Knife Creek

Mike Bowditch #9
Knife Creek (2017)

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Knife Creek begins with Maine game warden Mike Bowditch on what should be a difficult but straightforward assignment: culling invasive feral hogs that are damaging the forest in his district. Instead, he uncovers something far worse, the shallow grave of a dead infant. The case becomes even more unsettling when evidence suggests the baby may be connected to a young woman who was believed to have died years earlier after disappearing during a rafting trip.

What makes the premise especially effective is the way Paul Doiron turns a wilderness-duty setup into something intimate, hidden, and deeply disturbing. As Mike helps with the reopened investigation, the story shifts from fieldwork into a darker mystery about identity, secrecy, and the possibility that familiar people in his community are not what they appear to be. When the violence moves closer to Mike himself, the novel takes on a more personal edge, with the Maine setting once again serving as both backdrop and pressure point.

Knife Creek keeps the series grounded in game-warden work and North Woods atmosphere while pushing the suspense into more haunting territory. It reads as both a regional crime novel and a personal threat story, with Mike drawn toward truths that others are determined to keep buried.