I absolutely loved this book! It’s probably the best of the series thus far, which is saying a lot. I think with each new edition to the series I say the same. It’s exciting, the character development is fantastic and it’s just fun!

I read two books of this series a long time ago and had forgotten how good they were. I had no trouble figuring out what was happening even though I hadn't read the intervening books. Mike Bowditch goes to Florida to interview a man for the job of Chief Pilot of the Maine warden service. All his references seem to be great, but Mike keeps looking and finds Joe Fixico, a man who was with the pilot in the first Gulf war. He wasn't on the list of references because he knew that the man had "inappropriate contact with the other sex". He has missed his plane home, so contacts his ex-girlfriend Stacey Stevens, the daughter of his mentor and surrogate father, Charley Stevens. They go into the everglades on a python hunt, where the other man on the hunt gets bitten and mauled by the python. Stacey stays in the hospital with the man, while Mike goes to her home for a shower. He gets a call from Charley's wife, Ora, saying that Charley has disappeared.

Mike flies back to Maine and begins the search for what has happened to Charlie. Mike soons find that shortly before disappearing, Charlie had argued with an outdoor vendor about what turned out to be an old warden's badge. He eventually traces the badge to the grandfather of a man who had been another surrogate son of Charlie and went missing in an undercover engagement with poachers fifteen years earlier. He had carried his grandfather's badge, and his body was never found. Several of the poachers were still alive, and there may have been a fellow warden who was crooked. Thus, there were several people who didn't want the case reopened, and Mike's life as well as Charlie's were very precarious.

This is an exciting book!

In One Last Lie Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch investigates the disappearance of his mentor Charley. This is a very personal investigation revolving around a cold case in which Charley was involved. The story moves quickly, taking the reader from one clue to another as we ride along with Mike on his journey through Maine.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Whenever I see a new Mike Bowditch book, I get incredibly excited and this one did not disappoint. Without fail, these books pull me in, and I end finishing them far too soon (and skip out on some sleep in the process). This one was certainly personal for Mike as he’s searching for his missing surrogate father and mentor, Charley. And it made the stakes higher for me as a reader as I’ve grown to know and care for the character and desperately wanted to know what happened. I picked it up and didn’t want to set it back down again.

Wow. A lot of big shakeup s in this latest Mike Bowditch book. Mike's mentor puts him through the hoops, his love life became even more complicated, and he learned a lot of things were different than he thought. ONE LAST LIE seemed to affect Mike more personally than usual. In addition, it was the latest in a string of excellent books in the series. Paul Doiron just seems to get better and better. I never put one down without immediately looking forward to the next book.

“Never trust a man without secrets”
Mike Bowditch is a Maine Game Warden Investigator. When his mentor and friend, retired Game Warden Charley Stevens, uncharacteristically leaves home without telling anyone, his wife, Ora, calls on Bowditch to investigate. Pulled into a poaching cold case on the Maine border, things get interesting very quickly. Will Bowditch find Charley and will they find the evidence needed to finally solve the case? Doiron has written an outstanding series that encapsulates the beauty and history of Maine and the great outdoors. With a perfect set of characters and an old fashioned type mystery, you won’t want to miss the newest Mike Bowditch book and if you haven’t already read the rest of the series, you’re going to want to go back and start at the very beginning!

Not too long ago Goodreads friend Michael Edwards mentioned I might like to read the Mike Bowditch series as I frequently visit the beautiful state of Maine. Written by Paul Doiron, a native of Maine, the series centers around Mike Bowditch’s occupation as a Game Warden now promoted to Investigator Warden. Animals and nature are a wonderful background to his stories.

I came across ONE LAST LIE, Doiron’s latest, on NetGalley and took the opportunity to settle into the call of nature. I couldn’t have chosen better. This novel takes Bowditch to Florida to do a background check on someone applying to the forestry service. Some interesting circumstances come about with the very dangerous wildlife that live in Florida’s untamed locations. Meanwhile, in Maine retired pilot Charley, good friend to Bowditch goes missing after finding a warden’s badge at a flea market. Then all hell breaks loose as Mike follows his trail.

ONE LAST LIE is a very fine reading experience for anyone that has a love of the outdoors, has a keen interest in seeing animals treated well and, loves nature. Amidst these trying times, I really enjoyed being drawn into the life of the wild.

There is no doubt this novel can be read as a stand-alone book, but it is so good that I am looking forward to going back and starting this series from scratch.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of ONE LAST LIE in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date - June 30, 2020
Review posted to Goodreads on May 25, 2020

How do you bite down on a lie and not taste its long-lasting bitterness?

One Last Lie opens the door wide on one of the finest books in this series. Paul Doiron does Mike Bowditch proud in an exceptional panorama of life in Maine through the rugged terrain making up the internal workings of Investigator/Warden Bowditch. This one has a lot of action and uncertainty as we travel throughout multiple counties and small towns at the heels of Bowditch. Doiron knows how to showcase the multi-layered communities and the deep-set history of such a diverse population spread far and wide in Maine. We are certainly aware of the flora and fauna under foot revealing the beauty of its surroundings, yet smudging the footprints of some despicable bad guys on the loose.

But did I mention that our story begins in the Everglades in Florida? A little switcheroo tossed in by Doiron. Mike is down there in an investigator's capacity to do a background check on a candidate for Chief Pilot for the Maine Warden Service. What he uncovers leaves him unsettled. Former Captain Joe Fixico, a Miccosukee Native American, has much to share. And, oh, by the way, there's a mighty Python involved. Yup.

No sooner than Mike returns to Maine, there's trouble brewing. Ora Stevens calls him and reveals that her husband Charley is missing. Charley is a retired pilot for the Warden Service and a solid mentor for Mike over the years. It all has to do with a warden's badge that Charley found on a table at a flea market near the Machias Dike. Something triggered a response in Charley. He was never one to take off on his own. Mike promised to track Charley down. But as Mike investigates, he's coming up with some heavy situations and some heavy-duty individuals in the mix. Looks like they may have to send out the bloodhounds after Mike, too.

One Last Lie strikes all the five bells loudly. Thanks to Doiron you get a feel for the grit and the tilt of the uneven roads. This episode is gonna change Mike for a long time to come.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press and to the talented Paul Doiron for the opportunity.

Another solid addition to the series starring Maine game warden investigator Mike Bowditch. This novel can easily be read as a stand alone but you will certainly benefit by reading the series from the beginning. It has been interesting to watch the protagonist grow and mature in the course of the eleven novels in the series. As always, this novel has a varied cast of characters, a solid lead up to an exciting chase scene and lots of interesting facts on the flora and fauna of Maine. I always feel as if I've read a partial non friction book when I read this author. In a good way!

Paul Doiron writes so beautifully about the backwoods of Maine in this series, and I was fascinated to see that he could do the same about the everglades in Florida. The book starts with Mike Bowditch, former game warden, now investigator, doing a background check in Florida of a pilot candidate for the Maine warden service. The book is bracketed by this investigation, but the main plot deals with Bowditch using his comp time to come to the aid of his friend Ora in finding her husband, Bowditch's friend, Charlie. The search takes him into the most northern regions of Maine, just short of the Canadian border, and back in time to the disappearance and presumed killing of an undercover warden.

As always in Doiron's series, there are plenty of fast-paced scenes with Bowditch in significant danger. There's also incisive characterization and a bit of a love story. And then there's the evocative writing about the wilderness. While long-time readers of the series will find the emotional growth of Bowditch rewarding, this book could also be appreciated as a stand-alone or as an entry to the series. If you start here, though, you won't be able to avoid heading back to read the previous books in the series.

I didn't realize this book was part of a series when I requested it, but that didn't impact my experience at all. There was plenty of explanation given about past events so I didn't feel like I was missing anything not having read the previous books. I really enjoyed the story and the writing style. It was a little drawn out and took me a little longer to get through, but overall it was very well-written and enjoyable.

Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch considers retired game warden Charley to be family, looking up to him like a father. So when Charley vanishes without explanation, Mike investigates and learns that just prior to his disappearance Charley found an antique badge at a flea market. The badge belonged to a warden who was believed to have been murdered fifteen years ago, though his body was never found. Mike reopens the cold case, hoping that resolving it will allow him to find his friend.

The mystery and investigation are interesting and complex. One Last Lie is part of a series and although I think it can be read as a standalone, the longstanding relationships will be clearer with background and there are some spoilers for prior books.



Content Warnings: SPOILERS antisemitism, racism, xenophobia END SPOILERS

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.

Unfortunately, this one was not a favourite for me. I think that is mainly because I have never read anything from this author and I believe this is a new book in a long running series, which I have never read. I had trouble getting invested in the characters. So honestly, it's not the fault of the author at all! Let's start with what I did like about this novel. It definately did have some moments of suspense. I felt like I wanted a bit more from it, but I was kept guessing more than once which I really like. I also enjoyed the writing style and the descriptions of the setting provided very vivid pictures. There were a few minor things that didn't quite work for me. I felt like there were a lot of characters to keep track of at times. This one was also a bit of a slow burn for me. The action definately picked up in the second half which was great but I found the beginning a bit slow for my usual taste. Overall, this was a decent book and if you have read this author's previous work you will most likely love it! I think I just needed more experience with this author and the novels that came before this one to be able to fully appreciate the story.

Even though I'm a Mainer and a librarian-I'd never read anything by Paul Doiron before and was dubious of the mystery/thriller nature of his writing-not usually my thing. But I read this in three days and will absolutely be going back and reading his previous books. The plot was interesting and complex but not so off the wall that you couldn't get there with the detective in the end. Well researched and very descriptive of the woods and people of Maine-it was engrossing. And I cared about the characters-it wasn't just a whodonit race to find out what happened-the characters were interesting and engaging and I was invested in them. Strongly recommend this and I look forward to reading his other novels.

When Charley Stevens disappears, Mike Bowditch is worried. Charley has been a second father and mentor to Mike. Mike's concerns become even more grave when he discovers a letter written to him from Charley, explaining that there's something from Charley's past that he needs to take care of, and that Mike should not come after him. Mike disregards Charley's wish, knowing that Charley probably wants his help. One Last Lie recounts Mike's journey through the wilds of Maine to help his friend. A worthy addition to this long-running mystery series.

Okay, I get excited when I learn that one of my favorite authors has completed a new book. When it's part of a favorite series, I get even more excited. By the end of the first chapter of this one, I had a big smile on my face. Now I've finished - and I want another one. The sooner the better, please and thank you.

Honestly, I don't know why I love the series so much. Of course, the writing is outstanding and the stories are complex enough to be hold my attention every page of the way but simple enough that my aging brain doesn't get lost. The setting of this, the eleventh book, is mostly in relatively remote parts of Maine - appealing on its own but more so to me because my husband and I have spent some quality time there (far too little, sorry to say). The author weaves historical information throughout, adding even more interest.

The main character, game warden investigator Mike Bowditch, is a man I'd love to meet - a bit reminiscent of C.J. Box's game warden Joe Pickett. The stories are full of action and straightforward - no chapter flipping from one time frame or one character to another that tends to drive me up a wall. This one opens with Mike in Florida to do a background check on an Air Force veteran who has applied for a Maine Warden Service job. While there, he runs into the woman who was his significant other for a couple of years; they're still friends and Mike now has a newer love back in Maine, but there's a hint that old flames never burn out completely.

Then, the ex-girlfriend's mother Ora calls Mike - whom they love like a son (more accurately, perhaps, the son-in-law who got away) to say her husband Charley has gone missing. He was last seen, in fact, in a heated argument with a vendor at a local flea market near their home in backwoods Maine. Mike knows Ora isn't a worrier, so he heads back home to try and track Charley down. Problem is, it becomes clear to Mike early on that Charley doesn't want to be found.

Or maybe he does.The old man leaves a cryptic letter to Mike in his seaplane, stressing that Mike shouldn't come after him. But Mike senses that's the opposite of what Charley really means. When he learns that - the flea market fight involved a badge that belonged to a warden who was reportedly killed 15 years earlier, Mike's suspicion that something, perhaps linked to that dead warden, is terribly wrong is strengthened, as is his resolve get to the bottom of things.

The rest of the book follows Mike's efforts to unearth clues and find his old friend and mentor, all the while knowing Charley's life is at stake. But dark forces from the past seem to have made their way to the present, putting the lives of both Charley and Mike on the line. It's a race to the finish with nary a dull moment - and another well-earned notch in the author's belt. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Bowditch #11.....Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch's mentor, retired game warden Charlie Stevens, finds a very old warden's badge at a flea market and this sets off a chain of events that starts with Charlie disappearing on a personal vendetta, leaving Mike a note saying it's time to make things right and not to try and find him. Well, if you know Mike Bowditch, finding Charlie is exactly what he's going to do no matter the cost !

In his probe to find Charlie, Bowditch comes to realize that this all revolves around a young warden who vanished while infiltrating a poaching ring many years ago....a warden who, like Mike himself, was like a son to Charlie so this is very personal. Mike runs up against some real nasty people and the exchanges are very intense as he has never been inclined to back down from anyone. He also finds it very hard at times to tell the good guys from the bad.

Great, realistic story with Bowditch at his annoying, "Columbo" like best and as always Doiron's colorful descriptions of the Maine wilderness makes this a solid addition to this series. Thanks to Net Galley, Paul Doiron and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One Last Lie was an excellent addition to the Mike Bowditch series. Highly recommended to those who enjoy a some nature in their mysteries.

Paul Doiron is one of my favorite writers, and his books just keep getting better. This particular story is about his mentor Charlie's disappearance, and Mike Bowditch uses his detective skills to unravel a complicated mystery concerning the past death of another game warden. Excellent storytelling keeps you guessing how the whole situation adds up to finding Charlie.

A fun mystery exploring past and present. Game warden mike finds out his mentor has gone missing so he sets off to find him and instead discovers a mystery from the past that someone doesn’t want solved. This book was well paced with good characters and an interesting story. The question of whether mike will find charley before it’s too late for both of them keeps the reader turning the pages.