Maine game wardens help nail serial killer in New Brunswick

Death Dealer by Kate FloraYou’ll be very proud of the Maine Warden Service when you read Kate Flora’s true crime book, Death Dealer, published last year by New Horizon Press. You’ll also be proud of their dogs.

Lieutenant Pat Dorian led the group of wardens, along with volunteers from the Maine Search and Rescue Dogs group that traveled to New Brunswick in 2012 and 2013, with their dogs, to search for the body of Maria Tanasichuk. In addition to Dorian, game wardens Roger Guay, Kevin Adam, Deb Palman, and Tom Jacobs searched the forests along the Miramichi River for Maria’s body.

Maria’s husband David Tanasichuk, a suspected serial killer, who continued to terrorize his community after Maria disappeared, killed her. At least, New Brunswick law enforcement officers were certain of that. But they needed to find her body to prove it.

After searching unsuccessfully for two years, they called in Maine’s experts. Dorian, now retired, was recognized nationally as an expert in search and rescue, and with the help of his warden force, had created a team that was second-to-none when it came to finding people, both living and dead.

Kate FloraFlora, a former Maine Assistant Attorney General, is a very good writer and the author of 12 books. She’s widely recognized for her true crime books, and also organized a popular blog, MaineCrimeWriters.com.

As the tension builds in Death Dealer, you’ll get a sinking feeling that David Tanasichuk is going to get away with yet another murder. And without giving it away, I will tell you that Deb Palman and her dog emerge as key figures in the story.

I’ve enjoyed other books by Flora and have been looking forward to reading Death Dealer, putting my name on a waiting list at our local library. But it’s been a popular book, so I just finally got it this week, and once I started, I couldn’t stop reading.

While Linda and I hunkered down in the house yesterday, awaiting the blizzard that never arrived, I read the entire book. And I didn’t plan on writing a review, but I want to alert you to this book because I think you will really enjoy reading it.

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.