Skin and Bones

Skin and Bones and Other Mike Bowditch Short Stories by Paul Doiron is a great collection of eight stories in the Mike Bowditch universe set in rural Maine. Mike is a Maine Game Warden. He is a great tracker and is persistent. He’s also prone to over-explanation and his initiative isn’t always appreciated by his superiors.

He’s a good listener, but can be baited somewhat easily. He listens to his intuition and is relentless in his pursuit of his investigations. I appreciated his independent thinking and his observation skills. Charley Stevens is Mike’s good friend and mentor. He’s crafty, a constant reader, a great woodsman, and enjoys playing with people’s assumptions. He can also be reckless at times.

In The Bear Trap, while trying to convince Mike of the dangers rookie game wardens can face, Charley tells him a great story from his own experience as a rookie and a local legend. While atmospheric and descriptive, it also had great pacing.

In Backtrack, Charlie is once again the main character and it’s still early in his career. The dispatcher contacts him to find a missing hunter. Does he want to be found? Is he injured or lost? Once again, weather in the form of a snowstorm plays a role in the story, but the emotions and heart in the story are the true winners.

In Rabid, Charley is once again relating a story to Mike. This time it involves a case where a man is bitten by a bat. Does it have rabies? This was an intense short story that kept me fully engaged throughout. Mike gets knowledge of the events from both Charley and Ora, Charley’s wife. This is a tragic and moving story.

In The Imposter, a body is found in a car in the bay. His wallet says he is Mike Bowditch, but Mike is observing the recovery efforts. As other events involving the imposter become known, Mike is wondering why the specific name was chosen and what actions had the imposter taken during the last few weeks. This was a well-plotted story right up to the end, which didn’t fully resolve the case for me.

The title story, Skin and Bones, starts with an eagle that was killed, and quickly evolves into a story involving Charley and Mike’s father Jack. This was the longest and most detailed story in the novel. It has several twists and turns and is somewhat dark, but it also proves to be a lesson to Mike as Charley relates the story that still haunts him today.

In The Caretaker, Mike and Charley respond to a couple’s request for help. They are being harassed by someone breaking into their new cabin. Nothing is stolen, but furniture is moved and most recently, a threatening item has been left inside. The couple believe they know who did it. As Mike and Charley investigate, all the loose ends are resolved, but it didn’t end satisfactorily for me.

In Snakebit, Mike gets a call from a woman who said she’s seen a timber rattlesnake on a hiking trail. Since they have been eradicated in Maine since the late 1800’s, Mike isn’t sure whether this is a misidentification, an escaped rattlesnake, a snake that was deliberately let loose, or snake that made its way to Maine from the population in New Hampshire. During this story, readers learn about a few invasive species in Maine, but the focus remains on the rattlesnake. Once again, this is a fantastic short story.

In Sheep’s Clothing, Mike is doing a welfare check when he finds grisly scene. In this story, Mike’s investigative skills are highlighted. This one has a few twists and turns that may surprise some readers.

While I enjoyed all of the stories, Backtrack and Sheep’s Clothing were my favorites. However, all eight build suspense in a way that pulls readers into the stories and the lives of the characters. Each story stands on its own and has great characterization. They cover a wide time-period in Mike’s career.

Overall, this is a briskly paced, intriguing, and entertaining collection that kept me fully engaged. I’m looking forward to reading the next novel in the Mike Bowditch series. Fans of crime thrillers, nature, and action-packed wilderness adventure novels will likely enjoy these books.

St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books and Paul Doiron provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for May 13, 2025.