Dead Man’s Wake: A Novel by Paul Doiron
opens with an engagement party. Stacy Stevens and Mike Bowditch are being
celebrated by Mike’s stepfather, Neil Turner and his new wife, Jubilee, as well
as Stacy’s parents, Charley and Ora Stevens. They are at the stepdad’s lake
house in central Maine. Great Pond was the inspiration for the play and
subsequent movie, On Golden Pond, and is busy this Labor Day weekend
evening. The roar of speedboats as well as the loud noise of occasional jet ski
has been something all day and evening. The fact that it is dark has not slowed
down those racing across the surface of the lake.
All too predictably with so many racing
around after dark, the sounds of a crash are heard. It is clear to everyone in
the group that a speedboat and a jet skier collided out in the waters somewhere
around the nearby Moose Island. Mike sees a speedboat circle back and then the
running lights are turned off. The person or persons on that boat know they hit
somebody and are trying to hide in the dark night.
With limited resources, and as the only
law enforcement around and available, Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike
Bowditch has to go out to the general area of the crash and look for any
injured survivors as well as anyone deceased. After some investigation, a detached
human arm is found. Most likely, the person that lost the arm is dead.
What follows is a complicated read featuring a watery crime scene, a wealthy family and their legacy, and a past full of resentment and hate. As is benefits the long running series, the read is not one that focuses on character development as many here are long running characters that readers well know and love. Instead, the primary focus is on the case. Identifying the victims out in those lake waters, the suspects, and working the case. A complicated and entertaining read, the latest in the long running series, Dead Man’s Wake: A Novel is very much worth your time.
My reading copy was an ARC via NetGalley.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2023
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