59. Massacre Pond by Paul Doiron

listened to on Audible
2013, Minotaur Books
320 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 7/3/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.05 - 1966 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting:  Contemporary Downeast, Washington County, Maine

First line/s:  "The first time I laid eyes on Billy Cronk, I thought he was the biggest badass in the Maine woods:  Six-five, braided blonde hair, a tangled mess of a beard."

My comments:  This was an excellent foray into Washington Country, Maine, WAY "Downeast."  Mike Bowditch is such a likable, smart guy, and the voice of the Henry Leyva was great and would have been wonderful if he'd pronounced Maine state Indian tribes and town names correctly.  This was very off-putting, and lessened authenticity each time it happened.  The story was interesting and I learned quite a bit about what game wardens do.  This is a super series set in my favorite state, and I can't wait to read #5!

Goodreads synopsis: 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 timber land 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 woman’s missionary zeal comes face to face with ruthless cruelty.

5. Night Hunter by E. D. Ward

#1 Harry Circus - ME State Trooper
read on my iPhone
2017, Piscatuqua Press
208 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 1/9/18
Goodreads rating: 3.5 - 2 ratings
My rating:  2
Setting: Downeast "Berryville," Maine, 1980's?

First line/s:  "The beat-up old Jeep Wagoneer labored to climb the hill that led to what the locals called 'The Bog' in the small town of Berryville, Maine."

My comments:  I was quite excited to read of this murder mystery set in Downeast Maine, but it was riddled with problems.  I DID like the story, and although it was written in a choppy, weird manner, I didn't really mind that part.  It was different, almost set out like an outline but the real "writing" never happened.  There were so many things for me to dislike.  In no particular order:  I never got a sense of where Downeast this took place.  There were mentions of Machias, and driving to Augusta and Bangor.  Yes, the blueberry bogs, but nothing to give me a picture of the setting.  Disappointing.  There was nowhere near enough information about each of the "main" characters.  Pat and Marge were completely fascinating, and I would have read a book about just them.  But.....how old were they?  Other than their standard outfits, what did they look like?  They had no income and lived on poached meat, but how did they buy all the rifle shells, beer, and tobacco?  Very exasperating:  every character, when speaking to another (and there was a lot of dialogue) said the other person's name.  Every time.  Constantly.  Ugh! And now to Harry Circus himself.  That is a HORRIBLE surname for a protagonist.  HORRIBLE!  We actually know very little about him.  He is obsessed with keeping his wife, Annie, happy, and is overly lovey dovey with her.  Too much of that, yuck.  Unneeded.  How old are they? They were friends with the murdered banker?  How?  Were they close in age?  He loves to drive fast.  He has a bit of compassion in him, but is frequently unkind to others, especially his subordinates.  He drinks a lot of coffee, as does everyone we encounter in this book. 

All in all, this book is a good outline for a better book.  A first attempt outline.  I'm surprised that it actually has been printed in book and Kindle format.  There's a second installment already available, Across the Singing Bridge.  I actually think I'm going to read it to see if Marge and Pat return.  It has no reviews on Goodreads.  None.  What am I in for?

Goodreads synopsis: E.D. Ward’s first novel in the Harry Circus mystery series is a story of unforgettable suspense from the dramatic opening to the bloody finish. In rural Down East Maine, a seasoned State Trooper, Harry Circus, is driven to solve the most gruesome murder he’s ever investigated. The body of Lester Sawyer, local banker and good friend of Harry’s, is found disemboweled and partially skinned on the remote blueberry barrens, north of the small town of Berryville. 
Tension mounts as Harry, with the help of his counterpart, Constable Ralph Bailey, follows the scent of the murderer to the brutal end where he discovers the long-kept secret of a mother and daughter.  NOTE FROM MUDDY PUDDLE:  This last line is not at all correct!

46. Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron

listened to on Audible
2012 Minotaur Books
310 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 8/30/16
Goodreads rating:  3.8 - 1,470 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Whitney, Washington County, Maine contemporary wintertime

First line/s:  "The last time I saw Lucas Sewall, he left a school notebook under the passenger seat of my truck."

My comments:  Washington County, Maine.  The Sunrise County.  Poor.  Isolated.  Long, cold winters. Beautiful in the summertime.  Jonesport-Beals.  Machias. Lubec.  I know the area well.  This story takes place in Whitney (Whiting?), Maine.  It was a good mystery.  It was quite believable.

Goodreads synopsis:  Maine game warden Mike Bowditch has been sent into exile, transferred by his superiors to a remote outpost on the Canadian border. When a blizzard descends on the coast, Bowditch is called to the rustic cabin of a terrified couple. A raving and half-frozen man has appeared at their door, claiming his friend is lost in the storm. 
          But what starts as a rescue mission in the wilderness soon becomes a baffling murder investigation. The dead man is a notorious drug dealer, and state police detectives suspect it was his own friend who killed him. Bowditch isn’t so sure, but his vow not to interfere in the case is tested when he finds himself powerfully attracted to a beautiful woman with a dark past and a troubled young son. The boy seems to know something about what really happened in the blizzard, but he is keeping his secrets locked in a cryptic notebook, and Mike fears for the safety of the strange child. 
          Meanwhile, an anonymous tormentor has decided to make the new warden’s life a living hell. Alone and outgunned, Bowditch turns for assistance to his old friend, the legendary bush pilot Charley Stevens. But in this snowbound landscape -— where smugglers wage blood feuds by night -— help seems very far away indeed. If Bowditch is going to catch a killer, he must survive on his own wits and discover strength he never knew he possessed.

50. Darkness First - James Hayman

McCabe & Savage #3
read on my iPhone
2013 Witness Impulse eBook
496 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished beginning of August, 2015
Goodreads rating: 4.08
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary Eastport/Machias, Maine

First line/s:  "At 7:47 on a Friday evening in August, Dr. Emily Kaplan's office was still open, as it was every Friday night, for the convenience of those who found it difficult to come in at any other time."

My comments:  I don't think I enjoyed this third in the series as much as the first two.  The setting has changed a bit - from Portland to the Eastport/Machias area.  The main protagonist changes from McCabe to his sidekick, Maggie, but McCabe puts in a brief appearance near the end.  Characters travel from one place to another quickly, which is a bit off-putting, because the distance between, say, Machias and Augusta isn't just a hop, skip, and jump like the plot implies.  The whodunit part was cleared up early on (as far as I was concerned), which was a bit of a let-down.  However, because the setting was so real to me, it was still a fairly decent mystery, and I don't hate the characters (though there's a bit of an interesting, though unsettling twist, in this one) I'll happily look forward to a fourth installment.

Goodreads synopsis:  The mutilated body of a young woman. The town doctor lying comatose in the road. A hundred and fifty tablets of Canadian OxyContin. This is the havoc that a merciless killer has wreaked on a sleepy Maine seaport.
          As detectives Maggie Savage and Michael McCabe investigate, they realize the man they are after does not exist. Nobody knows his real name. Nobody has seen his face. But everybody fears his blade.
          The only one who may know the murderer's true identity is an eleven-year-old girl—who has vanished into thin air.
          Taut, twisting, and starring two unforgettable heroes, Darkness First will thrill fans of John Sandford and C. J. Box.