I've been reading the Maine Sportsman for years and depend on it to keep me up to date with Maine outdoor news. I've also learned a ton about becoming a better fly fisher, hunter, and guide (Ken Allen's "Fly Box" has never steered me wrong). So it's a genuine honor to be reviewed in its pages by George Smith, the outgoing director of the Sportsman Alliance of Maine no less. Scroll down to the bottom of the "September Almanac" and you'll read:
The Poacher’s Son, an exceptional read, includes great characters and a terrific plot. It’s a page turner for sure....
There’s been a transition in the mystery fiction world from the day when plot was king, to today when characterization is the most important ingredient in a successful mystery novel.
Doiron has one foot in each camp. His primary character, a Maine game warden, is carefully and accurately drawn. As an observer of the Maine Warden Service for the past 18 years in my capacity as executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, I find Doiron’s presentation of his game warden, Mike Bowditch, spot on, from Bowditch’s frightening encounter with a wounded bear to the complaint against him from a disgruntled boater who received a citation for not having a life jacket on his kid.
I purchased the book because the main character was a game warden. I read it quickly, over a 48-hour period, because the plot grabbed me from the opening chapter....
Although Doiron agrees he’s lucky to get his first novel published, you’ll be the lucky one if you buy it and read it.
I think my lucky steak is unbroken.