Mike is reasonably certain who among the locals has taken the deer but the missing driver of the car is another matter. The car had Massachusetts plates so presumably the driver is not local. There is no report that the driver had been picked up by a friend or tracks in the snow indicating the driver had walked away.

After the wrecker shows up to deal with the car Mike learns the driver was a young lady named Ashley Kim. When Curt Hutchins, the officer who was supposed to respond to the scene initially shows up (he had car trouble of his own), Mike learns Ms. Kim had rented the car and had not requested a ride. Hutchins is eager to dismiss the case as Kim was a twenty-something female, probably a “party girl” according to him. Mike is not so quick to give up, but decides eventually that it is late and he should go home.

Sometime later the body of Ashley Kim is found in the seasonal home of a professor from Cambridge. Because of the similarity in the way the crime was committed, parallels are drawn to a murder that occurred locally seven years earlier. The person tried and convicted of that crime is a handsome young man named Erland Jeffers. Obviously Jeffers could not have committed this crime since he is presently in prison for committing the similar crime seven years earlier.

An ardent group of individuals that want Jeffers acquitted of the earlier crime are determined to get Mike on their “team,” the J-Team as they have termed themselves. The team has amassed a mountain of information which they claim supports their contention that Jeffers is innocent. While some of their facts do make sense. Mike’s gut feeling tells him that the situation is much more complex. As per his usual method of operating just outside the law (but within shouting distance), Mike begins his own covert investigation.

As was the case in his earlier novel, The Poacher’s Son, Paul Doiron integrates the setting with the plot of Trespasser. The terrain, wildlife, climate, and way of life in rural Maine define the story as much as the characters do. The opening scene, the car-deer crash in the fog on an evening in March belong in Maine. The quick removal of the dead deer from the scene is also a natural occurrence in Maine. The author properly cites Maine law in several instances which differs from other states where a similar situation might possibly occur.

Many of the characters that appear in The Poacher’s Son are back in Trespasser: Mike Bowditch, his significant other, Sarah, Charley Stevens, a retired game warden and his wife Ora, and Mike’s boss, Kathy Frost. With the exception of Sarah who provides an outsider’s viewpoint , the returning cast each typify some aspect of rural Maine life. In addition each character has their own personality that causes them to act or react in ways that are as often ruled by emotion as by their rational brains. Thus some interesting situations arise when these personalities are at cross purposes.

Doiron continues to educate his audience on the intricacies of life in rural Maine. In this novel, one learns some of the ways of lobster fishing. This is not an easy job. One also learns something of the economy of Maine. There are some natural resources, but the state relies on tourism for a chunk of its income. It still is not a wealthy state but is beloved by many of its residents. In many instances those that grow up in poverty look upon their lives as normal, not as someone who deserves more because they’ve seen people on television who appear to have more material possessions.

Doiron always has a few tricks up his sleeve. While those that have read his previous book may be looking for surprises in the end, the author does a superb job of concealing clues in plain sight. He plays fair, giving adequate knowledge to enable readers to find the answer, but he does not make it obvious.

--Andy Plonka