barbara fister reviewed One Last Lie by Paul Doiron
Review of 'One Last Lie' on 'LibraryThing'
I have always enjoyed this series. In this outing, Mike Bowditch goes to the Everglades to do a deep background check on a recruit, learning enough about #metoo complaints to derail the candidate's job prospects. While there he learns something about the Miccosukee Indians who still live in the area. This gives us a glimpse of who Bowditch is and how he approaches his work. Once back in Maine, he finds the temperatures nearly as hot an oppressive as he heads far north, in search of his friend and mentor who has disappeared. The man, now in his 70s, left a message that he's trying to right a wrong from the past, that he doesn't want to be found - but Bowditch heads out to track him anyway, leading him to a well-fortified compound in the deep woods and into danger as he flushes out the facts of that long-ago …
I have always enjoyed this series. In this outing, Mike Bowditch goes to the Everglades to do a deep background check on a recruit, learning enough about #metoo complaints to derail the candidate's job prospects. While there he learns something about the Miccosukee Indians who still live in the area. This gives us a glimpse of who Bowditch is and how he approaches his work. Once back in Maine, he finds the temperatures nearly as hot an oppressive as he heads far north, in search of his friend and mentor who has disappeared. The man, now in his 70s, left a message that he's trying to right a wrong from the past, that he doesn't want to be found - but Bowditch heads out to track him anyway, leading him to a well-fortified compound in the deep woods and into danger as he flushes out the facts of that long-ago shooting that has come back to haunt his mentor. This was not, to me, as strong a book as others. Though there are vivid characters and lots of interesting place descriptions (with detours to explain the past and recent history of the Maine/Canadian border) something was a bit off with the pacing - lots of running around after clues, but the momentum doesn't build as well as would be ideal. Still, some of the characters stick with me, as does the view he provides of the deep, lonely woods.
