“Some debts come due in fire and blood…”

BOOK #17 IN THE

MIKE BOWDITCH SAGA

When the magnificent home of entrepreneur Brian Malloy mysteriously goes up in flames, Maine game warden Mike Bowditch tries to pull Malloy’s burning body from the fire but is too late. Malloy was suspected of murdering his young, illegitimate son. Now it looks like someone else has delivered a verdict.

Miles away, on a lonely stretch of icy railroad track, the body of Axl Deming, once accused of a brutal rape, is found literally cut in half. Though the two murders seem unrelated, a cryptic text from an unknown number draws Bowditch to the scene―and hints at a chilling connection. He suspects someone is orchestrating the executions of criminals who escaped justice, and for reasons he can’t explain, his own name is on the list, but the state police aren’t convinced. His search for the truth takes him through frozen harbors, trackless forests, and remote islands, far from rescue.

Meanwhile, Bowditch is facing a disciplinary hearing that could end his career. His wife Stacey, just weeks from giving birth, is being stalked by a stranger in a white van. And when he realizes someone has also been watching their home, the case turns increasingly personal.

To protect his family, Bowditch must work alone to uncover who’s behind the killings―and stop them before he becomes their next victim.

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For the first time in print, Skin and Bones features a collection of eight gripping original short stories in the bestselling Mike Bowditch series from two time Edgar-award nominee Paul Doiron. This the 16th entry in the Barry Award winning series.

“Doiron presents eight top-shelf mysteries featuring Maine game warden Mike Bowditch—including the previously unpublished “Sheep’s Clothing”—in this exciting collection. [His] evocative prose and clever plotting work as well in the short story form as they do at novel length. This will delight existing Bowditch fans and newcomers alike.” —Publisher’s Weekly

The title story, the longest and finest thing here, uses the present-day shooting of a bald eagle to motivate still another tale Charley tells Mike about a long-ago eagle shooting, this one involving Mike’s abusive father. Like all the other stories here, this one grows as if unbidden from the natural environment Doiron knows so well and builds gradually to include more and more complications, this time ending in a shattering climax. Welcome to Maine. Make sure you’re locked and loaded.”—Kirkus Reviews

BUY SKIN AND BONES

Paul Doiron is the best-selling author of the Mike Bowditch series of crime novels set in the Maine woods.

His first book, The Poacher’s Son, won the Barry Award and the Strand Critics Award and was nominated for an Edgar and Anthony for Best First Novel. His second, Trespasser, won the 2012 Maine Literary Award. His novelette “Rabid” was a finalist for the 2019 Edgar in the Best Short Story category. Paul’s twelfth book, Dead by Dawn won the New England Society’s 2022 Book Award for Fiction, as well as his second Maine Literary Award. It was also a finalist for the Barry Award. In 2025 he was presented with the Maine CrimeMaster Award. His books have been translated into 11 languages.

Paul is the former chair of the Maine Humanities Council, Editor Emeritus of Down East: The Magazine of Maine, and a Registered Maine Guide specializing in fly fishing.

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