My favorite place to enjoy my first cup of morning coffee is in our sun room, watching the yellow finches, black capped chickadees, simple wrens, red breasted robins, blue jays, warblers and the occasional cardinal, all zooming between the various bird feeders. A variety of wood peckers, black-backed and red-headed, feed constantly on the trucks of the birches. The beautiful song and dance of the humming birds completes the picture.

One recent morning I watched as a Cooper hawk swooped down and plucked a red squirrel off one of the trees while three black crows watched hungrily. I thought about all the other wildlife around us and two Maine mystery writers,  Paul Doiron and Sandra Neily, came to mind. Both are registered Maine guides and their novels deal with the woods of Maine, murder, and wolves.

Paul Doiron's “The Poacher's Son” is number one in his “Warden Mike Bowditch” series and won Best First Novel Awards from Barry, Stand Critics, and Anthony.  It was also nominated for the Edgar Award and Pop Matters included it in its Best Fiction List of 2010.

A wolf dog appears in “The Widow Maker,” book seven in the series. He was raised by humans who named him Shadow, and eventually vanishes into the woods. Shadow appears again in Paul's latest, “Almost Midnight,” number 10 in the series. Shadow has been found shot. Who would want to kill the wolf dog and will he survive? Bowditch needs to turn his thoughts away from Shadow as he has another mystery to solve.

Sandra Neily received the Mystery Writers of America McCloy Award and was a national finalist for the Women's Fiction Writing Award “Rising Star.” Her novel “Deadly Trespass” stars protagonist Cassandra Patton, a deep lover and defender of the forest and its wildlife.

While searching for her missing dog, Cassandra discovers the body of a close friend. In searching for answers she must deal with three adversaries: a reporter who suspects that extinct wolves have returned to Maine, a billionaire who hopes the wolves will become  a “save the forest” strategy, and a timber company's plans to exterminate the pack. Cassandra must step outside the law, sacrificing her career and embracing the world of wolves.

Watch for Sandra's next novel, “Mysteries in Maine: Deadly Run.”

Postscript: Are there really wolves in Maine? Not officially. However, there have been over 90 unconfirmed sightings of timber wolves. So perhaps that’s one more Maine woods mystery.

Happy reading mystery lovers!

Upcoming events

Author talk: Lee Swanson: “No Man’s Chattel.” Wed. Oct. 2, 5:30 p.m.

Author Talk: Dr. Judy Stone: “Resilience: One Family’s Story of Hope and Triumph Over Evil.” Sat., Oct. 5, 2 p.m.

Author Talk: Anne Britting Oleson: “Tapiser.” Sat., Oct. 12, 2 p.m.

Lego Club: Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m., grades 1 and 2.

Minecraft Club: Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m., grades 3 and 4.

Coding Club: Fridays, 3-4 p.m., grades 5 and 6.