Stay Hidden

Author: Paul Doiron

A woman has been shot to death by a deer hunter on an island off the coast of Maine. To newly promoted Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch, the case seems open and shut. But as soon as he arrives on remote Maquoit Island he discovers mysteries piling up one on top of the other.

The hunter now claims he didn’t fire the fatal shot and the ballistic evidence proves he’s telling the truth. Bowditch begins to suspect the secretive community might be covering up the identity of whoever killed Ariel Evans. The controversial author was supposedly writing a book about the island's notorious hermit. So why are there no notes in her rented cottage?

The biggest blow comes the next day when the weekly ferry arrives and off steps the dead woman herself. Ariel Evans is alive, well, and determined to solve her own “murder” even if it upsets Mike Bowditch’s investigation and makes them both targets of an elusive killer who will do anything to conceal his crimes.

Stay Hidden (Mike Bowditch, #9)

The New York Times Book Review:

Doiron captures the stark beauty of his setting without averting his eyes from the sick and starving wildlife, the rancorous feuds among the lobstermen or the homicidal impulses that push islanders off the deep end.

The Portland Press Herald:

Doiron displays his signature talents as a writer in “Stay Hidden.” The characters are engrossing, and the settings so well drawn that the landscape becomes a character, too. As the plot thickens, tensions and surprises reverberate like shotgun blasts. Even given the contractual rigors of producing a book every twelve months, a year is still a terribly long wait for the next chapter in the Bowditch saga.

Booklist (starred review):

Doiron brings all his considerable talent and his extensive knowledge as an outdoor guide in Maine to bear in this ninth Mike Bowditch novel. The plot is complex, and the action intense, made all the more so by forbidding terrain. The characters are well developed and clearly defined despite the dense fog that surrounds them, literally and figuratively. The extraordinary sense of place makes this Doiron’s strongest novel yet. This is not Jessica Fletcher’s Maine. It is a much darker place, more like C. J. Box’s Wyoming. With foghorns.

Publishers Weekly (starred review):

The shooting of investigative journalist Ariel Evans on Maine’s Maquoit Island drives Doiron’s outstanding ninth novel featuring game warden Mike Bowditch (after 2017’s Knife Creek)...Doiron balances nuanced characterizations and intelligent plotting perfectly.

The Real Book Spy:

Paul Doiron has long been compared to #1 New York Times bestseller C.J. Box, but this is the book that pulls him alongside other iconic crime novelists such as James Lee Burke and John Sandford. Fans worried that Mike’s promotion will somehow change the series into something completely different moving forward don’t need to worry. This is vintage Doiron and everything his readers have come to expect. Beautifully written and filled with stunning cinematic visuals, Stay Hidden is some of Paul Doiron’s finest work to date and a bona fide contender for best crime novel of the year.

CrimeReads:

Doiron, often compared to fellow New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box, uses stunning cinematic visuals, bringing Maine’s atmosphere to life the way James Lee Burke does with Louisiana. Not only is this some of his best work yet, it’s an early contender for best crime thriller of the year.

Library Journal:

A thrilling read for fans of the series and other outdoor lawmen mysteries.