ONE LAST LIE :: Paul Doiron

A version of this review previously appeared in Shelf Awareness and is republished here with permission.

"Never trust a man without secrets" is the puzzling advice Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch receives from longtime friend and mentor Charley Stevens before Mike heads to Florida for a job applicant background check. The applicant had secrets. Mike tags along on a tremendous python hunt (with Stacey, former girlfriend and Charley's daughter) before having to race home when he learns Charley has secrets, too, and has disappeared. Charley's wife, Ora, doesn't want Stacey to know, adding to Mike's already complicated emotions surrounding Stacey and his current girlfriend, Dani.

Accustomed to tracking poachers, Mike has to hunt the man who taught him everything he knows. He traces Charley to a crafts fair where he argued with a man about a Depression-era game warden badge on his sale table. Tracking the badge leads to an old case involving the murder of an undercover warden whose body was never found. Charley was heavily involved in the violent case, including the death of the alleged killer. As Mike closes in and Charley behaves more like someone he doesn't recognize, the tension between solving the case and potentially losing a hero is gut twisting.

One Last Lie, Paul Doiron's 11th Mike Bowditch mystery, is a triumph for aficionados and newcomers alike. The secrets, old and new, are compelling, and Doiron's landscape imagery is perfectly balanced (as is the literary history). The people and relationships beautifully elevate from that foundation. Trust, friendship, love, faith and how the family we choose holds powerful sway is at the heart of this impressive series entry.

STREET SENSE: I read the first Bowditch and then for some reason didn't continue. I know the followups are on my list, but time and assignments seemed to have gotten in the way. So I went ito this missing a few years and nine books of material. I was pleased to discover it didn't matter. I really dug this entry, which was high on character issues. I didn't feel lost or like I had missed out on crucial facts. Yet it made me want to go back and fill in blanks. It was a perfect blend of past and present. A good story, well told.

COVER NERD SAYS: I think at this point, the series is relying on past readers and Doiron's name. Which is completely understandable. I kind of understand why the water is red, but it doesn't make a ton of sense. I hate to say this, but these days when I see red, white and blue it's almost a turnoff. And I say that as someone who loves her country, always flew a flag, but is currently greatly disappointed. Hard to hold a book cover responsible for those feelings, but it is just a reaction I have at present. There's nothing wrong with this cover; the image is attractive, there's a little mystery to it, it just doesn't blow my socks off. It doesn't really need to, Doiron's name is the seller here.