This is book 13 in the Maine series I enjoy. Each book includes a mystery that needs to be solved, along with the main character's life which is always a sub plot. And his life always includes a little bit of non-sappy romance. The main character is Mike Bowditch who in this book is now 32 years old. He is a Game Warden Investigator. We now see Mike helping with not one, but 2 murders and 2 suicides and somehow they are all linked together! This was probably my 2nd fave in the series so far.
STORY SUMMARY
Mike Bowditch, and his girlfriend Stacey Stevens, are on their way in their sea kayaks to have a camping trip in July, on Spruce Island, off the coast of Maine. He gets a call for help from a former colleague and so before their camping trip, they head to a research station on Bakers Island. It's a place where Stacey spent her summers as an intern which is a sanctuary for endangered seabirds. Other islands in the area are Ayers Island which has a small community of lobstermen and a famous photographer and his wife who act as lord and lady of the entire island. He is known for his crass photos and disturbing images. Their names are Clay and Alyce Markham. They are very wealthy. Ayers is connected to Hatchet Island by a sandbar. Hatchet is the site of a former granite quarry and no one lives on the island although Clay has a studio there.
Mike and Stacey are shocked when they arrive and can feel the tension on the island. There are 3 biologists on Bakers Island: Garret (an intern) Kendra (Stacey's former college roommate and good friend), and Hillary (intern). Kendra, who also used to be an intern with Stacey for a couple of summers, is now the Project Manager for Dr Maeve McLeary who is in charge of the Maine Seabird Initiative's restoration efforts on the island. The biologists are being threatened and stalked by some mysterious boatman. They suspect he's been trespassing on the refuge late at night.
And now....the founder of the sanctuary...Dr Maeve...is missing! Kendra reports that Maeve's mind has been slowly going downhill....unraveling.....
When Stacey and Mike promise to return to Bakers Island the next morning, they head over to Spruce Island to camp. In the middle of the night...before dawn....they are woken up by a gunshot. Also, Mike heard a boat come ashore after they had gone to bed. Once it's dawn, Stacey and Mike kayak back over to Bakers Island and their worst fears are confirmed: they find Kendra and Hillary brutally murdered and Garrett is missing. The island skiff is also missing. Soon, the state police arrive, after Stacey kayaks over to Ayers Island to get a signal and make the call. Meanwhile, Mike looks around and discovers that Maeve has returned.
However, Maeve makes a decision that ends in suicide.
What is going on with these islands??
Mike becomes convinced that someone on Ayers Island knows more about the killings that they are willing to admit.
Will Mike and Stacey figure out the mystery murderer(s) before they too end up dead??
MY THOUGHTS
As always, I have enjoyed this mystery set in Maine.
I love that Stacey is back in Mike's life and that their relationship has developed over the last several books. There's a bit of foreshadowing in this book but I don't want to reveal what it is as that would ruin it for you.
The characters in this series are always so believable.
The setting is spot on and according to some online research I did, there really is an Ayers Island near University of Maine at Orono. It's actually located in the Penobscot River, not the Atlantic. There is also a real Baker Island which is part of the Cranberry Islands and a part of Acadia National Park. It is about 4 miles from Mount Desert Island which is where we camped when we were in Acadia National Park years ago. And the granite for the Brooklyn Bridge really did come from Maine.
Hatchet Island, Maine is fictional.
This story is very fast paced and a real "Who did it". It's got plenty of twists and turns and drama. It takes place in less than a week and the ending wraps everything up well.
Please note: some parts of this plot could be triggering for individuals who have been victims of s*xual abuse and manipulation. There are brief mentions of inappropriate relationships between one of the male characters and several of the younger male characters in this plot. There is nothing outwardly explicit.
The book also features 2 characters committing suicide and htis could be triggering as well for people who have had to deal with that.
I liked that this particular book had less swearing and much less use of the "f " word. It seems as though the last few books have done much better at using other words, which is something I appreciate.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content mentioned above).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.
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