The Bone Orchard by Paul DoironMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: In the aftermath of a family tragedy, Mike Bowditch has left the Maine Warden Service and is working as a fishing guide in the North Woods. But when his mentor Sgt. Kathy Frost is forced to kill a troubled war veteran in an apparent case of "suicide by cop," he begins having second thoughts about his decision.
Now Kathy finds herself the target of a government inquiry and outrage from the dead soldier's platoon mates. Soon she finds herself in the sights of a sniper, as well. When the sergeant is shot outside her farmhouse, Mike joins the hunt to find the mysterious man responsible. To do so, the ex-warden must plunge into his friend's secret past—even as a beautiful woman from Mike's own past returns, throwing into jeopardy his tentative romance with wildlife biologist Stacey Stevens.
As Kathy Frost lies on the brink of death and a dangerous shooter stalks the blueberry barrens of central Maine, Bowditch is forced to confront the choices he has made and determine, once and for all, the kind of man he truly is.
Read as an audio book.
Premise of the book is, Mike's former Sergent, Kathy Frost, was nearly killed as part of a revenge shooting and now lies in a coma in Portland, Maine. Mike, resigned from the Warden's service, was on the scene when it happened. Bereft of a friend and steady employment, Mike starts asking questions. When Kurt shows up, drunk and disorderly and clueless that his sister is in the hospital, Mike begins to wonder what Kurt knows that nobody else does. But before Mike can find out, Kurt disappears.
I enjoyed this more so than previous books, but we still had some "bang head on steering wheel" moments.
Mike, Mike, Mike. You are not the brightest bulb on the bush:
Point - Your father was an abusive alcoholic. Why are you telling an alcoholic you've just met to lay off the booze and get treatment? Dumb.
Point - If said alcoholic borrows/steals his sister's car while under the influence, and you think he's going to go confront the antagonist, you call the police. You do not go chasing after him. This is an eye-rolling DUH.
Point - If you grow your hair and beard you, you are going to look like your father. It should have come as no big surprise when Kathy pointed it out. Another DUH. Saw that one coming a mile away.
Other small issues I had with this, Mike's job as a Northwoods Guide might keep him busy for a week, yet he signed a contract that stated he couldn't be gone from the cabins - behind a locked gate and under monitored security cameras - for more than four days. That really doesn't seem realistic.
I'm really not enjoying the Stacy Stevens unrequited sub-plot and the whole thread has become quite frayed. The detente between the two didn't work for me.
When Kurt disappears during the investigation of an active shooting incident and could possibly be a person of interest - I found it odd how easily the Warden Service blew his disappearance off.
And would this investigation stay in the ranks of the Warden service or would a higher authority come and take over? Just a question I have/had...
Other those points (and a few others), yeah, I did enjoy this. Mike wasn't fighting the constraints of authority and the book just flowed better for it. Old animosities didn't just disappear, new animosities arose, Mike tried to keep the Warden's in the loop and they blew him off. I enjoyed the interwoven plots in this and I thought everything clipped along at a good pace to keep me engaged and interested.
Recommended if you've read the first four in the series.
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