St. Martin's Press 2020
Large Print: Center Point
If you're interested in further rights to this title, please click here.
One Last Lie
“Never trust a man without secrets.” These are the last words retired game warden Charley Stevens speaks to his surrogate son, Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch, before the old man vanishes without explanation into a thousand miles of forest along the Canadian border. Mike suspects his friend’s sudden disappearance has to do with an antique badge found at a flea market — a badge that belonged to a warden who was presumed dead fifteen years ago but whose body was never recovered. On a mission to find Charley before he meets a similarly dark fate, Mike must reopen a cold case that powerful people, including his fellow wardens — one of whom might be a killer — will do anything to keep closed.
Publishers Weekly (starred review):
Edgar finalist Doiron artfully blends a whodunit plot with superior characterizations in his top-notch 11th mystery featuring Mike Bowditch, who works for the Maine Warden Service (after 2019’s After Midnight)...Doiron vividly portrays the Maine woods setting while maintaining taut suspense. This entry reinforces the author’s position in the front rank of regional thriller writers.
Booklist:
Doiron’s masterful plotting pulls it all together, and the reader gets to meet an odd assortment of extraordinarily well-defined characters—good guys and bad—while learning more about both the natural and the political history of the Pine Tree State.
This novel is something of a departure for Doiron...the suspenseful, fast-paced plot has more twists and turns than usual in a Mike Bowditch novel.
The overall plotting in “One Last Lie” shows Doiron at his best. This is his most compelling mystery so far. It’s a great read that will leave readers wondering what comes next.
Doiron has again produced an exciting, fast-paced, intricate mystery in the North Woods.
Paul Doiron surprises the reader at every turn...Maine['s] wild, untamed places [...] come to life on every page.
A superb entry in the award-winning Mike Bowditch mystery series...Fans of dramatic, action-filled mysteries will be satisfied with Doiron's One Last Lie.