Paul Doiron

For the first time in print, Skin and Bones features a collection of eight gripping original short stories in the bestselling Mike Bowditch series?including one brand new, never-before-published story?from Edgar-award nominated author Paul Doiron.In THE BEAR TRAP, legendary Maine woodsman and bush pilot Charley Stevens tries to convince young Mike of the dangers awaiting rookie game wardens. RABID draws Mike into the story of a gruesome case involving a bat with rabies from his Charley Steven?s past (2019 Edgar award nominee for Best Short Story). When a visiting hunter goes missing in the middle of a snowstorm, a young Charley Stevens sets off to rescue him?but begins to suspect the man may not want to be found in BACKTRACK. In THE IMPOSTER, Mike is confronted with a baffling case of stolen identity when he discovers a dead body whose driver?s license claims he is none other than Mike Bowditch himself. Mike tracks down a sinister prowler who turns a couple''s dream vacation home into a nightmare in THE CARETAKER. An investigation into the killing of a bald eagle in SKIN AND BONES unearths an old case of a missing young man whose physically abusive brother might have murdered him. In SNAKEBIT, Mike must hunt down a killer who uses the unlikeliest of murder weapons: rattlesnakes. (Brand New!) Mike suspects there?s more to a grisly murder-suicide than meets the eye in SHEEP?S CLOTHING. Critically acclaimed for his brilliant crime novels, Paul Doiron proves he is also the master of short story in Skin and Bones.

Game Warden Mike Bowditch must chase down a cunning and dangerous fugitive in the North Maine Woods in this nail-biter of a thriller from Edgar Award-nominated author Paul Doiron, Pitch Dark.Legendary bush pilot Josie Jonson can’t believe her luck when a skilled builder just happens to show up after she purchases land near Prentiss Pond. All Mark Redmond asks in return for building Josie’s dream cabin is that he be left alone to homeschool his 12-year-old daughter, Cady.For Maine game warden investigator Mike Bowditch, the intensity of Redmond''s secretiveness is troubling, especially in light of suspicious criminal activity being reported around the area?including rumors of an armed man offering large sums of money in exchange for the location of Redmond and Cady. Josie, though hesitant to violate the trust of her prized builder, eventually agrees to fly Mike and his father-in-law Charley Stevens to the secluded pond in an attempt to protect Redmond and Cady. But hours after landing, the trip takes a dark turn when they witness a horrific murder and are taken captive themselves.Freeing himself, Mike is forced to set off through the impenetrable Maine forest towards Canada, alone and unarmed in pursuit of a mysterious fugitive. As he navigates a windblown landscape choked with deadfalls and blocked by swollen streams, he marvels at his enemy’s bush craft. The killer possesses skills surpassing his own, and Bowditch can''t tell if he is the cat or the mouse in this dangerous game. Can Mike Bowditch stop his adversary in time to save the life of a young girl, or will he be forced to watch another innocent soul die?