After seven award-winning Joe Pickett mysteries, C.J. Box has come up with his first mainstream, stand-alone thriller, "Blue Heaven." Moving out of Wyoming, Box stays in the West by setting this new story in Idaho.

The Idaho Panhandle has become a mecca for retired Los Angeles policemen (such as Mark Fuhrman of O.J. Simpson fame) and has been given the moniker Blue Heaven by the LAPD.

Avid fans of the Pickett series will welcome Box's use of the same essential ingredients in this thriller that make his mysteries hum with tension, including the action and colorful characters.

The proverbial ticking clock drives the sometimes-frantic pace of "Blue Heaven," with a majority of the novel taking place over a two-day period.

"Blue Heaven" opens in April with two young children taking off on an unsupervised fly-fishing trip. Twelve-year-old Annie Taylor and her 10-year-old brother, William, have had it with adults who break promises. Taking mom's boyfriend's rod and fishing vest, and using green garbage bags for protection from the spring weather, Annie and William hitch a ride to a nearby creek to learn how to fish. While searching for the creek, the two youths witness an execution- style murder. What starts out as a lark spurred by preteen rebellion turns into a life-changing, and life-threatening, run for survival.

Box uses the rich Idaho landscape to good effect, setting much of the action outdoors. The rugged wilderness provides a welcome haven for the children, offering many places for hiding while at the same time threatening their chances of survival. Early-spring weather is treacherous, and wildlife abounds, but the most dangerous threat comes from the men chasing them.

After the children are missing for a night, the new and inexperienced sheriff welcomes the help of four of the retired big-city lawmen who volunteer to help. Annie and William don't know who to trust and keep running while their single mother, Monica, falls apart awaiting their safe return.

Fate lends the children a helping hand in local rancher, who is in a bad space himself. His wife left him, he could lose the ranch that's been in his family for generations, and he's estranged from his only child. Real estate agents are champing at the bit at the opportunity to get the Rawlins ranch and develop the property into mini-mansions.

Box deftly weaves in another important issue that faces the "new" West — depressed rural communities being invaded by "transplants" who move there for the area's character and then turn around and try to change everything. Among the many new residents in Idaho are the retired West Coast cops. Some try to fit in and join the community; others stay by themselves and follow unknown pursuits, showing little respect for their neighbors.

Meanwhile, another Los Angeles retiree, only two days retired, arrives on the scene and makes a volatile situation even more complicated. Eduardo Villatoro is following a tentative lead from an old case that he feels compelled to solve despite the fact he no longer wears a badge or carries a gun. During a robbery at the Santa Anita racetrack, a young man was killed, and Villatoro wants to bring closure to the young widow and her two small children. Box uses the opportunity of a newly arrived character to acquaint readers with the nuances of the remote and rural northern Idaho wilderness.

One of the more attractive features of any Box novel is the memorable characters he creates. They display the welcome familiarity of the old West while facing the challenges of the new West. His characters are sympathetic, with fully realized depth and complexities. This especially applies to Annie, who, despite her youth, is strong and resourceful but still has the vulnerability of a child. Rawlins is another Everyman hero like Joe Pickett, and he provides a stellar and compelling addition to this story.

"Blue Heaven" crackles with electric tension and action, while the characters plumb the depths of human emotions, including greed, corruption, callous disregard of human suffering and, on the other hand, love, honor and compassion.

By Leslie Doran
Special to The Denver Post