PITCH DARK

4 stars out of 5

I came late to the party for this wonderful series, discovering it just five books ago (this is the 15th). Each one has served up an action-packed adventure with engaging characters like the star of the show, Mike Bowditch, Maine game warden investigator. No less interesting are his wife Stacey, now an EMT, and her father, retired game warden Charlie Stevens - the latter a long-time mentor and father-figure to Mike.

This time around, though, it's almost all about Mike; Charlie does play a crucial role, but Stacey not so much. The story begins as Mike gets a call from a game warden in a remote district, asking for Mike's help with finding a missing person; that, in turn, leads him and Charlie, who insisted on tagging along, to the really, really remote home of mutual friend Josie, who's a helicopter pilot. Strangely connected to the case is an equally strange man named Mark Redmond, who has been tasked with building a gorgeous home for Josie and, also strangely, is accompanied by his 12-year-old daughter Cady. Both, however, seem to have disappeared from Josie's premises.

Needless to say, they're all now in an area that has little or no access to cell phones; but Josie believes a couple who run a sugar mill in an even more remote area may know something. So, off Mike and Charlie go in Josie's helicopter to find out. They got it right, actually, but also very wrong; let's just say Mike, Charlie and Josie quickly find themselves in no position to do more chasing - a situation that goes from bad to worse.

But Mike is nothing if not resourceful; the situation gets a reprieve of sorts, freeing him to continue tracking the man and his daughter, who clearly want to get away fast. From here on, it's a battle of wits and who can withstand the most physical punishment interspersed with a few twists (and I'm not referring to the tree-covered terrain). The ending brings a bit of a cliffhanger as well as other news that make me hope that the next installment won't be long in coming. Meantime, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to once again enjoy the exploits of one of my favorite characters.

Pitch Dark by Paul Doiron (Minotaur Books, June 2024); 304 pp.