Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron

First Line: The last time I saw Lucas Sewall, he left a school notebook under the passenger seat of my truck.
 
Just because Maine game warden Mike Bowditch has been sent into exile in a remote area at the Canadian border doesn't mean his life has gotten quiet and uncomplicated. When a blizzard roars in, he's sent to a cabin where a frightened couple has given shelter to a raving and half-frozen man who claims his friend is still out there, lost in the storm. 
 
What starts out as a search and rescue mission turns into a murder investigation, for the friend lost in the storm turns out to be a known drug dealer, and the half-frozen man becomes their prime suspect. Mike isn't so sure but decides to stay out of it. His vow to not get involved is sorely tested when he becomes strongly attracted to the half-frozen man's sister and her strange young son. The boy seems to know something about what happened out in the blizzard, but he's not saying anything, choosing instead to keep all his thoughts locked up in a notebook filled with drawings and ciphers.

Alone in an area filled with people distrustful of game wardens, Mike is going to have to rely on his own wits-- not only to find a killer but to survive.

~

I like Paul Doiron's Mike Bowditch mysteries because I love stories about sparsely inhabited areas and because I get to watch an impulsive, heart-on-his-sleeve, young man solve mysteries and grow up along the way. He is very...very... slowly learning that he doesn't know better than everyone else, and it's an attitude that needs to change before it kills him.

Bad Little Falls, like the other books in the series, gives readers an excellent feel for the wilds of Maine and the independent-minded, insular people who live there. As Doiron states at the end of the book, "No law enforcement organization in Maine has suffered more deaths in the line of duty than the Warden Service." That statement alone gives readers a better perspective on what Doiron's main character has to face.

Reading about an impulsive, know-it-all, looking-for-love, young man could wear a person out, so it's good that the cast also contains folks like veteran bush pilot Charley Stevens, "gimlet-eyed lesbian" county sheriff Roberta Rhine, and Lucas, the strange little boy who fills his notebooks with all the words he will not say and all the thoughts he refuses to share. In many ways, Lucas is my favorite character in Bad Little Falls. He can provide a little light humor when he ponders the subject of "Abnormal [Abominable] Snowmen," and he can also give you the shivers or even break your heart.

Populated with interesting characters, this solid mystery has plenty of misdirection to keep you guessing. It also provides a harrowing portrait of an area in this country that most of us know very little about. I enjoy gaining knowledge with my fiction. That's why I'll keep coming back to Mike Bowditch deep in the Maine woods.
 
Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron
ISBN: 9780312558482
Minotaur Books © 2012
Hardcover, 320 pages
 
Law Enforcement/Police Procedural, #3 Mike Bowditch mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased from Book Outlet.

12 comments:

  1. I like the Mike Bowditch character, too, Cathy, and I agree that he's s-l-o-w-l-y learning. He's got some interesting depths. And Doiron really places the reader in the setting, which also really appeals to me. I'm not quite this far along in the series, but it sounds as though I'll like it when I get there.

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    1. I often wonder if writers get perturbed when they come across reviews that say the reader enjoys the series and treats it as a "Go To" when they need a book that they know is going to be good, thus meaning that they're taking their ever-lovin' time to work their way through the books!

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  2. I enjoy gaining knowledge with my fiction as well. I have never read a book set in the "wilds" of Maine. The ones I have read mostly take place in the civilized parts 🙂.

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    1. I have to admit that Maine was one of those states that I never gave much thought to until I started reading mysteries. I've since discovered a "nest" of Mainer mystery writers who've really opened my eyes to the history and landscapes of the state.

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  3. This is a series I really want to start reading next year!

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    1. It's a good one, even though Mike Bowditch can try your patience sometimes. :-)

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  4. I had so much trouble getting into comments. But here I am.

    I love Maine. Been to Mt. Desert Island three times. Incredible. Driving along the ocean drive seeing waves crashing against rocks on one side, and then on the other side see a calm lake or pond with lovely greenery.

    Mountains are fantastic for climbing. Nothing like climbing Day Mountain for a few hours, then sitting up there looking at Bar Harbor and the sailboats, while eating home-made green apple pie and reading. The brightest blue sky and water.

    Or hiking through the woods and up Mount Katadin, no tmaking it to the peak in time before sunset, so we scrambled down.

    And rowed across Moosehead Lake to a little island to hike around.

    All wonderful.

    So I should read this to read about Maine. And the characters sound interesting in your review.

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    1. Thanks for your Maine travelogue. I could almost picture it as I read.

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  5. I couldn't remember if I'd read anything by Doiron or just remembered you mentioning this series before. I did read Trespasser in 2011 (had to check my archives), but haven't read anything since then, although I always like your reviews of the Mike Bowditch character.

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    1. Yes, as I read, I have to keep reminding myself that he's just a kid, and that he does learn a lesson or two here and there. ;-)

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  6. Frustrating as the character is, it's also refreshing to have a young detective as the chief protagonist, instead of the battle-scarred, world-weary older types used so often.

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    1. Excellent point, FR Kate. I'm glad you brought it up!

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