Stay Hidden: A Novel (Mike Bowditch Mysteries, 9)

Stay Hidden: A Novel (Mike Bowditch Mysteries, 9)

A supposed hunting accident becomes a dangerously complicated murder investigation in Stay Hidden, the intricately-plotted new thriller from Paul Doiron featuring Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch. 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 evidence proves he’s telling the truth. Bowditch begins to suspect the secretive community might be covering up the identity of whoever killed the woman, known as 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. Praise for Stay Hidden: "Outstanding." ― Publishers Weekly (starred 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.”― New York Times Book Review “Doiron is at his finest…a marvel of a thriller…filled with unpredictable twists and a cast of believable characters.” ― Shelf Awareness “Maine author Paul Doiron provides readers yet another sharp twist.”― Portland Press Herald "The extraordinary sense of place makes this Doiron's strongest novel yet." ― Booklist (starred review) "A bona fide contender for best crime novel of the year." ― Ryan Steck, The Real Book Spy Praise for the Mike Bowditch mysteries: “The characters are so well-drawn you can almost reach out and shake their hands, and the rural landscape is so vividly portrayed that the reader can smell wildflowers, marvel at the swarms of fireflies and feel the sting of the blood-thirsty insects. But the author's finest achievement is the evolution of Mike Bowditch himself.” ― Bruce DeSilva, Associated Press on Knife Creek “Doiron [makes] the Maine woods live and breathe… Multidimensional characters and a high level of suspense help make this a winner.” ― Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Precipice “Gripping . . . Doiron has reached a new level in his craft, putting him, without a doubt, among the best crime writers working today.” ― Portland Press Herald “Breathless pacing, dark humor, wildlife, and vivid characters.” ― Boston Globe on Widowmaker “Paul Doiron is shaping up as the Tony Hillerman of the east. . . . presenting central characters who are brave and brainy but all too human and fallible . . . [Doiron’s] storytelling is always enthralling.” ― Toronto Star A native of Maine, bestselling author PAUL DOIRON attended Yale University, where he graduated with a degree in English. The Poacher’s Son , the first book in the Mike Bowditch series, won the Barry award, the Strand award for best first novel, and has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity awards in the same category. He is a Registered Maine Guide specializing in fly fishing and lives on a trout stream in coastal Maine with his wife, Kristen Lindquist. Stay Hidden By Paul Doiron St. Martin's Press Copyright © 2018 Paul Doiron All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-250-10238-6 CHAPTER 1 There were two hunting deaths in Maine that day. And the deer season had barely even begun. In the morning, a grandfather in Berwick, down on the New Hampshire state line, was out hunting with his son and grandson when he stumbled over a stone wall. His finger slipped and the bullet struck the thirteen-year-old boy in the head. Seeing what he'd done, the old man suffered a heart attack, leaving the traumatized father to run through the woods for help. The last I'd heard, the kid was in critical condition, being airlifted to Boston for emergency surgery. The grandfather had died before the first ambulance arrived. The Maine Warden Service marshaled all the resources at its command — the Evidence Recovery Team, the Forensic Mapping Team, the Aviation Division, the K9 Team — and rushed them to the scene. Nearly every available officer was called upon to assist in the investigation. Something like thirty wardens in all. As the newest investigator in the service, I was not one of them. Two hours after the Bangor office had emptied, I was hunched over a computer, inputting numbers into a spreadsheet, when I received a frantic phone call. There had been another hunting-related death, this one halfway across the state from Berwick. A woman had been shot and killed on an island twenty miles off the coast of Mount Desert. And no