Wolf Pack by C.J. Box, Book 19 in the Joe Pickett Series

The Joe Pickett series is one of my favorite series I read.  I can never put an order to what my favorites are, but a new Joe Pickett comes out, it is my next read.  Hopefully, none of my other favorites come out at the same time.  That would just be pure hell.

Without getting into spoilers, wolf pack has different meanings other than just being the title.  At the end of the last book in the series, The Disappeared we find Joe fired from his Wyoming warden job by the Governor, but this being a Joe Pickett series, former Governor Rulon sees to it that Joe gets his old job back, along with a scandal for the new Governor and Joe gets a new boss.  He gets his old district back, his old badge number and a new truck and house since his old house had burned down due to arson.  These aren't really spoilers because you learn this in the first few pages of the book.

If you want to know about what the book is about then read the book cover.  Box comes up with things probably no other warden would ever come up against.  One thing about Box is that he is not the best writer you will come across.  Where he excels at is that he is a storyteller, like Craig Johnson.  His books are never too long, never padded with filler that starts to bore you, he just tells a story about Joe Pickett, his family, and friends.  I can't wait until his next book.

If I gave 10's then this would be a 10, so I give this a very strong 9.

Wolf Pack by C.J. Boes

Book 19 in the Joe Pickett series

Stay Hidden by Paul Doiron, Mike Bowditch Series #9

After reading Stay Hidden I've finally caught up to the complete series, that is until July 2nd of 2019, and after reading straight thru the series, I think I can go 5 months until I read another Mike Bowditch book.

In Stay Hidden, we find Mike Bowditch no longer a Warden, but a Warden Investigator, a Warden that investigates hunting accidents incidents (In law enforcement there are no longer accidents, ie car crashes) and sitting alone in his office being a 4 month rookie without the qualifications to investigate any incidents or murders while everyone else is at a shooting investigation.

Mike receives a phone call from an island off Maine about a death that could be hunting incident and is told by his superior to go investigate with another warden, that has the flu, and a Maine State Police Detective.  The detective is there to take over if the hunting incident turns to homicide.

Mike, being Mike has never played well with others so when the warden leaves with the body and the detective leaves for a court appearance Mike finds himself alone, with that chip on his shoulder that he must solve it before law enforcement returns.

Maquoit Island is run by the harbormaster, a mean tough man that will not allow his authority, which he really has none be usurped, even by the elected constable. Most of the people that live there year-round are lobstermen and feel they are outlaws kindred to the old west where the law is dealt out by the people themselves with no outside involvement.

With only a few hours before his superiors come to take over the investigation and Mike already in trouble with his Captain for the way he has run his first investigation, Mike works every angle to solve the crime.  Can he do it?

Paul Dorion has written a neat series and shows he is really capable of writing a best selling series.  I really suggest this series to anyone that enjoys law enforcement books and books about outdoor investigations.

I rate this 8 of 10. Really a good read.

Stay Hidden by Paul Doiron

Mike Bowditch series, book 9

Widowmaker by Paul Doiron, Mike Bowditch series #7

I think Paul Doiron has it down now.  This is his 7th book of his Mike Bowditch Series and now each book is getting better and better.  It appears Mike is growing up at the age of 28.

The book starts with a Mike Bowditch pulling over a suspicious woman that keeps asking Mike to take him back to his residence so they can talk.  Naturally, this being a book and also the curiosity of what she might want wins MIke over to the idea of taking her home, but Mike is very cautious. The woman explains that her son is a young man that just got out of prison on a couple of crimes of a sexual nature after being caught being 18 and sleeping with his underage girlfriend from an affluent family. She also tells Mike that her son and mike are step-brothers. Queue the soap opera organ music. She asks Warden Mike Bowditch too help find his long lost brother, which Mike reluctantly does.

The book follows Mike going to the area that the woman, Amber Langston lives and the resort she works at, named Widowmaker.  Between a near death arrest, he has to make at the beginning to this book and a near-death experience his girlfriend Stacey has, the book follows Mike through his investigation of his missing brother.

I still suggest that Paul Doiron's Mike Bowditch series is worth the read.  The past couple of books are books hard to put down.

I rate this an 8 of 10.

Widowmaker by Paul Doiron

Mike Bowditch series book #7.

The Precipice by Paul Doiron, Mike Bowditch series #6

I seem to bounce around on my feelings about the books Paul Doiron writes for his Mike Bowditch series. His last book, The Bone Orchard was not as good as some previous books, but The Precipice is his best book yet, in my opinion. Paul did a really good job in all the areas of this book and kept my interest peaked the entire book.

Fact.  The Appalachian Trail goes through Maine, and include a stretch called the Hundred Mile Wilderness.

There is a sign at the southern entrance to the Hundred Mile Wilderness. It is made out of rust brown wood and painted with white letters, and it sends a stern and unmistakable warning to all who enter:

Caution. There are no places to obtain supplies or help until Abol Bridge 100 miles north. Do not attempt this section unless you have a minimum of 10 days’ supplies and are fully equipped. This is the longest wilderness section of the entire Appalachian Trail and its difficulty should not be underestimated.

Now for the review.  Two young women fresh out of college send a picture of themselves at the beginning of the trail and send it to their parents.  They say they should be through this leg of the journey in 10 days and they would contact their parents again when they have completed the Hundred Mile Wilderness trail.  After thirteen days the well to do and well-connected parents contact powerful people in high Maine government offices and the search begins.  Insert Warden Mike Bowditch.

As always Mike Bowditch thinks outside the box and with the help of his new girlfriend he gets started in the search and rescue.  Without giving away spoilers more deaths happen to make matters more urgent, both professionally and personally, Mike Bowditch gets the job done. As with all the books with one exception Mike Bowditch always gets his man or woman person. 

Sit back and read or listen to a very good story.  I've read some people suggest that The Precipice can be read as a stand-alone book but I really suggest that you start the series from the beginning.  I may be critical of a couple of books and have an issue with how he had described his sex scenes in the past books but this still is a good series.

I give this a 7 of 10, still a great book.

The Precipice by Paul Doiron

Mike Bowditch series, book 6

Massacre Pond by Paul Doiron, Mike Bowditch Book 4

If anybody looks at my shelf at Booklikes, or My Books on Goodreads you'll see I read series and start new series and usually, I'll read all the available books in that series. Now I'm on the Mike Bowditch series by Paul Doiron.  Paul Doiron is a writer from Maine that I think does mostly magazines, but I could be wrong about that.  I do know the 1st book in the Mike Bowditch series is his first book, and there was a lot of room for improvement.   He really did a good job on his second book and now I've made it to book 5 in the series, which I'll tell you about when I finish it.  I just started and haven't got through chapter 1 yet.  Mike Bowditch is a Main Game Warden and in Maine, they have the same power as a State Trooper.  Mike Bowditch also stays in hot water with his superiors because he gets his job done and makes his superiors look bad.  I like Mike because he is as human as all of us.  Doiron does a good job bringing his many faults up in the books.  All this and I haven't started my review.

Massacre Pond is based loosely on a real-life story.  A rich hippie woman buys up thousands of acres and cuts off any hunting or lumber farming on her land and now she gets death threats by the dozen.  Somebody breaks onto her land and kills 6 moose and leaves their bodies.  Not poached just murdered for the lack of a better term.  Her term to be correct.  Mike Bowditch answers the call and that's how the book begins.  Bowditch, the whipping boy for his LT starts his work on the case, doing what is asked which is basically stay away from it but keeps getting pulled in more and more.  By the end of the book, Doiron has written a great book.  I am hooked on this series like I am with Craig Johnson's Longmire, C. J. Box's Joe Pickett, and others.  After I catch up I will be reading his new releases as they come out.  For me, 7 of 10  and means its a great book.

Massacre Pond by Paul Doiron
Mike Bowditch series book 4

The Bone Orchard by Paul Doiron, Mike Bowditch #5

The Bone Orchard is the 5th book in the Mike Bowditch series.

I need to give a word or warning in case anybody actually reads my blogs.  This book, along with the first book, The Poacher's Son, is written with sex scenes.  While I'm not a prude and a series I really like is Ann Charles' Deadwood series that seems to have more romance in them as the series continues, I think  Paul Doiron goes a little too far.  He gets into the "insert part A into part B" with his descriptive romance scenes.  If that's your thing fine. I think that's a lot of what my wife reads.  I just want to warn people about this so they don't recommend it to anyone they wouldn't want to read scenes like this.  They are only a couple of pages if that much, but I think it would a little too much for some younger readers that think they are reading about game wardens.  I'm not judging and I'm still reading the series. I'm already in the 6th book, "The Precipice" and while he's implied sex he definitely did not get as descriptive as he has before.

Now for the review.  The book starts out with two wardens answering to a 911 call about a veteran that returned from serving as an MP and losing most of his face when an IEP went off near him.  The wounded warrior had been taking his meds and drinking, locking himself in a barn and basically forced in what is called police assisted suicide.   One of the officers was Mike's former sergeant and friend.  Within a couple of days, she is shot in an ambush at her home and is near death, with Bowditch showing up to save her life.

"The Bone Orchard' follows former warden and now civilian Mike Bowditch as he tries to find the attacker of one of his best friend and mentor in Bowditch's usual style, that is going against the grain of authority.  For me, while I enjoyed the book but it was not his best book he's written.  My opinion is Doiron's main character ramble through much of the middle of the book making it not quite as exciting as I hoped it would have been.  If you're reading the series I would definitely read the book.

The Bone Orchard by Paul Doiron
Book 5 in the Mike Bowditch series