Twenty-five-year-old Mike Bowditch is a passionate Maine state ranger. It’s been seven months since the ordeal with your father, Jack Bowditch at Rum Pond (consider reading Doiron’s award-nominated debut novel, The poacher’s son as a preface to Intruder).

Bowditch responds to a dispatcher’s call to investigate a deer-car collision on Parker Point Road. He arrives to find a damaged red rental sedan and stains of deer blood in the middle of the road, but no driver or deer.

What happened to the driver and the deer? Who anonymously alerted authorities from the pay phone at Smitty’s Garage two miles away about the accident?

The car rental agreement in the glove compartment indicates that the current driver is Ashley Kim, 23, of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

State trooper Curt Hutchins arrives on the scene shortly after Bowditch. He assures her that he will continue to pursue Kim, now that it is a matter for the state police. Bowditch is skeptical. Something is not right and Bowditch knows it.

Bowditch is forced to do his own investigation into Ashley Kim’s disappearance. It involves the help of the City Clerk, MaryBeth Fickett and the legendary retired watchman, Charley Stevens. Stevens befriended Bowditch while searching for his father.

Fickett discovers that Hans Westergaard has a summer house not far from the crash site. Westergaard is also from Cambridge, Massachusetts and a professor at Harvard Business School. The Kim / Westergaard connection is too close to ignore. Bowditch calls Westergaard’s wife, Jill, and learns that Kim was her husband’s research assistant. She also informs him that Hans went to a conference the day before and has not been heard from since.

Bowditch and Stevens explore Westergaard’s spacious waterfront home, where they discover the mutilated corpse of Ashley Kim. The killer had engraved the word WHORE on his body. With no trace of Westergaard, the first suspicions center on a romantic relationship between the two that has turned sour.

Seven years ago, Earland Jefferts, an affable, handsome, ex-lobster, was convicted of murdering twenty-year-old Nikki Donatelli. The crime occurred on a hot July night after drinking and being seduced in the Harpoon Bar. Interestingly, Bowditch learns that Donatelli’s body also had the word SLUT etched into his body.

The J-Team, led by Jeffert’s aunt, Lou Bates, is determined to beat him a new test; convinced that the prosecution did a sloppy job in presenting the evidence. They approach Bowditch to join his mission. Initially refuses. But, given the similarities between the Kim / Donatelli murders, he is drawn to investigate Jeffert’s conviction.

Danica Marshall is the Assistant Attorney General who helped prosecute Earland Jefferts. Often referred to as a “court sex symbol” and “Black Widow,” she warns Bowditch to stop investigating Ashley Kim’s death and review the details of Jeffert’s conviction.

The Square Deal Diner is the gossip hub of the city. Entering, Bowditch has been the topic of conversation, both during the disappearance of his father and during the murder of Ashley Kim.

Adventure accentuates Intruder, as Bowditch embarks on a death-defying off-road chase on an icy and snowy night to lure in local Calvin Barter. Bowditch is sure he’s the culprit whose ATV tracks have been ruining neighbor Hank Varnum’s property: “I downshifted and gassed it, aiming to get as much momentum as possible and hoping my wheels wouldn’t lose. traction in the ice. area. “

Bowditch puts his girlfriend with whom he lives, Sarah, during college. Despite her prosperous upbringing, she was drawn to his raw and natural love for the outdoors. “She recognized something wild beneath my impeccable appearance and, like many good girls from suitable families, was turned on by the smell of danger.”

Her affinity for danger, both during the search for her father and now in the investigation of Ashley Kim’s murder, has taken a toll on their relationship. Her tolerance for her availability, both physically and emotionally, has reached its peak, especially now that she is secretly pregnant.

Well-written fiction reflects reality, often featuring deep dialogue. One of the best lines of Intruder Worth beholding is “You never really know someone until they are no longer in your life.”

If you like to read crime fiction, you will appreciate Doiron’s new voice. It is one that is sure to become more recognizable over time.

The 2012 Bouchercon World Convention of Mysteries will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, from October 4-7. For more information on this gathering of some of the best crime fiction writers in the world, visit: http://bouchercon2012.com/