Synopses & Reviews
Massacre Pond is Edgar finalist Paul Doiron's superb new novel featuring Game Warden Mike Bowditch and a beautiful, enigmatic woman whose mission to save the Maine wilderness may have incited a murder
On an unseasonably hot October morning, Bowditch is called to the scene of a bizarre crime: the corpses of seven moose have been found senselessly butchered on the estate of Elizabeth Morse, a wealthy animal rights activist who is buying up huge parcels of timberland to create a new national park.
What at first seems like mindless slaughter—retribution by locals for the job losses Morse's plan is already causing in the region—becomes far more sinister when a shocking murder is discovered and Mike's investigation becomes a hunt to find a ruthless killer. In order to solve the controversial case, Bowditch risks losing everything he holds dear: his best friends, his career as a law enforcement officer, and the love of his life.
The beauty and magnificence of the Maine woods is the setting for a story of suspense and violence when one powerful womans missionary zeal comes face to face with ruthless cruelty.
Review
“The strikingly beautiful Maine woods contrast against a killers ugly agenda in this tightly written novel, superbly performed by Henry Leyva.” - Wisconsin Book Watch
“Narrator Henry Leyva creates a plausible down-to-earth voice for Bowditch, the quintessential person of integrity up against corrupt and lazy superiors. Its easy to imagine Leyvas Bowditch kicking back and leisurely recounting his experiences to a friend over a drink.” - Publishers Weekly
“Bad Little Falls is a jewel of a book. Doiron has gotten it all magnificently right: a hell of a good mystery, beautifully drawn landscape and characters so evocatively written they follow you off the
page. Buy this. The guy can write.” —Nevada Barr, New York Times bestselling author of Rope
“Doirons third Bowditch entry is riveting and honest, with full-depth characters and a landscape that isnt cutting any slack. Readers of Nevada Barr and C. J. Box will enjoy this similar tale, with the added surprise of a refreshing hero whose youth and inexperience Doiron skillfully twists into an asset.” —Booklist
“A high-stakes, high-tension yarn in which you keep wishing everything would turn out fine for the deeply flawed, deeply sympathetic hero.” —Kirkus
“Excellent . . . a murder case with some truly wicked twists. Dorion matches strong characters with effective prose and subtle characterizations. Fans of Steve Hamiltons Alex McKnight series, likewise set in a remote region close to Canada, will find a lot to like.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
About the Author
Bestselling author PAUL DOIRON is the editor in chief of Down East: The Magazine of Maine. A native of Maine, he attended Yale University and holds an MFA from Emerson College. His first book, The Poacher's Son, is the winner of the Barry award, the Strand award for best first novel, and a finalist for the Edgar and Anthony awards. Paul is a Registered Maine Guide and lives on a trout stream in coastal Maine with his wife, Kristen Lindquist.
Henry Leyva's audiobook credits include reading Colin Harrison's The Havana Room, Michael Palmer's Fatal, Lawrence Block's Killing Castro, and John Grisham's The Testament as well as works from popular authors such as Nicholas Sparks and Phyllis Naylor.