Reviews & Recs of books about Maine, set in Maine, and by Maine authors.
Murder On The Rocks
Newcomer (aka she’s From Away - in this case, Texas) Natalie Barnes is running herself ragged operating a barely-surviving B&B on Cranberry Island by herself, with the exception of some help from her visiting niece. In comes an out-of-state developer wanting to build a large resort on the island that would threaten both Natalie’s livelihood and the environment of an imperiled bird species. When he’s found dead, Natalie is a prime suspect.
The Poacher’s Son
The Poacher’s Son is our introduction to Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch, now the protagonist of a dozen novels by Paul Doiron. Warden Bowditch had a tough upbringing - his father was an aggressive drunk, he and his mother escaped and moved to southern Maine where his mother remarried, but throughout the book we see that Bowditch has never really escaped that past.
Town In A Lobster Stew
A stereotypical cozy mystery that hits all the notes of a cliche book set in coastal Maine, Town in a Lobster Stew is a quick read and an entertaining distraction from everyday life. Candy Holliday, amateur sleuth and local reporter, is put on the case of a missing recipe by Wilma Mae, an elderly woman in the town. The recipe is a guaranteed winner for the annual lobster stew contest, and so is considered highly valuable amongst the townspeople. Deaths begin to happen in the town, and Candy concludes that they are all related to the missing recipe.