It’s hard to believe this is #14 in the Mike Bowditch series who is now a Game Warden Investigator and about to get married. This was a solid addition to these well written mysteries featuring the beautiful Maine woods, a fine cast of interesting characters (including my favorite – Mike’s mentor and future father-in-law, Charley Sevens) plus an engaging and original storyline.

This time around the plot leaned a bit more toward a straight forward whodunnit and procedural than some of the previous installments in which Doiron brought the setting to the forefront. I have to admit I prefer the latter. And even though there were several potentially nail-biting scenes in Dead Man’s Wake , they needed a bit more tension and suspense to push this book to the top of my favorites list for this series.

Despite those drawbacks, this was an entertaining read and I was not disappointed! Having read all of the full-length entries in the series, I am a fan and will look forward to the next.


FYI - I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good detective/investigator book! This one did not disappoint. This is my first from this author, but now I want to read this series from the beginning!

This is 14th in Paul Doiron's outstanding series starring Maine game warden Mike Bowditch. Doiron brings different aspects of the spectacular Maine wilderness to life for the reader.

As the story opens, a loud noise interrupts Mike and Stacey's engagement celebration, hosted by Mike's stepdad Neil at his lake house in central Maine.

Mike suspects a speedboat hit-and-run, and finds a severed arm at the scene. Mike soon has a target on his own back. To readers' relief, he survives yet another close shave. Great series!

Police procedural/crime thriller that takes place on a lake in Maine. Along with the fast-moving plot, I liked the details about boating, policing, the lake and its surrounds. I also liked the characters and found even some of the peripheral characters to be well-developed. I didn't 100% like the main character, Mike, but isn't that true in real life? Anyway, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. I hadn't known, but this is the 14th in a series. It worked just fine as a standalone and I would definitely read others in the series.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

The story unfolds with a riveting opening: an engagement party interrupted by a horrifying discovery of a hit-and-run speedboat crash. From the outset, Doiron's descriptive prose paints a vivid picture of the darkened lake, setting the stage for the spine-chilling events to come. As Mike Bowditch and his fiancée Stacey Stevens arrive at the scene, they are met with a macabre sight—a severed arm lurking beneath the surface, setting off a chain reaction of events that will test their mettle.

Paul Doiron's skillful storytelling shines through in "Dead Man's Wake." The pacing is masterfully controlled, with the author adeptly crafting a sense of urgency that compels readers to keep turning the pages. The vivid descriptions of Maine's natural beauty and the perilous situations that Mike and Stacey find themselves in create a palpable atmosphere that enhances the suspenseful narrative.

One of the novel's strengths lies in its ability to seamlessly blend the intricacies of a murder investigation with the characters' personal lives, creating a well-rounded and engaging reading experience. The complex web of relationships, motives, and secrets keeps the reader guessing until the final revelation, and the twists and turns are executed with precision.

Mike and his fiancée Stacey Stevens are at his stepfather’s lake house for their engagement party when they hear a boat crash. As a Game Warden for the Maine Warden Service and with no one else available Mike set out to find out what happened with his future father-in-law, Charley, a retired Game Warden, in tow. They find gruesome remains and evidence of two deaths.

Mike investigates with the State Police Detectives. It’s very much a crime procedural with Mike interviewing witnesses and traveling around the small islands to gather evidence. I enjoy Mike’s interactions with his mentor/friend/future father-in-law Charley. He’s such a rascal, but a big help in solving the case. Even Stacey helps a lot with being able to fly and just being a sounding board helping Mike puzzle through the clues. I was happy that Mike seems to be maturing and thinking things through more before acting. A conscious decision on his part to do better and think of the other people in his life. I did miss Shadow, his part wolf dog in this installment.

The coast of Maine and the little islands are a big part of the story, Mr. Doiron brings the area to life with his lovely writing. Yes, it’s a fast-paced plot, but I like how he takes a moment to feature nature’s beauty all around.

This is book fourteen in the Mike Bowditch series, but I’ve skipped around and read out of order. I think you could read this as a stand-alone, but you’d miss some of the character backstory. The ending brought a smile to my face!

I alternately read and listened to a library audio copy. I’ll still keep working my way through the previous mysteries. The audios are great with Henry Leyva narrating the series. He has a great easy-going voice, that I now picture as Mike, and he does the Maine/Boston accents well. I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

Great pacing, good mystery, and good plot twist. This was a great read and will keep you reading far into the night.

Prefacing this review with the fact this is apparently book #14 in a series and I haven’t read a single other one in this series. Which I don’t think is probably necessary because you come to learn the characters and their backgrounds pretty quickly.

I was just sooo bored with this one oh my gosh. So many people to remember too. I almost DNFed around 40% and again at 60%. I had zero care for the dead characters so I didn’t care for the outcome or the process of the investigation. As a criminal defense attorney myself, I also think some of the investigatory aspects were not legally accurate.

Thank you to St Martins Press, the author, and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

Game Warden Mike Bowditch and his fiance are celebrating their engagement with family at a lake when they witness a speedboat crash, and both investigate. At first, the boat disappears and only a severed arm is found, but the next day 2 dead bodies are found, and a variety of evidence points in different directions, and most investigators are taking the quick and easy route while Mike sees a different scenario and everything gets pretty twisty turny with loads of action and suspense.
This is actually my first book of the series, though it is number 14. I had no problem following along with any previous events mentioned, enough detail being made plain. The characterizations were obviously well-worn and flowed with the well-thought out plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be very quick to grab more in the series. Highly recommended for fans of early C.J. Box and Nevada Barr.

I love books set in New England so I was so happy to get an ARC for this book and, oh my goodness, it did not disappoint. This was a solid police procedural with a bit of domestic backstory going on and it made for a well rounded read. The environment plays a factor which is always nice in a book set someplace as temperamental as Maine

Loved Paul Doiron’s newest Mike Bowditch mystery. I look forward to these every year and Paul is on of our bookstore favorites. This book doesn’t disappoint in the series. If you hav3 read all of these, the reader can really see a changes in Mike as he continues to grow as a game warden investigator. Doiron intimately knows the places and people of Maine, and it shows.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the early review copy.
This was my first book by this author and can be read as a standalone. I liked the lake settings and all the information about boats, drowning, and living by the lake. The main characters were funny and honest, they had issues and faults but overall were interesting to follow on this journey.
The mystery part was not my cup of tea, but I can see how it will appeal to many readers. This was a fun summer book.

I’m not sure how I’ve missed reading this long-running mystery/thriller series, but this is the first one I’ve read and it’s the 14th in the series! Mike Bowditch is a Game Warden Investigator in Maine - this apparently is a more complicated and dangerous job than it might sound.

Mike and his fiancee are attending an engagement celebration over Labor Day Weekend at Mike’s stepfather’s house on the Great Pond in Maine when they hear what seems to be an out-of-control boat and then they hear a crash. Mike grabs his stepfather’s boat and heads out on the pond/lake to see what has happened. It turns out that two people are dead. And from there, the story really starts. Because this was my first book in this series, all the characters were new to me. I occasionally got a bit confused with who was who, but eventually I figured it out. I felt Mike and his fiancee Stacey were well-drawn characters, not stereotypes. The same goes for most of the other people as well (other than the bikers, who seemed a bit stereotypical). You can feel the author’s love for the state of Maine throughout the book. There was a pretty good twist near the end of the book that surprised me but made sense.

I would characterize this as a thriller/police procedural with great characters and a real sense of place.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I was a bit late to it. I bounced between the ARC and the published audiobook, courtesy of my public library. The narrator, Henry Leyva, did a good job with the various voices and accents. All opinions are my own.

Good procedural mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. Even though part of a series, this can be read standalone even though I may have understood character relationships better had I read previous books.

Mike and Stacey are celebrating their engagement when they hear a boating accident. What follows is a two part mystery - who was driving the boat and whether it was really an accident.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I requested this book I didn’t realize that it was part of a series. Since I had not read any of the previous ones I was apprehensive about being able to catch-up on the characters and setting. It could be a stand alone read, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything not having read the other books in the series.
The storyline was fast paced and kept me interested.

Game Warden Mike Bowditch, seems to find trouble wherever he goes. The evening of his engagement party was no different. The party takes place at his stepfather’s home on “Golden Pond” the nickname of a Maine lake. Expecting a quiet weekend with his fiancé, Stacey, her parents and his stepfather and his new wife, things quickly change when Bowditch and Stacey hear a boat strike something in the water. Ever the game warden, Bowditch goes to investigate and finds more than he bargained for when he finds the body of a naked man, but no boat to speak of. Further investigation leads him to believe there’s also a woman, but is she dead or alive. A full fledged investigation ensues and the whole family is knee deep in it. What starts as a hit and run accident on the water soon turns into something more deadly and once again, Bowditch is fighting to save himself as well as his family. This is a brilliant series and oh so fun to read! Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

In this 14th installation of the series, Marine Game Warden Investgator Mike Bowitch's engagement party is interrupted by a hit and run boat accident. The preliminary investigation reveals there are two victims discovered in the waters of a lake in Maine. The marine police procedural that follows is well written and fast paced with a host of interesting and well developed characters. Dead Mans Wake can be read as a standalone, although it is somewhat of a challenge to remember all the characters, their relationships and history with Mike, and how they fit in the plot. The protagonist is a strong and determined character and his first person narration added substance and depth to the book. I enjoyed learning about the marine game warden responsibilities and the immersive story setting of Maine.
Thank you Netgalley and Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review Dead Man's Wake and Mike Bowitch series.

When i requested this I didn't realize it was in a series.This was my first book by this author and although it's part of a series, this can be read as a standalone. Will be looking into reading more of his books. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a review.

This is such a crime thriller that will be perfect to binge during your summer vacation. Dead Man's Wake is book 14 featuring game warden, Mike Bowditch, however, as someone who has not read any other books by Doiron, it works great as a standalone. There might have been times when I wished I knew more about the characters, but it certainly didn't take away from the story.

Dead Man's Wake is fast-paced and will have you guessing through the whole story. Not to mention, I loved the descriptions of the beautiful lakes in Maine and the locations in Massachusetts.

Whether you've read every Mike Bowditch book, or this is your first one like me, Dead Man's Wake is worth checking out.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

Dead Man's Wake is the fourteenth installment in the Mike Bowditch, Maine Game Warden series. I only discovered the series recently, thanks to NetGalley, so it is the third read for me, and one day I'm going to start at the beginning and catch up. Although each book is an easy standalone read, one of the things the author does best is continually evolve his characters. With Mike's relatives, and now fiancee Stacey, there are quite a few people in his life, but each book I learn new aspects of each of them, sort of like life!

Mike Bowditch and Stacey Stevens are at his stepfather's house for their engagement party when Mike thinks he hears a speedboat hit something in the dark. This happens literally on the first page or two, so the reader is immediately thrown into the action. Mike goes to investigate and eventually finds a body that has been hit by a speedboat, so local authorities are called in. But this investigation will turn out to be a bit more complex than just a boating accident. Mike is on the scene, so gets drawn into helping solve the crime.

I enjoy these mysteries set in Maine. It gives me a chance to learn about the geography and wildlife there, as well as be entertained by the stories. I used to enjoy the Anna Pigeon series by Nevada Barr, and this is somewhat in the same vein. Like all good series, Doiron makes his character's lives changeable and interesting, to keep the reader from getting bored. The mystery in this book definitely had it's twists and turns and kept me guessing. I'll be back for the next in the series!

It is a 4.5 * read for me!

Thank you to Paul Doiron, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.