Poacher's Son

By: Paul Doiron

Narrated by: Henry Leyva

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in the wilds of Maine, this is an explosive tale of an estranged son thrust into the hunt for a murderous fugitive - his own father. Game warden Mike Bowditch returns home one evening to find an alarming voice from the past on his answering machine: his father, Jack, a hard-drinking womanizer who makes his living poaching illegal game. An even more frightening call comes the next morning from the police: They are searching for the man who killed a beloved local cop the night before - and his father is their prime suspect. Jack has escaped from police custody, and only Mike believes that his tormented father might not be guilty. Now, alienated from the woman he loves, shunned by colleagues who have no sympathy for the suspected cop killer, Mike must come to terms with his haunted past. He knows firsthand Jack's brutality, but is the man capable of murder? Desperate and alone, Mike strikes up an uneasy alliance with a retired warden pilot, and together the two men journey deep into the Maine wilderness in search of a runaway fugitive. There they meet a beautiful woman who claims to be Jack's mistress but who seems to be guarding a more dangerous secret. The only way for Mike to save his father now is to find the real killer - which could mean putting everyone he loves in the line of fire. The Poacher's Son is a sterling debut of literary suspense. Taut and engrossing, it represents the first in a series by Paul Doiron featuring Mike Bowditch.

©2010 Paul Doiron (P)2010 Macmillan Audio

Not a run-of-the-mill tale.

The not so-run-of-the mill tale was as much about difficult family relationships and the life's decisions we make as well as the who-done-it storyline. The reader was excellent, I shall hear his voice in my mind for some time to come. The location of the story was far from the big cities of many, and I could see, hear, and smell the lushness of the vast wilderness.

A good whodonit with excellent narration, but...

OK, so I can understand why so many reviewers gave this book four and five stars, but I cannot go there. I think for this review I will bullet point the good and the bad.

Positives:

1. The setting! I loved the exploration of Maine and its culture. Some of my favorite mystery series allow the setting to act as a character itself. (For example, Wyoming in the Joe Picket series and Alaska in the Kate Shaguk series). I believe that Maine will be a perfect setting for this series which features a game warden as the protagonist, because the people of this state are unique and the culture is very specific to this area. I can foresee so much humor and curiosity here.

2. Mike Bowditch seems like he will be a strong and moral protagonist.

Negatives:

1. The characters were a bit cartoonish and one-dimensional. Mike was portrayed as too good. He needs to be drawn with more flaws and vulnerabilities. Joe Pickett is sometimes too moralistic and perfect but his wife and daughters bring out his vulnerabilities. I hope that this will happen for Mike too or I will lose interest quickly. Also, the "bad guy" here was Mike's dad who was drawn as completely evil without any redeeming qualities. I found him unbelievable and boring.

2. Mike Bowditch's relationship with his father isn't dynamic enough. He is convinced that his dad is innocent but there is nothing that has happened to make him think this way. Everything that is outlined about their past would lead to the conclusion that his dad was guilty. There are no positive and loving interactions. There are no events that show the dad to be a good and moral person. This leap of faith is impossible to follow and as a reader I couldn't stay with the story and didn't ever find myself believing as Mike did.


As far as the narration goes -- it was excellent. I know very little about Maine as I live in Colorado and have never been there. But I have had some good friends who were from Maine and I found Henry Leyva's accent believable. There were moments that seemed perfect to my untrained ear. I felt that he perfectly embodied Mike. At some point I will probably listen to the next book and I hope that he is the narrator for it as well.

Loved it

Love this one! I love Maine, enjoy outdoorsy game warden main characters, and devour mysteries. The Poacher's Son is a great read. I highly recommend it. Narrator was also excellent.

Easy to follow story....,

The story is easy to follow because it limits the number of characters and stays with storyline from the beginning. I recommend the book even though the narrator can be less than exciting.

Intense and personal! I loved it!

I loved the book. As an outdoorsman myself, it was easy to get sucked into the setting. I loved how personal the book got, including some scenes the actually made me feel angry and sad with the protagonist. Very good stuff. My only gripe was the narrator sometimes messing up the accent of the various characters, but overall it was great. I look forward to the next in the series.

Northern Maine people with thick Boston accents?

I really wanted to like this book. I am a big fan of North Woods Law and was eager to listen to a good warden mystery. It was fair. Henry Leyva's attempt at a Maine accent resembles a thick John F Kennedy Boston accent. If you are from Maine, and I am, we seldom find an "outta stateta" that can get it right. Best not to try.

interesting

Different. Listened to it while working, so didn't catch everything. Had I paid more attention to the beginning I could have figured the story line out.

Great book ruined by poor performance!

I'm really disappointed. Having recently moved to Maine, I was excited by the prospect of an 11 book series set in my new home. The story line was fantastic with excellent character development and dialog. Unfortunately, the narrator really misses the mark. It's not so much that cheesy Maine accents that I found so distracting as it was basic diction and understanding of how to emphasize words in a sentence to indicate meaning. I won't be continuing with the series.

Loved it

I enjoyed this book and will be continuing the series! The story kept me engaged and I have recommended this book to my friends! The only place that left room for improvement was the narrator. The local names of towns and rivers are hard to announce. While Henry Leyva did a good job overall, he missed pronounced a couple of them incorrectly. Likely only locals would have picked up in it.

Backwoods Maine location

Kept thinking this was a young adult novel. Not at all sophisticated, characters are pretty shallow, and it centers on a young game warden's relationship with his father and others he knew as a 15-year-old. The father is accused of a cowardly murder and of course the game warden sets out to prove his innocence. Doiron uses the upstate Maine location well. Leyva's narration is competent and he gets the deep New England inflection well enough. There's so much angst about whether Mike chose the right career or not that it was a disappointment not to get a revelation at the end. All in all it was worth the time and money I spent but will not be among the more memorable books of the year.