Mystery Book Reviews

Book Review: The Poacher's Son

By Sandy Amazeen Apr 22, 2010, 18:04 GMT

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 ...more

Maine game warden Mike Bowditch was having problems, his job cost him a longtime girlfriend, paid so little he was perpetually broke and seemed a never-ending string of poachers and stupid tourists. After virtual silence for two years Mike’s father, Jack leaves a strange message on the answering machine prompting a series of hard choices between job and family. Jack stands accused of a string of charges including murdering a state trooper and a paper company executive after a confrontational town meeting. While Mike knows his father is an alcoholic and known poacher, he cannot believe Jack is capable of murder and sets out to find the real murderer despite considerable resistance from the law enforcement community.

Doiron’s debut novel is a promising start to what is likely to be a series set in the Maine north woods and told as someone familiar with the countryside and its people. While an in-depth look at the value and price of family ties, this is also an evenly paced, nicely plotted murder mystery set in the great north woods.