Bad Optics

(#11 in Woods Cop series)  We last witnessed game warden Grady Service cleaning up the Mosquito Wilderness of poachers with his unofficial partner (lifelong poacher Limpy Allerdyce), closing more big cases in two weeks than most officers solve in their entire careers.  His reward?  Service is summoned to Lansing and told he is on unpaid suspension; his badge, firearms, and truck are taken.  The rationale for the suspension is murky, something to do with him associating with a lifelong lawbreaker as partner.  For the first time, Service has no duties and feels like he has been benched unfairly.

In the eleventh Woods Cop Mystery, Grady Service - stubborn as ever - continues to patrol the Mosquito Wilderness voluntarily.  He begins to sense political shenanigans - an old foe lurking somewhere in the shadows.  He could retire but instead enlists help from Allerdyce and his friend Luticious Treebone.  Clues accumulate, and Service realizes if he doesn't get ahead, the Mosquito Wilderness will be destroyed.