Exciting from the start. The main character, Pono/Sam, was destined for trouble but sported the funniest attitude. He was special forces and knew how to analyze to his benefit. The constant suspense was changing at every turn. The women were changing at every turn. This book felt so real that I kept googling to see if certain things were real and shocked to see there were a lot of it, but with a spin. I know how I hoped it would end, but was surprised at the very end, the finale was the best it could be. Political suspense at its “finest?”

I received a free copy from NetGalley. I ended up with several books by this author and read them out of order. This was probably the best of bunch. The wind power and what it does to communities is still an issue today making this book still relevant, but how he treats women is still a problem for me.

As a Mainer the theme and substance of this book hit me hard. I love my state and it is hard to see the sheer ugliness of windmills and panels that are based on producing natural power. I'm old enough to remember when the dams which generated power were taken away. It's so hard to find balance between nature and human need. The fictional story was riveting. I really enjoyed it. The character Pono Hawkins is magnetic. This was my first Mike Bond book and I will certainly be reading more of his work.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I recommend it to any reader that enjoys a dramatic read that stirs your feelings about the environment. It has a good mystery brewing too. These are my own opinions about the book.

There is much suspense to.be had in this book and enjoyed reading it. The author draws on his own experiences which makes the realistic premise compelling. I haven’t read the first book but plan to do so.
Many thanks to Mandevilla Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Definetly a thriller, full of suspence and dirt which was not what I expected from a book that involves clean energy and wind turbines. It does make one wonder if this really goes on, but as I have learned, energy is big business and if the govenerment will rely on emminent domain and condemnation in the name of progress I am sure that certain types of businesses would not be above such "fictional" and underhanded tactics. Book kept me on my seat as the story and the characters developed.

Thank you NET GALLEY

I love all Mike's books, and once I got past the name, Pono Hawkins, there is the usual great writing here from Bond. He is a favorite

Killing Maine by Mike Bond
Book Review by Dawn Thomas

388 Pages
Publisher: Big City Press
Release Date: December 29, 2019

Mystery, Suspense, Assassination Thriller, Politics, Environmental Issues

This is the second book in the Pono Hawkins series. In this installment, Pono gets a telephone call that Bucky, a member of Special Forces, has been arrested for killing a man. He flies from his home in Hawaii to Maine to help prove Bucky did not commit murder. When he arrives, he meets up with Bucky’s wife, Lexie. Pono was in a relationship with her before she married Bucky. This makes for an awkward situation.

As he begins investigating, he meets Abigail, the murdered man’s wife. He gets close to her to gain her trust and find out more about her husband and what he was up to in the days leading up to his death. Someone does not want Pono to be there and tries to kill him.

The action in the story moves quickly and the characters are developed. There are references in this book to the first one, Saving Paradise. Although this book is a part of a series, you can read it as a stand-alone. I love the history lessons of Elias Hawkins along with the mention of Joshua Chamberlain. I had difficulty believing the information about the wind turbines. Nothing I have researched identified that wind turbines have high decibel levels although there are many bird deaths linked to them.

Pono is enticed from his life as a journalist in Hawaii to help an old Special Forces buddy who has been falsely accused of murder. He returns to his hometown in Maine and to his old girlfriend who is now married to his buddy. He's shot at, arrested, harassed by police, and sleeps with (seemingly) everyone in town.

Clearly I was not the target audience for this book. It's everything I hate about socially relevant fiction! Bond has incorporated his negative feelings about politics, wind power, big business, and more into a mystery of a murder and an innocent man behind bars. I have no problem with incorporating social issues into fiction, I just don't want to be hit over the head about the topic over and over and over. I GET IT! Bond thinks wind power is a scam perpetuated by wind companies who bribe local & national officials. I GET IT! Bond thinks that the (seemingly never ending) war in Afghanistan is a waste of time, money, and human life.

I do read fiction for entertainment, but I also love good quality fiction that teaches me something about life, history, and politics. I just don't want the lessons to overpower the story. Bond lost the "story" in favor of the "lesson".

I truly enjoy this book, this is definitely a reed for the ages. I am incorporating this book into my curriculum for my class.

Killing Maine by Mike Bond: Bond, an environmental activist, has written a hard-boiled thriller based around environmental issues I enjoyed reading about the wind farms and the problems associated with that.The storyline was a compelling one.

Another gripping novel by Mike Bond. Its all about big money, manipulation and so called democracy. The back story is the effect multiple mega wind turbines are having on the people of Maine. Turbines that turn even when there's no wind, yep, generator becomes motor. Classic physics. But in a democracy you get who you pay for. But the little guy has little understanding of this, he thinks his vote counts. Now he realises that the whooping 200mph blade that keeps him and his children up all night can be dealt with by basic means......a bullet to the gearbox, not a ballot box. However, in his naïveté he's up against the system and that will take him down.
This book is an anthem to the little guy, you know, the one who dared vote populist because he decided one day his cog just didn't fit the corporate machine, rightly or wrongly, events will decide. The thing is.......democracy is decided upon the popular vote, ask Jesus! Alternatively Barabbas.
Cutting through all that, a novel of great pace and excitement and enough meat in there to question your own green credentials. I couldn't put it down even though there's a hillside full of the spinning, green machines just by me.

This is a good book. It starts off a little slow and I almost gave up on it but it builds into a well done suspense novel. This is the book about Pono a surfer who lives in Hawaii but is originally from Maine. He goes back to help his friend/enemy who was in the military with him. it leads to Pono digging himself deeper and deeper. It has a certain pro environment bent but gets you thinking.
Thank you Mandevilla Press, Mike Bond and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Good story, even though I didn't read the earlier book in the series. Be prepared to face more environmental commentary that murder /mystery

This was a great book. It did take me a few pages to get into to but once I was really started reading it was hard to put down. It does make you look at the wind turbines a little differently now. In the midwest they don't cut down trees but they do put them in fields. I always wonder how the cows feel about them.

I really enjoyed this book. A definite exciting page turner! I read it in 24 hours, couldn't put it down!

I read a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So here goes!
I am sorry to say that I will not be reading any more of Mike Bond’s novels. He seems to be a great guy—concerned about the enviromment and such, but his book writing skills are still in the development stages. It is clear that he completes extensive research for his books, however he is not adept at removing the unnecessary information that he has discovered. As this is the second review I have done on his novels, I have to draw attention to his habit of “information dumping”. (One specific example from this book was quite a bit of Ford F150 information that was irrelevant to the storyline.) I have also noticed a very clear pattern to his writing—like he is following a thinly disguised formula. Those glaringly obvious, required formulatic pieces seem forced—not organic or naturally flowing. It is a shame, because this book had a great premise, but I became disinterested several times when large chunks of flavorless, undigestible information were presented. In addition, the main character was portrayed as a Casanova-type, which was not very believable.

This is a murder mystery book that takes place in Maine. I learned a lot about Maine in this one and there was a lot of history and ecological stuff as well. I think that Mike Bond was able to show us his passion for the use of wind in this story for sure. This does show you a different side of the use of wind though.

This story is fast paced and I had to step back sometimes when Pono was explaining things but that was just me I am sure. Pono is an ex Special Forces Vet that lives in Hawaii and is traveling to Maine to help his friend that is in jail for murder. His friend is being framed though and Pono is out to prove it. The other aspect of the story is that politicians are being paid off by the wind companies in order to keep the complaints of the wind turbines quiet. This makes you realize how much money really does talk.

I enjoyed this read and will look for more from Mike Bond for sure. I am anxious to see where he takes us next!

Having read SNOW by Mike Bond I was interested in seeing what this book was about, and was delighted when I received an ARC from NetGalley. It did take me longer than most books I read as I found it extremely descriptive about Maine. The author grew up in Maine and is active in environmental issues. So when this book covered the windmills in Maine and what it was doing to our environment I wasn't surprised. The story itself is about Special Forces Vet Pono who leaves Hawaii to come to Maine to help his friend who is in jail for a killing and is being framed. The story centers around the turbines and their noise and destruction, and what it is doing to the beauty of Maine. Trees cut down, birds no longer have a place to live and this is all due to politicians being paid off by the Wind companies.

It was long and very descriptive, but I did want to see how Pono was going to handle this because he himself got into hot water. The book does show Mike Bond's passion for the environment and it also tends to make one thing about what we are doing to this beautiful world of ours - for the sake of...... money??

This was a great thrill ride that in certain ways felt like a big old cup of adrenaline. I like Bond's pacing as well as his characters and I look forward to reading more from him.

Pono Hawkins Is Indestructible – The Environment, Not So Much

Mike Bond is clearly interested in saving the planet from the ravages of man. Throughout the book you will read of the beauty of Maine and how it is being spoiled by man. His disdain for government in any form is evident, lambasting Presidents Obama and Bush as well as governments around the world for environmental disasters and the terrible toll imposed on the planet and its inhabitants due to intolerance and war.

All of this is artfully woven around a murder charge that has been made against his former Special Forces buddy who once saved Pono’s life. As Pono follows every clue to finding the real murderer he often finds himself knee deep in snow at well-below 0° temperatures, is constantly harassed by the local police, bedded by beautiful woman, and forced to hot-wire vehicles to make his getaways.

Killing Maine is part environmentalist, part murder mystery, part hero who falls in love with every beautiful women he meets, and can survive 20° below freezing weather without a coat. Remarkable!