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Monday, January 3, 2022

Dead by Dawn by Paul Doiron

 
From the blurb:

"Maine game warden Mike Bowditch is fighting for his life. Ambushed on a darkened winter road, he plunges his Jeep into a frozen river and must escape drowning beneath the ice. Surviving the crash is only the first challenge he faces in a nightlong battle to stay alive and one step ahead of his unknown, heavily armed pursuers. To outwit them and return to his friends and family, none of whom knows where he is, Bowditch must dissect the hours leading up to the ambush and solve two riddles: who are these people who desperately want him dead and what has he done to incur their wrath?"

My thoughts:

There's so much to like about this book: Mike's struggle to survive in the Maine woods is intense and compelling; the wintry Maine setting is as stark and beautiful as it is dangerous; the alternating chapters that detail the events leading up to Mike's ambush are interesting, as is the mystery behind everything; and I loved Mike's wild wolf/dog Shadow.  Talk about a great read!

Dead by Dawn is the 12th book in Paul Doiron's Mike Bowditch series. And even though I've never read any of his other books, Doiron is such a good writer I never once felt lost. I just got swept up in the story. The only bad thing is that I now want to read all the other books in this series, which adds eleven new books to my already lengthy TBR list. But if they're all as good as this one, then I guess that's a good problem to have. 

Happy Reading!


41 comments:

  1. Wow! This sounds like just my kind of thing. Well of course it does... LOL!

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    1. :D That's because we like to read the same things!

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  2. I've heard quite a lot of good things about this series but have never read any of it. Maybe this year.

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    1. I definitely want to check out other books in this series and see if they're as good as this one.

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  3. These books sound thrilling, but I don't know if I want to add 11 books to my already daunting and lengthy TBR list.

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    1. I get that! It's why I sometimes hesitate to start a new series.

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  4. intriguing. i could almost abandon self-discipline and order them all, but too many books already and time and $ dictate otherwise, lol...

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    1. It's always something! ;D I have issues with both time and money, too.

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  5. I love wintry settings with snow even though I don't tolerate the cold and snow well. This sounds like a great book! I'm glad it held up well on its own despite being the 12th book in the series.

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    1. I was a little worried that I would feel like I was missing out on important backstory information, but I never did.

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  6. Oh, this does sound good. Nice to know I wouldn't have to read all the previous books first! Off to see if they have an audio copy at my library. :)

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    1. Some things from the main character's past comes up, but like I said in my review, I never felt lost in the story. It mostly just made me want to read some of the other books. :)

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  7. I love the title of this one, and it sounds like quite the thriller. Since I'm committed to reading more older books this year than newer ones, I'll put it on my TBR for 2040. LOL

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    1. HA! Of course, if you wanted to try this series this year, the first book was published back in 2010. Would that be old enough for you? ;D

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    2. Giggling at this exchange... 😁

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  8. Wow this sounds intense! I love the idea of him trying to survive an ambush- and also figuring out WHY. I might go get this one :)

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    1. It's a very good read. I don't always love when chapters alternate between the present and the past, but it worked really well in this book. :)

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  9. Being under the ice would be scary for sure! You have me curious why the bad guys are after him .... hmm.

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    1. It was a fun ride as he tried to figure it all out. :)

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  10. It does sound interesting, and like you said, if they are all good, it's not bad to add them to your growing TBR list :)

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  11. I read this one and liked it as well but, I've only read 2-3 books in the series. It didn't seem to matter.

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    1. I like when I can jump around in a series like that, because then I can read the books with the plots that interest me the most and not worry about the rest. :)

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  12. That's great that you were able to pick up a book so far into the series and not feel lost at all. It sounds like a wonderful read.

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  13. The premise sounds good and all the better the book reads as a standalone too.

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    1. I liked that about it. I have another one in the series checked out of the library now, so I'm hoping it's as good as this one.

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  14. This sounds like a thrilling read. It's so nice to be able to dive into an established series and not be lost. :)

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    1. Yes! I like when I can jump into a series like this wherever I want and not feel lost. :)

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  15. Sounds interesting. To outwit the pursuers is the interesting part of a chase.

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    1. I liked that part a lot! Thanks for commenting. :)

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  16. Mike’s situation is intense and now I am dying to know what happened to him! I am also loving that you can jump in at any book in the series!

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    1. I like that in a series, too, because I sometimes find it hard to read every book in a series.

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  17. It's always good when a book can make you want to read all the other books.

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  18. I have not heard of this series either. Isn't it great when you find a new series!

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    1. I love when I run across a new series! :)

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  19. I started at the beginning of this series and have really been enjoying it, but your review makes me want to jump to this one!

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    1. You totally could, especially considering you already know the main character. :)

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  20. I love series books but at the same time they only add more books to the pile don't they? Glad to hear this one was a winner!

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    1. They DO add more books to the list! That's the only problem with finding and starting a new series. :)

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