2026 Book Review #18:Dead Man's Wake

 

I just finished book # 14 in the Game Warden series set in Maine that I enjoy so much.  Once again, the author delivers an exciting, fast-paced mystery set on an island off of a lake. 

STORY SUMMARY

It's the evening of Mike Bowditch, Game Warden, and his fiancee's engagement party at his step-dad's luxurious lake house. His fiancee is Stacy Stevens, daughter of Mike's mentor and good friend Charley and  his wife Ora. 

Mike and Stacey witness a hit-and-run boating accident out on the lake in the gathering dark.  But when they arrive at the scene, their spotlight reveals a horrible sight.  There's a severed arm floating just beneath the surface and as day breaks the warden dive team recovers not just one naked corpse but two!  One is a man with the missing arm and the other is a married woman he was having an affair with and whose husband is a member of a local motorcycle gang. 

Mike begins to suspect that this was not a boating accident but  premeditated murders. 

The hunt is on for the mysterious boater who may be able to give some answers. There are many suspects around the lake which is nicknamed "Golden Pond" after the famous movie (Although the movie was actually shot on a lake in New Hampshire).  The suspects include the violent biker husband who may have taken vegenance on his wife and her lover; a bizarre woman who claims to have witnessed the crash but then changes her story; an agressive realtor and his wife who are determined to catch trespassers on their part of the lake, and the lakes eager but young constable who seems to be hiding some dark motives. 

Mike begins to suspect  that the murders involve a trained marksman who is smarter and more dangerous than any suspect Mike has ever dealt with. As Mike and Stacey get close to finding out the truth and identifying the killer, their own lives are suddenly on the line when they confront the killer who has plans to silence them forever. 

MY THOUGHTS

In true fashion, this plot is well developed with rich characters, a beautifully described setting and a fast paced mystery. 

It's a fast read and in some spots I couldn't put the book down, reading far later into the night than I was planning. 

It was exciting to me, who has read each book in the series in order, to finally learn that Mike and Stacey are getting married and the ending of the book does include their simple outdoor wedding. 

One thing that bothered me was all the editing errors all throughout this book!  Here's an example of an editing error taken from page 181 "Or he might already was inside the boathouse...." shouldn't the word "was" actually be "be"?? 

Many errors like that all throughout the book lowers the score for me.  

All in all, I love this series and think maybe the author needs to find a new editor since this isn't the only book with editing errors in the series. What this book does have going for it besides the excellently executed plot, is that it's "clean".  There are no graphic s*x scenes nor swear words which I appreciate. I think I saw just one "F" word which seems to be rare in many contemporary novels. 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17and older. (due to some mature content)

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this an 8. 

Monday Musings

This meme originated from a woman who titled her blog Simple Woman Daybook. I haven't seen her post things in quite a long time so maybe she has stopped blogging. 

 I still like the intentionality of this "meme" so am calling it my Monday Musings 

 Outside my window…a beautiful, sunny morning with a temp of 65 degrees F at 8 AM and a prediction of 90 F later today! 

partial view of our backyard
in the morning sun

I am thinking…about what we want to put on our vacation itinerary for the end of June/early July

I am thankful for…my health and beautiful weather to take morning fitness walks 

From the kitchen…for dinner tonight: Grilled parmesan  haddock, tossed salad, zucchini/summer squash/tomato dish

I am creating…the July Hiking list for the group I lead, SoulSteps. 

I am going…I went....to the grocery store to do the weekly shopping after my fitness walk around the neighborhood.  

I am wearing…Light blue, very worn and faded denim shorts, a white short sleeved swing top with blue embroidery, my wedding band and diamond, my birthstone, silver hoop earrings, a silver-pewter dragonfly necklace and my smart watch 

I am reading…Dead Man's Wake by Paul Doiron; I Surrender All by Priscilla Shirer, and Speak Life, a mini devotional (author unknown). 

I am hoping…it doens't rain on Wednesday so the SoulSteps hike I'm leading doesn't have to be rescheduled. 

I am hearing…the hum of the central air as it is now 90 degrees! very early for July like temps here in eastern NY

Around the house…I've put away all the groceries, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned both bathrooms, changed the sheets on our bed, did some weeding before lunch, finished an email to a friend, and put away laundry.  Only chore I have left for the day is to cook dinner around 6 pm. 

One of my favorite things…iced cold sparkling water with lemon and lime slices.  I'm currently into Waterloo brand, Cherry-Lime flavor.  read here how they can be totally sugar and calorie free and be one of the top rated sparkling water brands in the nation. Their website also features fun mocktail recipes and if you click on "Mixologist tips" they'll tell you how to turn one of the recipes into a cocktail. 

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…get my new glasses tightened by my apprentice optician daughter, a trip to one of the lakes on Tuesday, book group is Tuesday evening, Wed is a SoulSteps morning hike and in the evening I have plans to attend an Adirondack Mountain Club event in Saratoga, Thursday is a housework day, Friday is open, Saturday is another SoulSteps hike I'm leading in the Berkshires of MA. 

Here is a picture thought I am sharing for you…

High Falls from the side where the trail ends 
Highest waterfalls in Columbia County
which is to the east of my home by about 50 min. 
I hiked to this spot with my group on Saturday morning 

HAPPY MONDAY!

Mid-May Weekend Wrap-Up

 

This is currently my view, here in the Capital Region of New York State on a Sunday afternoon at 5:15 pm.  We have had a day of very warm temps (84 F!) which is most unusual for eastern NYS in mid-May.  But  the windows are open, there's a beautiful brisk breeze and I'm enjoying iced water with lemon slices on the deck to write up a weekend wrap-up. 

Our weekend began with a Missions event at our church on Friday evening.  Dave and I signed up because  he goes on the Guatemala missions trip every winter and has been on the DR trip in the past.

 The event was titled Coffee, Curry, and Christ and the Indian food was from this local restaurant. The event was free and there were about 55 people sitting around round tables set up in our cafe area of our lobby.  Dave and I sat with our young friend Shawna, and our friends P and Anita who are originally from India.  Also at our table was a couple named A and C who are from South America.  They are also in my hiking group along with Anita and Shawna!  The mission event featured 2 special speakers:  an Indian man (Prakash)  who talked to us about his mission work with Rise India  and a woman (an American geologist)  who works for another missions organization delivering wells/drilling for clean water called The Living Water Project.   All of their money comes from churches who invest in those mission organizations. These 2 organizations meet the practical needs of people whom the world calls "unlovable" to show they are indeed loved.  We were very impressed with the delicious food, and the presentations. Here is a brochure they were giving out: 

Saturday morning brought a beautiful Spring day!  The temps were in the 50s and rose to about 75 by afternoon. I had a SoulSteps hike scheduled locally (about 50 minutes east of here) and Dave had to log in to work to work on something that he couldn't get done on Friday.  After he spent a couple of hours online, he did some yardwork and then had some other things to work on around the house/in his office. My hike involved 5 of us (originally there were 8 signed up) hiking about a mile into the highest waterfalls of Columbia County.  Here are pics of the waterfalls (there are 2 and the smaller one was seen when we took the lower trail along the stream back to the cars.  The other pic is our group pic for the day.  We were home by 1 pm! The hike began at 11 AM. 

High Falls 
town of Philmont NY

the 2nd smaller  falls was also impressive

SoulSteps members
Adam/Kathryn, Celine, Dave D in back and me

When I got home, I had to shower and check for ticks and then spent the afternoon doing some light housework and reading on the deck. I had a nice phone call from another SoulSteps member (Pat) whom I haven't seen since March so that was fun to catch up with her. She signed up for one of the June hikes. Dave and I had to run two errands (put gas in Dave's car and pick up his large sander from a young friend who borrowed it all week)  in the later part of the afternoon so while we were out, we popped over to Popeye's Chicken to grab classic chicken sandwiches and iced tea and then after dinner, we watched an old Nicole Kidman movie we had never seen. It was ok, not great. Her acting was phenomenal but the plot was a tad bit odd and disturbing when it came to the subject matter. Definitely wouldn't have paid to see it. It's currently on Netflix. 

Sunday morning we had coffee together in the family room that was gloriously sunny and cool temps and then Dave had to leave around 7:15 as he was volunteering on the Production team at church for both services. I prepared potato salad for Sunday dinner, and did my Scripture readings. I went to the 11 AM service and was able to sit with Dave as he had to be in the front row to help lift the arm chair for our pastor who is still recovering from some surgery and can't stand for long periods of time yet. The worship and sermon were amazing.  The sermon was wrapping up our Marriage, Sexuality and Singleness series and today's topic was Gender Identity issues and how we as Christ followers should be responding to people who are embracing a different lifestyle and why we should not be judgemental yet not compromise Truth. He backed everything up with Scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments. It truly was pretty blunt and important for our  congregation to hear. It will be available on you tube starting tomorrow I believe. It  truly was outstanding. 

a beautiful Sunday afternoon 
and perfect to get some reading done
the whole neighborhood was so quiet!

After church, I changed into shorts and a tee because the air was now up to 84 F!  I grilled vegan burgers and we had the potato salad with all the burger fixings.  Dave needed to  figure out some stuff regarding his July vacation so I took my book outdoors after cleaning up the kitchen and starting the dishwasher and spent a lovely afternoon on our backyard swing, then my ADK chair and then in the shade of the deck.  We had fruit and cheese for a late day snack and will spend the evening on the deck talking and planning our June and July vacations. 

What did you do this weekend? 

Whatever it was, I hope you took some time to relax and recharge! 

Mid-May Faves

 

I feel like I was just typing "it's mid-April already" and here it is mid-May.  It's been a crazy, chaotic, frustrating week all revolving around our car insurance company (no, no one in the family had an accident or anything like that) so I need to be intentional about finding things that made me smile and say "Thank You, God" vs complaining about inept customer service reps who barely understand simple English nor can speak it well.  

So I'll be intentional and share FIVE things that made my week...all are blessings from God as all good things come from Him. Join in by heading over to Susanne's site.  

SoulSteps hikers:
Maggie, Maureen, me, Karen
Friday 8 May

• MID-MORNING HIKE:  A week ago today, there was a  SoulSteps hike scheduled  for mid-morning at this Environmental Center to the east of where we all live. (across the Hudson River to the east of us).  It only took us 30 min to get there.  I used to bring my special ed prek students here back in the late 1980s/1990s!  It had been years since I had been here.  We hiked the Spring Trail which was an easy -just a -little- over -a -mile loop which included a fern glen, mossy glen, a pond and then a road walk. It was the perfect Spring day!  We had to shed our outer layer about a half mile in. There were just 4 of us signed up and we all had so much fun on the trail as it was new to all of us!  It was a very easy hike. I'm thankful for the fresh air and fellowship and exploring a new trail. I'm also thankful I get to lead this group! It's fun to volunteer. 

The stepping stones were brand new moss
this part of the trail was so very pretty

Newcomb Pond along Spring trail

me, Maureen, Karen
on the side trail leading to the pond
photo compliments of Maggie

• TOTALLY RELAXING MOTHERS DAY:  I guess God was getting me prepared for a frustrating, busy week because on Sunday I had a wonderfully relaxing Mother's Day. After church, we all headed over to my fave restaurant where my youngest daughter had made a reservation.  It wasn't busy at all in there. There were maybe 3 other families and that was it! After we ate and chatted, we headed over to this little park to take photos.  Courtney's boyfriend did the honors and he also took one of me, my husband and Courtney at church where there was a special arrangements of greenery all set up for mom pics. After the girls departed ways, it was late afternoon and I sat out in the sunshine in the backyard to read and even took a little nap while Dave mowed the yards. We were so full from our big lunch that we only ate some fruit for dinner later in the evening.  I'm so thankful for my daughters and husband for giving me a special day. 

Dave, me, Courtney
Grace Fellowship Church
Mothers Day 

Courtney, me, Claire
at one of our town pocket parks
photo  compliments of Tyler

the girls bought me dinner, drinks and tulips
and they both wrote such beautiful messages to me in the cards
I am truly blessed 

• ANNUAL DONE!  My annual physical was  this past week and she went over my blood work and congratulated me on the raised HDL and the optimal glucose/triglycerides. I also dropped 7 lbs since Xmas and she told me I don't need to lose weight.  I'm supposed to start taking a Vitamin D3 supplement and that was the only thing she was worried about. She spent a half hour with me; everything checked out great, my blood pressure was super good and she is totally on board with me having mammograms every other year since I am low risk. I'm thankful for a good NP and for good health insurance. 

• SAVINGS!  This is a long story that I won't get into here but the summary is: we are in the process of switching car insurance agents as we wanted someone local.  Our current one is way out in the western part of the state (a 4 hour drive) and we found a woman who is awesome. However, our current agent has been overcharging us and she encouraged us to have our daughters switch plans.  They both need to get off our policy anyways as they have their own addresses. Our youngest found out through our soon to be new agent that she can save Claire a little over $400 a year! Our oldest daughter just started the process and expects a savings as well.  I'm so thankful we  found someone honest, local, and who is working with our needs. AND as of Thursday afternoon, I finally got a competent English speaking representative whose name "happened" to be Faith, and who had no problem sending us the 9 needed documents that 2 other reps told me couldn't happen!!  I was shouting Thank You, God over and over and told the rep that I was so thankful for her. I could tell she doesn't hear that much. She said she was just doing her job. I said well you certainly do it better than 2 of your co-workers. HA! I had tried every day this week and finally yesterday I got this competant, genuinely nice young lady.  I'm thankful for her!

Great Sacandaga Lake
town beach of Providence, NY
southern ADK
this is just 50 minutes from my home

• MOUNTAIN DAY:  I had a free day on Tuesday and it was such a glorious day that I texted my cousin Ken to see if he wanted  to meet me for breakfast at our fave diner in the southern Adirondacks near his home. He did so we both ordered pancakes and coffee. The pancakes were horrible (way too dense and kind of blah...the berries in them were good though) and the coffee was great. After breakfast, we walked up and down the road where my parents had a camp while I was growing up. The road is the one my mom was born and raised on.  Ken lives in his childhood home about a half mile up from where our camp stood. His mom was the oldest of 10 children. My mom was #7.  The only ones still alive are my Aunt Helen (who lives in VA) Aunt Ruth (she turns 90 this year and is in a nursing home in the central part of NYS) and my uncle Sam who lives in Florida.  My dad's parents had a camp off the road when my mom was a teenager  which is how they met.  All the teens hung out together at the beaches, and in the village. This is one of my absolute fave Adirondack mountain towns. We had such a nice walk on a beautiful day.  I then went into the little country store in the village to purchase a new to me book about the mountains and some hiking areas.   I'm thankful my cousin was free and that we had a gorgeous day on the lake! 

this home is kitty- corner across the road from
the spot where my family camp was in the 1960s/1970s
This house is the one (now modernized) that was built in the 1800s
and where my maternal grandmother Mae grew up with many siblings, 2 of whom I knew:  My great-uncle Perry and great uncle Elwin.  
My Grandma Mae   raised her brood
about a half mile up the road in the 1930s-1950s.
By the time me and my sisters were born, the person living here was my mother's uncle  Elwin, who had his own plane and landing field behind the old barn.  A pet crow would often be perched on his shoulder.  My mom wouldn't allow us to go up in his plane though as she was afraid of planes. The barn which was in front of the landing field is pictured below. You can read about my  great-uncle Elwin here.  The person who wrote the article is my mom's cousin's wife, Gail Cramer.  Mom's cousin Larry was great-uncle Perry's son. 
Scroll down to where on the left hand side it says "Elwin Cramer Airfield".

the old barn from my mother's  side of the family
and behind is all woods now but it's where the old 
landing field used to be 

These Mayflowers as Mom always called them
are plentiful in the month of May
in the Adirondack Mountains...they 
are wildflowers and tend to bloom in the woods
and the sides of the roads. They were all throughout our yard at camp as well. 
This is my cousin's yard. 

This is our old camp outhouse.
It blends in with the evergreens, 
(you'll have to zoom in!)
that we used when we were "up to camp"
Our family camp had no running water/plumbing
in the 1960s-1978 so we had to get spring water for our drinking
and  cooking needs. The outhouse was about a quarter of a mile down the path from the back porch
I'm so surprised it's still (somewhat) standing! 
Our camp was torn down by Ken's sister Barb and her husband Gerald
when they bought the land from my dad back in the late 1970s.  
My last year of going "up to camp" with my parents and little sisters was the year I turned 17 in 1977. 
I didn't take a pic of the log house Barb and Gerald built
because they are both in heaven now and the new owners weren't there to give permission and I didn't feel  comfortable just snapping a pic of their home. 

BONUS FAVE 

I have to mention this movie currently on Netflix and based on a book. I didn't read the book. 

I absolutely have been a fan of Sally Field and her work for years. She is just phenomenal. And boy can she still act. 

This movie was a gem. I watched it over 3 days this week while chopping veggies, folding laundry, dusting the upstairs office, etc.  

It's a tad bit cheesy but such a beautifully endearing story on loss, love, and friendship. 

HIGHLY recommend this good clean family friendly movie. 

Have a wonderful weekend!  We have "date night" tonight with several other people at a special event going on at our church titled Coffee, Curry, and Christ.  More on that in a soon to be future post. 😁 

I have a short, easy waterfalls hike to lead tomorrow in the Taconic Hills of NYS and on Sunday Dave and I have church and then need to firm up our Memorial Day weekend plans and take a Sabbath rest together. 

 it's supposed to get up into the 80s so a trip to the lake might happen as well!

Whatever you do this weekend, count it all joy and give thanks for the blessings.