Paul Doiron’s Skin and Bones, is an engaging collection of eight mystery stories. The tales are set in the world of Maine game warden, Mike Bowditch—Doiron has written fifteen Bowditch novels so far—but a few are told from the perspective of Bowditch’s mentor and retired warden, Charley Stevens. Many of the stories are closer to novelette than short story length, which allows Doiron the room to paint his characters with a rich hue and his rural Maine setting with vivid color. Even better, he does all this without an unnecessary word or losing the mystery for the trees.
“Bear Trap”—which is one of Charley Stevens’s tales—is a play on the impossible crime. As a young warden Charley is confronted by an almost mythical hermit—nicknamed Sweet Tooth because of his proclivity for stealing candy—with a knack for burgling camps and then disappearing like a ghost. When Sweet Tooth raids the stores of a summer camp for underprivileged boys, Charley decides it’s time to introduce Sweet Tooth to Lady Justice. But first he must discover how the thief comes and goes so easily.

In “Rabid,” Charley Stevens is called to the isolated home of John Hussey. Hussey, like Charley, is a Vietnam veteran but unlike Charley, Hussey’s post-war behavior has been erratic. When Charley arrives at the house, Hussey’s Vietnamese wife, Giang, says her husband was bitten by a bat. But Charley is more worried that Hussey is abusing his wife and daughter. Charley’s own wife gets involved in this one, and both she and Giang believe Hussey may have rabies. There is a nice surprise ending with a delicious slice of morality in the recipe.

Something of a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, “The Caretaker”—which is narrated by Bowditch—stars Charley as a Holmes-like detective and Bowditch in Dr. Watson’s role. Together Charley and Bowditch investigate a harassment complaint by a Boston couple while staying in their backwoods summer home. Charley does a fine job of detection—he seems to notice everything, no matter how small—and Bowditch is duly impressed with Charley’s almost supernatural powers. But it is the solution, while revealing a serious crime, that makes “The Caretaker” downright fun.

“Sheep’s Clothing,” which is the backwoods version of an English village murder mystery, finds the recently demoted Bowditch investigating what seems to be a murder-suicide of a couple living in poverty on a large patch of land. But Bowditch isn’t sure the husband killed his wife or himself. There are multiple suspects—the dead husband, an estranged son, his truly awful fiancée, the fiancée’s unempathetic brother are only four of them. There is more than one well-timed twist, which makes for bunches of fun.

Skin and Bones is my first experience reading Paul Doiron’s fiction. The high-quality of the writing, the tight plotting, and the subtle humor (especially when Charley Stevens is on the page) impressed me enough that I’m planning to find another title in the Bowditch series to read. And likely another one after that, which is assuming the novels are as good as the tales presented here.

This review will be published at darkcityunderground.blogspot.com and gravetapping.blogspot.com on May 12, 2025

Skin and Bones is a collection of short stories featuring Mike Bowditch, the Maine Game Warden and some feature his mentor, Charlie. If you have read the series, these are an added bonus. The stories will also stand alone if you have never read Doiron’s Mike Bowditch books before. The stories can be gritty in places, showing the dark side of Maine’s beautiful backwoods, but they are always told with compassion and a true love of the area.
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

I'm a huge fan of the Mike Bowditch series, and I loved this collection of short stories! I always enjoy reading about the latest mystery Bowditch encounters as a Maine Game Warden. This collection of short stories fill in some on the untold history of the series. Skin and Bones is a great companion book to the Mike Bowditch series.

Paul Doiron is an amazing storyteller and this is a book of excellent short stories! He pulls the reader in quickly and doesn’t let go until the last sentence of each story. I have read several books by Doiron and he just gets better and better. Highly recommended.

Even if you are not a fan of the Mike Bowditch series, I think you will enjoy this collection of short stories. Paul Doiron is a master storyteller, and he draws the reader into his books. I feel as though I know the characters and can feel the emotions as they speak. The descriptions of the wildlife and woodlands of Maine are so crisp that you can see them in your mind. I always come away from one of Paul's books feeling like I have just experienced a vacation in Maine.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

I love a good short story, and Paul Doiron is a master storyteller. Skin and Bones is a collection of short stories that feature game warden, Mike Bowditch, who is also the main character in a book series. The first three stories reveal some of the backstory of bush pilot, Charley Stevens, and the rest are about Mike. I've read two other books in this series and enjoyed them both, but one does not need to have read any of the prior books in order to enjoy this short story collection. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC.

Skin and Bones is a collection of short stories by Paul Doiron, I enjoy the Mike Bowditch series so I was happy to receive the advanced copy of this book. I am not usually a fan of short stories but I enjoyed this book.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC of this book.

Short stories snd novella for the Mike Bowditch series. Very entertaining. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Skin and Bones features a collection of eight gripping original short stories in the bestselling Mike Bowditch series—including one brand new, never-before-published story—from Edgar-award nominated author Paul Doiron.

Sooo ... there were eight stories but I loved only eight of them, haha! It's so rare for me to not be disappointed in at least 2-3 stories when reading this type of book, but that didn't happen this time. I was enthralled by all eight and I truly felt as though I were right there in Maine with Mike and Charley. (I was surprised by how hot it gets in Maine!)

One of my favorite things about Skin and Bones is the fact that the stories can be read without having read any of the full length novels.

I highly recommend Skin and Bones!

Thank you, #MinotaurBooks, for providing this book for review consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Skin and Bones has an expected publication date of May 13, 2025.

#PaulDoiron #ShortStories #Maine #GameWardens

I loved it! These are excellent short stories that don't feel short at all. They are fully complete without missing any of the action or smart aleck and smart investigating as the full novels in this series. The piece actually called Skin and Bones stands out because early on I thought I knew why it was titled that but the full meaning didn't sink in until I'd started the next story. I had to set my reader down for a few minutes to get past that intensely dark realization. Amazing author!

It was a pleasure spending time with Mike again. This was a series of short stories revolving around a wisecracking, trouble stirring, refuse to back down forestry worker and the things he encounters in his daily travels. The stories are written in a folksy manner which works well in this setting. I was a bit disappointed that Charlie did not play a more prominent told in the majority of the stories since these two characters play off each other well.

I received an arc of this book and voluntarily provided a review.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the chance to read "Skin and Bones" in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a collection of 8 short stories from Paul Doiron. All exciting and thrilling, out in nature as one expects from Mr. Doiron. Bats with rabies, snowstorms, rattlesnakes and bald eagles, along with killers and even someone posing as Mike Bowditch through identity theft. A great opportunity for the new reader of Mr. Doiron's books to be introduced to his brand of books.

Skin and Bones is an extraordinary collection of short stories from the Mike Bowditch universe of stories. It's a lot of fun because each of the stories is engaging. It offers us welcomed looks at some of the characters and events which have influenced the main character. I think the best thing about this collection is it can be enjoyed by readers who are already fans and also by those who are new to the series. It's a stellar starting point for the latter. Favorite stories? My personal favorites are The Imposter, The Caretaker, & Skin and Bones. But, you'll enjoy all of them. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am thankful to Steve Erickson of St. Martin's Publishing Group (Minotaur Books) for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of Skin and Bones. I have enjoyed the adventures of Mike Bowditch so far from the previous books that I have read, and this collection of short stories actually helps to fill in some background gaps in the series. Since not every story is told in Bowditch's point of view, you get a more colorful feel for the motley inhabitants of the Maine backwoods. The different stories also map out the lay of the land encompassing the warden's district. Mike's rebel character is more evident as his early days are recounted, as his personal code is still being developed under Charley's mentorship. The short story format allows for quick little mysteries to be solved without a deep dive into the action involved or the final outcomes - and I admit that I was unsatisfied with more than one of the conclusions. But such is the life of a Maine Game Warden, right? These stories also give little pointers about surviving the backwoods and the elements which I like to squirrel away in my mind should I ever find myself lost in the woods. Despite the stories being short, they are involved and have twists in their investigations - I enjoy when the wardens act 'hick' because you know they are peeling back layers of the mystery while they downplay their intelligence. Even if you haven't read the previous Bowditch tales, this book provides an afternoon of excitement and adventure as you solve mysteries of the Maine Backwoods!

Overall, I really enjoy the Mike Bowditch series, which I first read with book #14, Dead Man's Wake. I've got a lot of backlist titles to catch up on!

This set of short stories was a quick, engrossing read, and helped develop the characters in the series a bit more for me, having a limited history with them.

My biggest gripe with these books is how the female spouses tend to serve as an unpaid, behind-the-scenes sidekick to the job. For example,

"He appreciated his wife's willingness to serve as both a sounding board and a spur to action."

The skeptical feminist in me bristles at notes like these; it's as if the husband is pat-patting the little wifey on the head in a gesture of thanks for the unpaid emotional labor of listening to her husband word vomit his theories and investigative discoveries, all while the man gets the glory for solving the case.

I've noticed this formula used in multiple books in the series now and it's beginning to emerge as a trend I don't love. Other than that, I really do enjoy the storytelling and mysteries and twists.

This review appears on my blog (link below):

Charley Stevens as a young Maine game warden, tracking down a mysterious hermit. His wife, Ora, driving to a remote homestead to help a woman in peril. Shadow, the wolf-hybrid, helping out on a case. And Warden Mike Bowditch investigating the bizarre appearance of rattlesnakes in Maine—as described by a third-person narrator.

Skin and Bones, an absorbing collection of short stories by Paul Doiron (and the title of one of those stories), is a kind of through-the-looking glass trip. It has the comfortable familiarity of the novels in Doiron's popular mystery series featuring Bowditch, but it’s served up with a twist.

The tales add the backstories of characters readers have come to know, and fills in some spaces between the novels. The final story, Sheep’s Clothing, picks up where 2024’s Pitch Dark left off. It doesn’t significantly advance Bowditch’s life except in one important way, which I won’t reveal here.

Several of the stories feature Charley, Bowditch’s crusty, fearless mentor—in his salad days. His daughter Stacy, who eventually marries the younger warden, is a kid. Charley’s wife, Ora, has yet to be seriously injured in a plane accident. In Skin and Bones, Charley is approached by Mike’s father, Jack, who was a poacher and all around bad ‘un. In this story, however, Jack has found a dead bald eagle, is outraged, and wants Charley’s help in finding who killed it.

Bowditch is the protagonist in other stories, at various stages in his career. He’s working in the Sebago Lake region when he gets a report there’s a rattlesnake on the loose. As every Mainer knows, there are no deadly snakes in Maine…but then a young man is attacked by a rattler and may lose a leg. When Mike gets to the scene, he meets up with a memorable character from one of the novels (Knife Creek?)— Ricky Elwell, the young diamonds-in-the rough taxidermist and butcher who, it turns out, knows a lot about snakes. Though the novels are told by Bowditch, this story is told by a third-person narrator, which provides an interesting perspective on the sometimes reckless warden.

All the stories have the same strong sense of place as the novels; Doiron is adept at painting the varied landscape of Maine. There are general stores, rough shacks at the end of dirt roads, rich people from away, snowmobiles, lakes and mountains. Doiron’s use of real locations—Grand Lake Stream, Lake St. George—always adds richness to his fiction.

I thoroughly enjoyed what felt like an inside look at some of my favorite characters in mystery fiction. And though I live right here in Maine, it really is a great place to visit. Despite all the murders.

Skin and Bones will be published in May; I read an advance copy through the NetGalley program.

Skin and Bones And Other Mike Bowditch Short Stories
Paul Doiron
Minotaur Books
Available 5/13/2025

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this title which I gave 4.5 stars.

Although Paul Doiron has written several other books, this is my introduction to his work. Frankly, I was astonished at how quickly my interest was piqued. From the first short, The Bear Trap, I was hooked! Since I’m not an outdoors person at all, other than for walking and admiring Nature, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed these stories.

The title, Skin and Bones, refers to the longest of the short stories, which comes more than midway through the book. Blending the skills of Stephen King and Agatha Christie combined, the author spooks the reader with descriptions of creepy characters and scenarios with a payoff would make Mrs. Christie proud. Every story is replete with credible dialogue and the action is well paced, moving along as appropriate for each cast of characters.

The author has a new fan and I will be reading more of his work.

What a great collection of short stories! There truly is something for everyone inside of this book - a little horror, a lot of nature, good old fashion campfire lore. This a great book. Oh, and did I mention it's by Paul Doiron? Yeah...

It's been a while since I've read Doiron's books. Sometimes I get caught up in shiny new things and forget that the really great writers that I've always loved are still out there, so thank you Paul Doiron, for giving me a poke and reminding me how wonderful your story telling is!

Normally, when I read a collection like this, I go through each story and tell why I liked one over the other or not at all. Every tale in Skin and Bones is equally well written and interesting. Some are throw backs to the days of Charlie, some are catch-ups with Mike in between the current books, but every one of them is well told and really interesting. If you're already a fan of Doiron then, of course, you must read Skin and Bones. If you've never heard of him - where have you been - then this is a great introduction. You don't have to know who the characters are or anything about them. Reading it is like gathering around the camp fire and listening to everyone tell an amazing story from their past. So settle in and enjoy the tale. A couple of s'mores wouldn't hurt.

I am huge fan of the Mike Bowditch novels, and have recommended them to several people I know that are avid outdoor enthusiasts. . As I result I was super excited to be approved to read the next installment in the series. So image my disappointment when I discovered that this was not that, but rather a collection of the short stories often labeled as .5 that are released as place holders between books in a series. I generally skip those as rarely add anything of significance to the characters or cannon. Unfortunately, I felt the same about this collection. While they are well written, they are at times odd and as a whole add little of import to the Mike Bowditch saga.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

My first experience with Mr, Bowditch. These are short stories and all interesting good reads. There is the feeling that Mr, Bowditch is under appreciated in his line of work and who knew being a game warden was so intense. Enjoyed these very much. A definite addition to your TBR list.