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After reading THE PRECIPICE, I will never feel the same sort of peace and tranquility on a long hike in the woods. Doiron has set this sixth book in the series featuring Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch along the remote stretches of the Appalachian Trail. In THE PRECIPICE, the Trail and its environs are populated by evil humans and dangerous animals. If the people don't get you, the coyotes might. The deep woods residents range from quirky to downright evil, and Doiron's descriptions of an in-bred compound is reminiscent of Deliverance. An overwhelming sense of menace pervades the book.
As the book opens, Mike Bowditch and his skittish new girlfriend Stacy are starting a vacation together at the beach. Their time together is brought to an abrupt halt as Bowditch is called to the Hundred Mile Wilderness where two women hiking the Appalachian Trail have disappeared. Bowditch is assigned a very peculiar search party partner, and the two find the last trail sign-in the women made on their hike. Here, at the epicenter of the continuing search, a family of in-bred miscreants has the locals under their thumbs, while the freewheeling lifestyles of the through hikers cause a strange pastor to make ominous predictions. Bowditch is joined in the wilderness by Stacy, who is a wildlife expert, just as the two women's bodies are discovered. Coyotes are blamed for the deaths, and Stacy gets caught up on the heartbreaking side of a huge state-sponsored bounty hunt for coyotes even as she is convinced the women were murdered and scavenging coyotes only covered up the evidence.
When Stacy goes missing, Bowditch's search for the murderer kicks into high gear as he suspects she has been abducted by the killer. The chilling atmosphere of the book is deeply disturbing as the search leads to a tense standoff. The series has a strong sense of place and atmosphere, and this latest continues the evocative writing about the isolation of the woods. Doiron clearly loves the Maine wilderness and animals that Bowditch guards, and the beauty of the locale shines through even the darkest plot twists.
It's not necessary to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy THE PRECIPICE, but those who have that history will appreciate how Mike Bowditch is maturing from a renegade rookie to a more seasoned game warden. At the end of this book, Doiron leaves room for future advancement of both Bowditch's career and his love life.
§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, July 2015
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