Recently Maine Game Warden Investigator
Mike Bowditch and Stacy Woodson were married. As Pitch Dark: A Novel by
Paul Doiron begins, they are talking about the important changes to their lives
when they are interrupted by a phone call. Game Warden Brandon Barstow is a
young warden and unsure of himself, but thinks he might have a missing person’s
case.
It is the first week of May and pouring
rain, as it has for weeks now. Game Warden Barstow gradually explains that a
man from Idaho, Hammond Pratt, is missing from his rented cabin at Seboomook
Farm located up in the Rockwood District. Pratt rented an ATV from the property
owner and left on it after asking questions about some guy and his young
daughter that are supposed to be in the woods, somewhere nearby.
Game Warden Barstow knows that a guy by
the name of Mark Redmond and his young daughter are in the area at Prentiss Pond
building a cabin. The work site is very close to the Canadian Border. Apparently,
they are the ones that Pratt was asking about before he left on the ATV.
Game Warden Barstow tells Bowditch other
things that paint a seriously odd picture. It becomes clear that, regardless of
the weather, he needs to get up there and assess the situation, in order to
know what to do. He has to make a determination in order to start a search and
rescue operation. At this point, Bowditch does not know enough to make that
determination.
As it turns out, the horrible weather
will be the least of his problems.
What follows is a page turning story
that gets increasingly violent and convoluted. Much is happening in Pitch
Dark: A Novel by Paul Doiron and all of it keeps the reader highly
entertained. The situation is complicated. Bowditch is going to be lucky to
have a career, let alone his life, when things are said and done. Highly
recommended.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3VtpJmn
My digital reading copy came from Minotaur
Books, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment