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Paul Doiron Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Paul Doiron
Photo: Mark Fleming

Paul Doiron

How to pronounce Paul Doiron: DWAHR-uhn. First syllable rhymes with "R"

Paul Doiron Biography

Paul Doiron is the author of the Mike Bowditch series of crime novels, including The Poacher's Son, which won the the Barry Award and the Strand Critics Award for Best First Novel and was nominated for an Edgar Award, an Anthony Award, a Macavity Award, and a Thriller Award for Best First Novel, and the Maine Literary Award for "Best Fiction of 2010." PopMatters named it to its Best Fiction of 2010 list.

His second book, Trespasser, won the Maine Literary Award, was an American Booksellers Association Indie Bestseller, and has been called a "masterpiece of high-octane narrative" by Booklist. The third novel, Bad Little Falls, was a Bookscan Bestseller and a nominee for the RT Reviewers Choice Award and the Maine Literary Award. Massacre Pond, the fourth in the series, was an Indie Next pick and an Indie Favorite, as well as Bookscan Bestseller, and Maine Literary Award finalist. The Bone Orchard received a Best of Maine award from Down East. The Precipice was a LibraryReads selection and a RT Top Pick. The seventh Mike Bowditch novel, Widowmaker, was also a LibraryReads selection and a #1 Maine Sunday Telegram bestseller. Published in 2017, Knife Creek was Paul's bestselling novel to date. The ninth book in the series, Stay Hidden, was a USA Today Bestseller and the best-selling novel in the series to date.

Paul is Editor Emeritus of Down East: The Magazine of Maine, having served as Editor in Chief from 2005 to 2013, before stepping down to write full time. A native of Maine, he attended Yale University, where he graduated with a degree in English, and he holds an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College. He is a former member of the Maine Arts Commission and past chair of the Maine Humanities Council. He is also a Registered Maine Guide specializing in fly fishing and lives on a trout stream in coastal Maine with his wife Kristen Lindquist.

Paul Doiron's website

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Interview

Paul Doiron discusses his first novel, The Poacher's Son, an explosive tale set in the wilds of Maine, the first in a new series starring game warden Mike Bowditch.

Your novel has a vivid sense of the outdoors, and the life of a game warden. Have you ever worked as a game warden yourself?
I have worked as a Registered Maine Guide. I do have my license to lead trips, but I'm not a game warden. With guides and game wardens, there are different areas of specialization – general recreation, camping, fishing. My specialty is fly fishing.

There've been other mystery novelists who've used the outdoors, and the life of a game warden, as the settings for their works. One of the best known is C.J. Box, whose novels feature a Wyoming game warden. Are there similarities between what you're doing?
Definitely. But being a game warden in Wyoming is very different from being a game warden in the state of Maine. It's been interesting to read his books and see the differences. There are some things that are the same - catching poachers, and checking people's fishing licenses and all those mundane sort of tasks. But in Maine, game wardens really are policeman. The way I describe it, their beat is the forest. In fact, one of the great controversies in Maine is that the warden service, always underfunded, has been asked to take on more responsibility for investigating more and more crimes that have ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Paul Doiron at BookBrowse
Hatchet Island jacket Dead by Dawn jacket Stay Hidden jacket The Precipice jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Paul Doiron but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Nevada Barr

    Nevada Barr

    Nevada Barr is an award-winning novelist and New York Times best-selling author. She has a growing number of Anna Pigeon mysteries to her credit as well as numerous other books, short stories, and articles. She currently ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Poacher's Son

    Try:
    Hunting Season
    by Nevada Barr

  • C.J. Box

    C.J. Box

    C. J. Box is the author of thirty books, including the Joe Pickett series and the Cassie Dewell series, and a story collection. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages. He has won the Edgar, Anthony, ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Poacher's Son

    Try:
    Winterkill: A Joe Pickett Novel
    by C.J. Box

We recommend 5 similar authors

View all 5 Read-Alikes

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