Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the advance listen. Phew what a chilling listen! Didn't know it was a series but now I am curious as to how this series started. The author and the narrator both held me captive as I listened to this story unfold. Parts of it made my blood run cold and the anticipation was killer. This audiobook will definitely keep your attention. The narrator did a fabulous job telling the story. Highly recommend!

Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch’s newest case is quite the ride. After his Jeep crashes into a frozen river, Bowditch must find a way to make it through the bitterly cold night. As if things weren’t difficult enough already, things take an even more challenging turn when whoever caused the crash comes looking for him and they want him dead! Told in alternating chapters of his current investigation and trying to survive the night of his accident, with the perfect narrator this book was non stop action from start to finish. The only question is who will come out on top!

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

The book is told from two timelines. It starts with Mike Bowditch's car flying straight in an icy river. He finds himself in a real race agains nature and ... some other elements that would rather have him gone forever. On the other hand, we are told the story that lead to this gloomy night. The investigation in a clear cut closed case of a boating accident. But things are not as clear as they were supposed to be.

The book has a lot of sarcastic jokes that are quite funny. There is a lot of action in this book and a heartwarming story about a wolf. In the same time I felt the book was going in a lot of details and had a back story for every line, which made it long and dragged at times. The action scenes were a bit confusing and beyond realistic. Overall it felt as the book felt short to deliver what was aiming for.

Thank you MacMillian Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!

This was a great book! I actually really enjoyed it. It has a lot of action. It’s a page turner. I finished it quite quickly. It was such a quick and easy read because you have to keep turning the pages! So much happens and it doesn’t slow down. I liked the dual timelines that gave you a different perspective as things are uncovered. I liked the main character and his strength. I also really loved the relationship with him and the wolf! That was such a great aspect to this story. I think narrator was really great as well and i enjoyed the different accents.

This is my first Mike Bowditch book (fortunately it works as a standalone too) and I'm quite impressed!

The book starts with a bang (quite literally) as a game warden is run off the road and plunged into an icy river where his car gets trapped. From there, we enter a very intense cat-and-mouse game and go over the details of Mike's day to figure out who's after him.

If you enjoy action-packed and well-paced thrillers, I recommend checking this one out. The narrator did a great job capturing the intensity of every dangerous situation Mike found himself in, so it was a pleasure to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a copy to review! :-)

Dead By Dawn is a tightly woven and well-paced suspense thriller. This is a story readers will find hard to put down. The expert characterizations of the good, the bad, and the sometimes downright ugly and contemptible characters draws readers in..and doesn’t let go!

3 stars

A Maine game warden & the injured wolf dog he is caring for end up in an intense fight for a survival. Chapters written in present tense narrating the survival sequence alternate with chapters in past tense, describing the MC’s investigation of a possible homicide in the days leading up to the present. Well written, action packed, & the story caught me up on details from previous books in the series without info dumping.

[What I liked:]

•I didn’t realize when I picked up the story that there would be multiple timelines & such intense action. Those aren’t traits I look for in books, but this story is well written & I enjoyed it nonetheless. I cared about the MC & the wolf shadow & had to find out how they’d make it through.

•I enjoyed the Maine setting, the small towns, the descriptions of the natural beauty, etc.

•The survival scenes are reminiscent of a Jack London man & dog survival story, & the attention to detail adds a lot to the stakes & to the believability. So many things go wrong that it’s not easy for the MC to survive, but enough go right that he has a chance. The fluctuating situation with changing advantages & odds keeps things interesting. No lucky break comes without a downside. I’m impressed by how carefully constructed this aspect of the story is.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Okay so some of the action (most of the action?) is a little hard to believe. The amount of stuff that the MC managed to survive is pretty miraculous, though at least it’s described in enough detail & well though out enough to be plausible.

•Several characters felt just a bit too over the top. Billy seems like an exaggeration of the tough shelled softie. Juett feels like a caricature of conspiracy theory obsessed gun hoarders. The twins are 2 dimensional meanness & evil. Several of the side characters could have used more nuance.

CW: violence, homophobia, racism, sexism, murder, accidental death, torture

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to review.this audio.

Mike Boditch is a park ranger/game warden who is run off the road in his jeep and gets trapped under ice. This is the first story arc of Mike's struggle to get out. He befriends a wolf in the process and tries to figure out who ran him off the road.

Second story arc is an earlier time line where Mike is asked by the family of a Professor Chamberlain to investigate his drowning years prior..

I did not hate this book but was a bit lost with the non linear storyline. Narrator was good. Just an ok story.

A real cat and mouse game with deadly consequences begins to happen when Mike Bowditch, a Game Ranger is asked to start reinvestigating a case of a man who was suspiciously found dead in a river years ago.

Game rangers aren’t particularly liked in these woods, and over the years, Mike has made several enemies. It is apparent that the Ranger has someone trying to kill him as he runs over a strip of nails on a dark road, loses control of his jeep, and nearly drowns in the freezing water trying to escape the accident. But that is just the beginning of his problems. He must literally try to save his life in spite of being injured, shot and nearly frozen to death, while trying to outwit those who are hunting him down and solve the crime of what really happened to the dead man …. to uncover the real truth he’s been sent to investigate.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio version of this book. Henry Leyva was a brilliant and believable narrator!

Dead by Dawn by Paul Doiron

Mike Bowditch, a Warden Investigator in Maine, is fighting for his life in this cat and mouse case story. He gets a call to look into an old case involving Professor Eben Chamberlin, who supposedly drowned during a boating accident. But his daughter-in-law is convinced it was an accident. Could there have been foul play?

After doing some investigation, Mike’s Jeep hits some spikes set in the icy road and he crashes into a frozen river! Hypothermia setting in. Wondering what happened to his passenger, a wolf/dog named Shadow, he is trying to protect. Is someone after him? Why? It’s a race to stay alive.

A fast paced book with a lot of action. I like how the chapters alternate between Mike trying to survive and events leading up to him being ambushed. Although the 12th in the series this book can be read alone, which I always like. Great story!!

Thank you Paul Doiron, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio to listen to this book in return for my honest review!

This was a story about a man who should be dead by dawn. Also there’s a wolf!

I love a good man vs wild style thriller- with bonus points for some evil & morally gray characters, and a solidly good lead. I sometimes struggle with law enforcement protagonist because of… well, everything? But I had an easier time with the game warden/conservationist idea. This managed to be suspenseful and compelling while also keeping a super tight pace.

Thank you so much @netgalley & @macmillan.audio for this ALRC!

Wow! This was great. The narrator Henry Leyva was solid and added an extra bonus to the already good story. This was a skillfully written suspense that lead me through a dangerous adventure of survival. Unthinkable things happen and all of it was believable. I loved the game warden and his wolf. Mike, the game warden was a likable, relatable character with human feelings and goals. He would make a great investigator. A enjoyable story that anyone who loves a suspenseful mystery, thriller. I highly recommend listening to this audiobook.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via Netgalley.