing this review with the fact this is apparently book #14 in a series and I haven’t read a single other one in this series. Which I don’t think is probably necessary because you come to learn the characters and their backgrounds pretty quickly.

I was just sooo bored with this one oh my gosh. So many people to remember too. I almost DNFed around 40% and again at 60%. I had zero care for the dead characters so I didn’t care for the outcome or the process of the investigation. As a criminal defense attorney myself, I also think some of the investigatory aspects were not legally accurate.

Thank you to St Martins Press, the author, and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

Game Warden Mike Bowditch and his fiance are celebrating their engagement with family at a lake when they witness a speedboat crash, and both investigate. At first, the boat disappears and only a severed arm is found, but the next day 2 dead bodies are found, and a variety of evidence points in different directions, and most investigators are taking the quick and easy route while Mike sees a different scenario and everything gets pretty twisty turny with loads of action and suspense.
This is actually my first book of the series, though it is number 14. I had no problem following along with any previous events mentioned, enough detail being made plain. The characterizations were obviously well-worn and flowed with the well-thought out plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be very quick to grab more in the series. Highly recommended for fans of early C.J. Box and Nevada Barr.

I love books set in New England so I was so happy to get an ARC for this book and, oh my goodness, it did not disappoint. This was a solid police procedural with a bit of domestic backstory going on and it made for a well rounded read. The environment plays a factor which is always nice in a book set someplace as temperamental as Maine

Loved Paul Doiron’s newest Mike Bowditch mystery. I look forward to these every year and Paul is on of our bookstore favorites. This book doesn’t disappoint in the series. If you hav3 read all of these, the reader can really see a changes in Mike as he continues to grow as a game warden investigator. Doiron intimately knows the places and people of Maine, and it shows.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the early review copy.
This was my first book by this author and can be read as a standalone. I liked the lake settings and all the information about boats, drowning, and living by the lake. The main characters were funny and honest, they had issues and faults but overall were interesting to follow on this journey.
The mystery part was not my cup of tea, but I can see how it will appeal to many readers. This was a fun summer book.

I’m not sure how I’ve missed reading this long-running mystery/thriller series, but this is the first one I’ve read and it’s the 14th in the series! Mike Bowditch is a Game Warden Investigator in Maine - this apparently is a more complicated and dangerous job than it might sound.

Mike and his fiancee are attending an engagement celebration over Labor Day Weekend at Mike’s stepfather’s house on the Great Pond in Maine when they hear what seems to be an out-of-control boat and then they hear a crash. Mike grabs his stepfather’s boat and heads out on the pond/lake to see what has happened. It turns out that two people are dead. And from there, the story really starts. Because this was my first book in this series, all the characters were new to me. I occasionally got a bit confused with who was who, but eventually I figured it out. I felt Mike and his fiancee Stacey were well-drawn characters, not stereotypes. The same goes for most of the other people as well (other than the bikers, who seemed a bit stereotypical). You can feel the author’s love for the state of Maine throughout the book. There was a pretty good twist near the end of the book that surprised me but made sense.

I would characterize this as a thriller/police procedural with great characters and a real sense of place.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I was a bit late to it. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, Henry Leyva, did a good job with the various voices and accents. All opinions are my own.

Good procedural mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. Even though part of a series, this can be read standalone even though I may have understood character relationships better had I read previous books.

Mike and Stacey are celebrating their engagement when they hear a boating accident. What follows is a two part mystery - who was driving the boat and whether it was really an accident.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I requested this book I didn’t realize that it was part of a series. Since I had not read any of the previous ones I was apprehensive about being able to catch-up on the characters and setting. It could be a stand alone read, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything not having read the other books in the series.
The storyline was fast paced and kept me interested.

Game Warden Mike Bowditch, seems to find trouble wherever he goes. The evening of his engagement party was no different. The party takes place at his stepfather’s home on “Golden Pond” the nickname of a Maine lake. Expecting a quiet weekend with his fiancé, Stacey, her parents and his stepfather and his new wife, things quickly change when Bowditch and Stacey hear a boat strike something in the water. Ever the game warden, Bowditch goes to investigate and finds more than he bargained for when he finds the body of a naked man, but no boat to speak of. Further investigation leads him to believe there’s also a woman, but is she dead or alive. A full fledged investigation ensues and the whole family is knee deep in it. What starts as a hit and run accident on the water soon turns into something more deadly and once again, Bowditch is fighting to save himself as well as his family. This is a brilliant series and oh so fun to read! Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

In this 14th installation of the series, Marine Game Warden Investgator Mike Bowitch's engagement party is interrupted by a hit and run boat accident. The preliminary investigation reveals there are two victims discovered in the waters of a lake in Maine. The marine police procedural that follows is well written and fast paced with a host of interesting and well developed characters. Dead Mans Wake can be read as a standalone, although it is somewhat of a challenge to remember all the characters, their relationships and history with Mike, and how they fit in the plot. The protagonist is a strong and determined character and his first person narration added substance and depth to the book. I enjoyed learning about the marine game warden responsibilities and the immersive story setting of Maine.
Thank you Netgalley and Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review Dead Man's Wake and Mike Bowitch series.

When i requested this I didn't realize it was in a series.This was my first book by this author and although it's part of a series, this can be read as a standalone. Will be looking into reading more of his books. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a review.

This is such a crime thriller that will be perfect to binge during your summer vacation. Dead Man's Wake is book 14 featuring game warden, Mike Bowditch, however, as someone who has not read any other books by Doiron, it works great as a standalone. There might have been times when I wished I knew more about the characters, but it certainly didn't take away from the story.

Dead Man's Wake is fast-paced and will have you guessing through the whole story. Not to mention, I loved the descriptions of the beautiful lakes in Maine and the locations in Massachusetts.

Whether you've read every Mike Bowditch book, or this is your first one like me, Dead Man's Wake is worth checking out.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

Dead Man's Wake is the fourteenth installment in the Mike Bowditch, Maine Game Warden series. I only discovered the series recently, thanks to NetGalley, so it is the third read for me, and one day I'm going to start at the beginning and catch up. Although each book is an easy standalone read, one of the things the author does best is continually evolve his characters. With Mike's relatives, and now fiancee Stacey, there are quite a few people in his life, but each book I learn new aspects of each of them, sort of like life!

Mike Bowditch and Stacey Stevens are at his stepfather's house for their engagement party when Mike thinks he hears a speedboat hit something in the dark. This happens literally on the first page or two, so the reader is immediately thrown into the action. Mike goes to investigate and eventually finds a body that has been hit by a speedboat, so local authorities are called in. But this investigation will turn out to be a bit more complex than just a boating accident. Mike is on the scene, so gets drawn into helping solve the crime.

I enjoy these mysteries set in Maine. It gives me a chance to learn about the geography and wildlife there, as well as be entertained by the stories. I used to enjoy the Anna Pigeon series by Nevada Barr, and this is somewhat in the same vein. Like all good series, Doiron makes his character's lives changeable and interesting, to keep the reader from getting bored. The mystery in this book definitely had it's twists and turns and kept me guessing. I'll be back for the next in the series!

It is a 4.5 * read for me!

Thank you to Paul Doiron, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good beach read and this one is a perfect to relax with. This book had me turning the pages so fast to see what would happen. You will definitely enjoy this twisty mystery. It is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone. Many thanks to the author, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

When I requested this one I didn't realize it was a part of a series. I didn't enjoy it at all and mark it as a DNF.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Published: 06/27/23

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for accepting my request to read and review Dead Man's Wake.

This was okay. This being #14 in a series that I had not previously read plays very little to my 2.5 (round up to 3 stars) rating. I liked the prospects of the story from a game warden. This is a new concept. I enjoyed the tidbits expressed. However, wow on the need for an address book with a connecting flow chart. So many people, property names, places, boats, equipment that it just became background noise. I skimmed to make the most of my reading time and keep my commitment to NetGalley. With that said, I will DNF a NetGalley book. DMW didn't meet my NetGalley DNF criteria. If this had been library book I wouldn't have finished.

I was bored early on with all the names, there were too many in multiple categories as I stated above. As I skimmed the relationship between the warden and his fiancee slowly played out, and I found myself liking them. And that really is where it ended. I didn't like after 300+ pages to be left with a question --should she or shouldn't she.

Of note: I tossed my notes, and can't specifically remember swearing.

This book was ok it took me a bit to get into it. But after I did it was ok. There are others out there who would love it though!

On the evening of their engagement party, Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch and Stacey Stevens witness what seems to be a hit-and-run speedboat crash on a darkened lake. When they arrive at the scene, their spotlight reveals a gruesome sight: a severed arm floating just beneath the surface. As day breaks, the warden dive team recovers not one but two naked corpses: a dismembered man and the married woman with whom he was having an affair. Mike begins to suspect the swimmers' deaths were not a senseless accident but a coldly calculated murder.

This is book 14 in the Mike Bowditch series and while I have read a couple of the previous books I haven’t read them all and it does work as a standalone as well. I like these books because they take a lesser known or written about part of law enforcement while still making interesting mysteries/thrillers. Mike is a Warden and when he is having a dinner with family and hears a dangerous boat on the lake of course he has to investigate. One thing leads too another and it is clear that boat ran over a man when they find his arm floating in the lake. Mike knows his role is just what happened to that man and if he were alive or dead when he boat hit him, but he can’t help himself from asking questions and trying to piece the whole puzzle in time. These books are well written and definitely a fun series.

During their engagement party, Game Warden Mike Bowditch and his fiance Stacy, witness a speedboat crash. Although initially it looked like an accident, Mike suspects it might be ss murder and teams up with the local police to investigate it. They soon find a severed arm, and look for a body, which divers find to be a dead man.
This fast paced, well crafted police procedural kept me thoroughly engaged. I liked the short chapters, which allowed me to read just one more...and just one more...to finish the book in 2 days. The mystery had great characters who were fully developed and had believable backstories. The descriptions of the lake and the people who lived there were well integrated into the story.
When the obvious culprits had believable alibis, my sleuthing skills were offset with the red herrings and dead ends that the author incorporated into the story. I liked the way he built suspense and the story got even more exciting as Stacy and Mike found themselves in danger as they got closer to solving the murders.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and the opinions expressed are my own.

Another fabulous installment of the Mike Bowditch series! He kept me guessing until the end. I recommend the series to anyone who is interested in crime thrillers or wildlife crime. As someone who has worked in this field for nearly 20 years, I find Doirion's books to be reasonably realistic. I can't wait for the next book in the series.