Review: Massacre Pond

Massacre Pond by Paul Doiron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very rich woman comes to Maine and buys up the northern most area of two of its counties, closes it off from hunters and anglers and loggers, and plans on developing it into a National Park. Needless to say, in Northern Maine where most people hunt and fish and the lumber industry is just about the only job provider, she has more enemies than she can count. So, it is no surprise when four moose carcasses are found on her land, brutally murdered and left to rot. The biggest problem will be to figure out which of the many have carried out such a despicable massacre.

Mike Bowditch has become friends with the guide he'd seen fired from his job in the last book. It this man, Billy Cronk, who now works for Ms. Elizabeth Morse that informs Mike of the crime. This seemingly easy case to investigate soon turns into a major case with the deaths of several people and further vandalism to Morse's mansion.

The cast of characters include almost all the wardens in that area of Maine, many of the impoverished residents as well as the owners of the local lumber company. Mike seems to have learned his lesson and sticks primarily to his assigned duties, no matter how menial and isolated from the investigation, though he would usually be the primary warden assigned to a case when he was the first on the scene. He also seems to have accepted that the woman he now considers the love his life is the fiance of another man. A big step in emotional maturity from the last few books.

Lastly, he begins to realize that he often leaves people who care about him out of his life: Charley and Ora, Kathy Frost, his mother and stepfather. And more and more, he broods over his professional career choice and his suitability for it. Maybe he's beginning to grow up and think before he acts more often?

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