C.J. Box. St. Martin's Minotaur, $24.95. Grade: A

Here's some perfect reading for the National Western Stock Show: Wyoming writer Box has quickly established himself as one of the top U.S. mystery authors, a terrific new voice who lives just up the road near Cheyenne. It doesn't hurt a bit that he's a good-lookin' cowboy, either (see for yourself when he makes an appearance at noon, Jan. 26, at Murder By The Book, 1574 S. Pearl St.).

In Blue Heaven, he departs from his six-book series featuring beloved game warden Joe Pickett to pen a stand-alone thriller about two children who witness a murder in North Idaho. In a world of betrayals, it's the old-fashioned ranching West, personified by struggling rancher Jess Rawlings, that saves them.

Each of Box's books highlights Western issues: In Blue Heaven, he delineates the tensions between eager newcomers and established residents, the New and Old Wests, in a desirable retirement area.

Final word: If you've somehow missed reading Box, don't miss Blue Heaven.

Jane Dickinson

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/18/specialty-bookshelf-ja...