Backtrack by Paul Doiron

First Sentence: There were four doctors staying at the hunting camp.

Game Warden, Charley Stevens, is called to the winter hunting camp where four doctors are staying.  However, one of them is missing. It's up to Charlie to find the missing man.

     

The first thing to know is that, in spite of what it says on Amazon, this story does not feature Game Warden Mike Bowditch, but focuses on Charlie Stevens, who had been Mike's mentor.  The story is also told, very effectively, in retrospect. 

A well-done short story truly is a work of art.  Such is the case here.  With a nicely done twist, Doiron takes the reader from suspense to something unexpected and poses an excellent question while dealing with the subject of regret.

The thing with a short story is that one can't say too much for fear of including a spoiler.  What one can say is how much this story may make one think and question what one would do in the same situation.  It may also make one want to read much more of Doiron's work. His series character, Mike Bowditch, is also a game warden in Maine.  The good news is that the series has an impressive backlist

     

"Backtrack" is a perfect title for this excellent e-short.  It really does take great skill to write a story which is this compact and this impactful and is a perfect introduction to Doiron's writing.

BACKTRACK (ShortStory-Charley Stevens-Maine-Contemp) - Ex

      Doiron, Paul – e-Short Story

      Minotaur Books – Jun 2019