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Storm coming...
The extraordinary new Joe Pickett novel from the Edgar Award-winning author is now available nationwide and garnering unprecedented reviews.
Four weeks on the extended New York Times Best Seller List...
Box’s series is the gold standard,” wrote Library Journal about Below Zero, but never has he written a novel as harrowing as Nowhere to Run.
Joe Pickett’s in his last week as the temporary game warden in the isolated town of Baggs, Wyoming, but there have been strange things going on in the surrounding mountains, and his conscience won’t let him leave without checking them out: reports of camps looted, tents slashed, elk butchered. And then there’s the runner who’s gone missing – an Olympic hopeful who’d been training in the region and then just…vanished. Joe doesn’t mind admitting that the farther he rides, the more he wishes he could just turn around and go home.
And he is right to be concerned. Because what awaits him is like nothing he’s ever dealt with, like something out of an old story, except this is all too real and all too deadly.
When he’d first saddled up, he’d thought of this as his last patrol. What he hadn’t known was just how accurate that might turn out to be.
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Game warden Joe Pickett has only a few days left on his remote patrol before he can return to his family.
Inspired by a real-life Wyoming game warden's encounter with sinister mountain-man twin brothers, Edgar-winner Box's outstanding 10th Joe Pickett novel (after Below Zero) takes Pickett into darker ter
You don't have to be a disgruntled tea-guzzler to figure out that there is a deep unrest in our nation today, manifested in a growing cadre of decent, hardworking Americans who are profoundly unsettle
"Nowhere to Run," C.J. Box's 10th Joe Pickett novel, is a gripping, suspenseful tale of endurance against incredible odds.
Joe Pickett, exiled to the “warden’s graveyard” in a remote district of southern Wyoming, has one week left before regaining his old job in Twelve Sleep County, where his family still lives.
Heading into the Wyoming backcountry while responding to a hunting complaint, game warden Joe Pickett senses someone lurking in the woods.
Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett’s last patrol before he returns to his family and his old posting in Twelve Sleep County leads to another round of tense high-country adventure.
Wyoming author C.J. Box’s skill as a mystery writer earned international recognition last year when he won the Edgar Allen Poe Award from Mystery Writers of America.
Once in a while I’ll pick up a book that leaves me slack-jawed in wonder by the time I put it down. NOWHERE TO RUN by C. J. Box has been one of those books for me.
Bestselling author CJ Box has often put his protagonist, game warden Joe Pickett, in rough territory.
London has its Sherlock Holmes, France has its Inspector Maigret, and Botswana has its Precious Ramotswe; but Wyoming has Joe Pickett.
Edgar Award-winning author C. J. Box was on the New York Times Bestseller List for two weeks the summer of 2009 with this thrilling new novel featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett.
“Tell Sherry April called.” That simple phone message shakes Joe Pickett’s oldest daughter Sheridan and the rest of the family to the core. To Joe, it doesn’t seem even remotely possible that April could have survived the massacre described in Winterkill six years before. He was there, and he was unable to save her. But Sheridan starts to believe there’s a chance that April is still alive, and her suspicions are confirmed when the person sending texts to her cell phone is able to recall family incidents only April could know.
Meanwhile, a dying Chicago mobster named Stenko and a much younger girl cross the country. He’s on a mission is to reconcile with his extreme environmentalist son before he goes. His son is less interested in reconciliation than in getting his father to repent for the environmental crimes he’s committed during his lifetime. He wants his father to become not just carbon neutral, but to reduce his carbon footprint to below zero—as if he’d never even existed.
Joe, however, remains wary of the messages, even though their references to things only April could know are convincing. But when the texts start to refer to “bad things,” and when Marybeth discovers they come from locations throughout the West where vicious murders have taken place, alarm bells go off. Desperate to discover if April is still alive and to save her from possible danger, Joe, Sheridan, and Nate Romanowski take to the road to connect the texts with the crimes.
As the path of Stenko and his companions starts to cross with Joe, Sheridan, and Nate, the question is raised: Is this young girl April or is The Pickett Family the victims of the cruelest of hoaxes?
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Edgar-finalist Box’s ninth novel to feature Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett begins with a bombshell: could Pickett’s foster daughter, April, who apparently died six years earlier in a horrific con
Box's series is the gold standard in the western mystery subgenre (Blood Trail), and his latest is just as addictive as the others.
Wyoming game Warden Joe Pickett isn't the most heroic crime novel hero around, but he might be the most decent.
If someone says "below zero and C.J. Box" in the same breath, a vision of frigid Wyoming weather would immediately pop into mind. But that would be wrong.
Salesmen have a trick. It's a well-known trick, but even though you know it's coming, it really works: They use your name over and over again in their spiel.
Wyoming author C.J. Box had me hooked with the opening lines of "Open Season," the first of his mysteries featuring game warden Joe Pickett.
Recurring characters and themes may maintain the continuity of a mystery series, but reopening a case solved in a previous book is a high-risk venture.
The hardworking and best-selling Box has been on a two-book-per-year pace of late, alternating his popular Joe Pickett novels with stand-alone thrillers.
Crime thrillers, familial love and environmental activism usually don't find themselves together in the same book.
Blue Heaven, Box's last book, was a terrific stand-alone thriller about rogue L.A. cops retired to Idaho.
In 2003's "Winterkill," Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett's foster daughter, April, was killed. Or was she?
The readership for C.J. Box’s books seems to grow exponentially upon the publication of each new title.
We've all come across them, in the headlines or in person: activists whose passion for a cause borders on obsession.
Wyoming-based mystery author CJ Box has won nearly all of the major crime fiction awards. Now he can add Edgar to his mantle.
Everyone is used to getting unsolicited (and, usually, unwelcome) telephone calls. Few, however, have ever been electronically accosted by a voice from the grave.
THREE CONSECUTIVE WEEKS ON THE EXTENDED NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST...
New York Times bestselling author CJ Box’s novels have been called “red hot,” (Booklist) “an edge-of-your-seat read,” (Omaha World-Herald) and “unforgettable, powerful.” (Bookreporter). Now, he delivers a novel that steals your sleep as much as it wrenches your heart. It’s a novel that could be anyone’s worst nightmare…
After years of trying to have a baby, Jack and Melissa McGuane’s dream has come true with the adoption of their daughter Angelina. But nine months after bringing her home, they receive a devastating phone call from the adoption agency-Angelina’s birth father, a teenager, never signed away his parental rights and he wants her back. Worse, his father, a powerful Denver judge, wants him to own up to this responsibility and will use every advantage his position of power affords him to make sure it happens. When Jack and Melissa attempt to handle the situation rationally by meeting face to face with the father and son, it is immediately apparent that there's something sinister about both of them and that love for Angelina is not the motivation for their actions.
As Angelina’s safety hangs in the balance, Jack and Melissa will stop at nothing to protect their child. A horrifying game of intimidation and double-crosses begins that quickly becomes a death spiral where absolutely no one is safe...
How far would you go to save someone you love?
C.J. Box has once again written a bone chilling thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page…
Read the first chapter of Three Weeks to Say Goodbye below!
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“Box gets better and better with each novel, whether it be a part of his Joe Pickett mythos or one of his stand-alone works.
*STARRED REVIEW* Bestseller Box (Blue Heaven) explores an adoptive parent's worst nightmare in this compelling stand-alone thriller.
If you think the following sounds more like a Lifetime movie than a thriller -- childless could adopts a baby only to discover that her birth father wants her back -- C.J.
They're the words that send horror into the heart of every parent of an adopted child: "We want her back."
There are no evil regimes or terrorists in C.J. Box’s Three Weeks to Say Goodbye.
"...Here are good, decent people driven by despair to deeds they would never have considered previously. I kept thinking, "Don't do it!
He’s a rising star of crime writing in the States, but it’s only a matter of time before CJ Box explodes onto the UK’s radar, thanks in no small part to this storming British debut.
Novels about adoptions which go wrong are always heart-wrenching, but best-selling suspense writer C. J. Box adds another harrowing twist to his story.
C.J. Box injects a recurring villain into his cowboy novels and his stand-alone "Three Weeks to Say Goodbye": the system.
Mystery, Denver-style
C.J. Box is best known for his Joe Pickett series, set in the great outdoors, but he's equally adept at stand-alone thrillers, and this one is one terrifying little tale.
An adoptive couple, Jack and Melissa McGuane, are the subjects of THREE WEEKS TO SAY GOODBYE. C.J. Box’s latest stand-alone thriller is as chilling and riveting as anything he has ever written.
While I was reading C.J. Box’s new book, Three Weeks to Say Goodbye, the NFL season was entering its final week. This made football analogies just way too easy.
A simple voice-mail message unleashes terror for former Montana residents Melissa and Jack McGuane in Wyoming author C.J. Box's new mystery, "Three Weeks To Say Goodbye."
What would you do, how far would you go to save your baby?
Jack and Melissa have wanted a baby for years, and their dream is finally realized when little Angelina joins their family.
Wyoming's C.J. Box is known worldwide for his game warden Joe Pickett series. His stories read lightning-fast, but that's also the down side; the fun's over way to quick.
Previous C.J. Box novels have made the best-seller list, and this latest story has all of the same ingredients that made them hits. How far would you go to save someone you love?
Debuting at #26 on the New York Times Best Seller List in it's first week...A Booksense Notable Pick for June
It’s elk season in the Rockies, but this year one hunter is stalking a different kind of prey. When the call comes in on the radio, Joe Pickett can hardly believe his ears: game wardens have found a hunter dead at a camp in the mountains—strung up, gutted, skinned, and beheaded, as if he were the elk he’d been pursuing. A spent cartridge and a poker chip lie next to his body.
Ripples of horror spread through the community, and with a possibly psychotic killer on the loose, Governor Rulon is forced to end hunting season early for the first time in state history—outraging hunters and potentially crippling the state’s income from the loss of hunting license revenue. But when the brutal murders eerily coincide with the arrival of radical anti-hunting activist Klamath Moore, Pickett knows the Governor’s ruling is the least of his worries. Are the murders the work of a deranged activist or of a lone psychopath with a personal vendetta?
As always, Joe Pickett is the governor’s go-to man, and he’s put on the case to track the murderous hunter, as more bodies—and poker chips—turn up.
Bold, fast-paced, and sure to be controversial, Blood Trail is proof that C. J. Box never fails to keep the pages turning.
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It’s a good year indeed when we are blessed with two books by C. J. Box.
In a huge departure from his previous work, C.J. Box in his ninth novel, "Blood Trail," changes perspective by opening with a first- person narrative by a skilled and ruthless hunter.
Kinsey Millhone. Hamish Macbeth. Stephanie Plum. Dave Robicheaux. Bennie Rosato. Rumpole of the Bailey.
When a hunter is butchered in Wyoming, game warden Joe Pickett and his boss, Randy Pope, set off to investigate. Soon, it becomes clear that someone is systematically killing hunters.
*STARRED REVIEW* – In January, Box branched out from his popular Joe Pickett series with a stand-along thriller, Blue Heaven (2008).
"It's no secret that I am a huge C.J. Box fan. I have reviewed virtually everything he has ever written except his daily to-do lists...I said it before; I'll say it again: C.J.
Where the West gets wild
by: JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer
6/1/2008 12:00 AM
C.J. Box's latest Joe Pickett adventure takes on issues about hunting
When an elk hunter is shot and gruesomely gutted in Box’s solid eighth Joe Pickett novel (after 2007’s Free Fire), Wyoming governor Spencer Rulon assigns Joe to the investigative team headed by Jo
Wyoming Game and Fish Warden Joe Pickett (Free Fire, 2007, etc.) once again at the governor’s behest, stalks the wraithlike figure who’s targeting elk hunters for death.
WINNER OF THE 2008 EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL...
Four weeks on the extended New York Times bestseller list...Optioned for film by producers Michael Besman ("About Schmidt") and Cameron Lamb...Selected by the American Library Association as a 2008 Reading List award winner in the category "Adrenaline"...
This break-out novel from the author of the New York Times Bestselling Joe Pickett novels is "a non-stop thrill-ride…a provocative suspense novel that has you rooting for the characters every step of the way." -- Harlan Coben
A twelve-year-old girl and her younger brother go on the run in the woods of North Idaho, pursued by four men they have just watched commit murder—four men who know exactly who William and Annie are, and who know exactly where their desperate mother is waiting for news of her children’s fate. Retired cops from Los Angeles, the killers easily persuade the inexperienced sheriff to let them lead the search for the missing children.
William and Annie’s unexpected savior comes in the form of an old-school rancher teetering on the brink of foreclosure. But as one man against four who will stop at nothing to silence their witnesses, Jess Rawlins needs allies, and he knows that one word to the wrong person could seal the fate of the children or their mother. In a town where most of the ranches like his have turned into acres of ranchettes populated by strangers, finding someone to trust won’t be easy.
With true-to-life, unforgettable characters and a ticking clock plot that spans just over 48 hours in real time, C.J. Box has created a thriller that delves into issues close to the heart: the ruthless power of greed over broken ideals, the healing power of community where unlikely heroes find themselves at the crossroads of duty and courage, and the truth about what constitutes a family. In a setting whose awesome beauty is threatened by those who want a piece of it, BLUE HEAVEN delivers twists and turns until its last breathtaking page.
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"...it's as good as a psychological/action thriller gets..."
By Margaret Cannon
“Blue Heaven is one of the best thrillers of the year, and it kept me up most of the night, the way few books have ever done. C.J. Box owes me a night’s sleep!”
“Blue Heaven is a first-rate thriller, peopled by complex characters and unpredictable action. Don’t miss it.”
Two children making their way through the woods to go fishing stumble on something no one was meant to see. In a clearing, three men execute a fourth.
North Idaho, as its inhabitants prefer to call it, is the rugged setting for this gripping new thriller from bestselling writer C. J. Box.
"...It's four days of high tension and high action. And Box delivers surprises until the final page..."
Wyoming author C.J. Box knows the people, the geography, the issues of the mountain West.
Thriller 'Blue' is slice of heavenly writing
Rob Thomas — 1/10/2008 9:14 am
Blue Heaven reads like a good suspense movie
By JC Patterson
Madison County (MS) Herald
January 5, 2008
THE master of the regional western thriller, C.J. Box departs from his irresistible Wyoming game warden series in this new stand-alone novel.
FREE FIRE debuts at #29 on the New York Times Best Seller List!
Joe Pickett returns, this time to the wilds of Yellowstone National Park. Deftly plotted and full of intrigue, Free Fire is C.J. Box’s best novel yet.
Joe Pickett, recently fired from his job as a Wyoming game warden, is working on his father-in-law’s ranch when he receives a visit from the governor. Governor Rulon – a devious but down-home politico – has a special request, one Joe knows he can’t refuse. For weeks, the headlines have been abuzz with the story of Clay McCann, a lawyer who slaughtered four campers in a far-off corner of Yellowstone.
After the murders, McCann immediately turned himself in at the nearest ranger station. Seemed like a slam-dunk case for law enforcement – except that the crimes were committed in a thin sliver of land with zero residents and overlapping jurisdiction, the so-called free-fire zone. McCann has taken advantage of an obscure loophole in the law: neither the state nor the federal government can try him for his crime. The worst mass murderer in Wyoming history walks out of jail a free man.
Governor Rulon, sensitive to the rising tide of public outrage, wants his own investigation into the murders and will reinstate Joe as a game warden if he’ll go to Yellowstone “without portfolio” to investigate. Joe, happy to get his badge back, even under these circumstances, agrees.
It quickly becomes clear to Joe that McCann is deeply involved with some illegal activity taking place in the park – something tremendously lucrative and unusually dangerous. As Joe and his partner Nate Romanowski search for the key to the murders, they discover that it may be hidden in the rugged terrain of the park itself.
raves, "With Free Fire, C.J. Box delivers like a well-oiled rifle taking down its trophy elk at three hundred yards.
'When I think of crime committed out-of-doors, I think of Joe Pickett,' the governor says. So do we.
says, "...C. J. Box is a marvel. I learned more about Yellowstone National Park in the night it took me to read FREE FIRE than I did in 19 years of school..."
Among the new breed of thriller authors...[FREE FIRE is] Yellowstone in all its dangerous glory -- the author conveys a vivid sense of the park and its unpredictable topography..."
says, "Box is one of my favorite authors writing today. The depth of his skill shows on every page.
"C.J. Box has fashioned a splendid thriller, deftly plotted and skillfully executed...Previous Joe Pickett novels have earned Box numerous awards. This should bring him another...."
names FREE FIRE a "Critic's Choice" and says, "...A must read for anyone who's headed for Yellowstone this summer, and highly recommended for everyone else..."
Box makes brilliant use of the mystery novel as a forum to examine real issues of importance...."
The setting, action, new characters and old favorites join together to enrich this compelling tale..."
STARRED REVIEW* raves, "...absorbing...his best yet...The author vividly evokes Yellowstone's natural beauty, but the book's real power emanates from Pickett's (and Box's) passion for preserving the w
says, "...The plot is built on an ingenious premise...Free Fire is, at its heart, a mystery with a message.
*STARRED REVIEW* states, "...Box, winner of the Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Barry Mystery awards, knows how to turn on the nail-biting suspense and violence until the cliff-hanger of an ending...H
*STARRED REVIEW* says, "...Though Joe's far out in no-man's-land, as professionally on his own as he's ever been, the family man's moral compass is as strong as ever.
says FREE FIRE is, "absorbing...almost unimaginably exotic... Box is after bigger game..."
says, "The mystery is well paced and action-packed, and Pickett proves once again to be an appealing hero...."
reports, "Typical of a Box mystery, the book is deftly plotted and quickly paced, but the back-story in this novel is what is most improbable. In this case reality is stranger than fiction..."
J. W. Keeley is a man with a score to settle. He blames one man for the death of his brother: Joe Pickett. And now J.W. is going to make him suffer.
Spring has finally come to Saddlestring, Wyoming and game warden Joe Pickett is relieved the long, harsh winter is finally over. However, a cloud of trouble threatens to spoil the milder weather—local matriarch and ranch owner Opal Scarlett has vanished under suspicious circumstances. Two of her sons, Hank and Arlen, are battling for control of their mother's multi-million dollar empire and their bitter fight threatens to tear the whole valley apart.
Everyone is so caught up in the brothers' battle that they seem to have forgotten that Opal is missing. Joe is convinced, though, that the local outfitter who was the last to see her alive isn’t responsible for her murder. He begins to believe the reason for Opal’s disappearance is much more twisted and sinister.
Determined to uncover the truth, Joe is attacked and nearly beaten to death by Hank Scarlett's new right-hand man on the ranch—a recently arrived stranger who looks eerily familiar.
When a series of wicked pranks escalate into the most personal kind of violence, Joe starts to doubt what is happening is connected to Opal's disappearance -- but comes instead from the darkest chapters of his own past. And he knows whoever is after him has a vicious debt to collect and wants Joe to pay with his job, his home... his blood.
In Plain Sight could be considered a new genre: Ranch Gothic.
Compelling and suspenseful, In Plain Sight is a crackling novel from one of today's best mystery writers. It will go on sale nationwide May 4, 2006.
writes,"...the themes that dominate "In Plain Sight," Box's newest novel, are more personal. Hate. Family.
*STARRED REVIEW* When Wyoming's governor appoints Randy Pope to be the new director of the Game and Fish Department, warden Joe Pickett finds it almost impossible to do his job.
says, "GRADE: A. If you need a good reason to pick up a new mystery, look no further. C.J.
reports, "Joe Pickett - honest, upright and hardworking - tends to attract the meanest villains this side of a spaghetti western...sprightly......Edgar-finalist Box expertly evokes Wyoming's landscape
After an eventful trip to Jackson Hole (OUT OF RANGE, 2005). Wyoming Game and Fish warden Joe Pickett is back in Twelve Sleep County for a homecoming that's anything but homey.
reports, "gripping and thoughtful...rich conflicts and relentless suspense, C.J. Box shows how his hotheaded protagonist makes choices that affect all and forever change the dynamics of family. ..."
says, "Pickett's old-fashioned character is a large part of the charm of Box's series. Another is his choice of setting.
More outdoorsy types have welcomed C.J. Box's six novels about Wyoming Fish and Game Warden Joe Pickett, all crammed with action even though Joe's no threat with fists or firearms.
says, "...By the end of this gripping story, Pickett's life is profoundly changed, and his family's future is uncertain at best.
Wyoming Game and Fish warden Joe Pickett - honest, upright and hardworking - tends to attract the meanest villains this side of a spaghetti western, as shown in his sprightly sixth outing in which he
says, ""In Plain Sight" is a modern-day Western mixed with the classical influence of Shakespeare's "King Lear." Box's treatment of family grudges makes for a refreshing read...."
A wild Wyoming saga
The land plays a fateful role in this tale of two families.
Keeping any series balanced between familiar and fresh is tricky. An excellent series is like a tightrope act.
says, "The sixth in a successful and satisfying series, In Plain Sight has more violence than C.J.
Joe Pickett, hero of C. J. Box's series, was a new discovery for me last year. I read one book and then hunted out four more. In Plain Sight is the sixth in the series, and the best.
reports, "In Plain Sight is the sixth in the series, and the best.
STARRED REVIEW* says, "...if you don't know this series, it's high time you started...Despite an encore roster of perps and felonies that plays like a Greatest Hits list from Joe's first five adventur
C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series has taken the detective thriller out of the city and into the plains of Wyoming.
STARRED REVIEW* raves, "...edge-of-the-chair suspense; his prose sings with energy and heart-stopping action... unforgettable..."
Game Warden Joe Pickett is living in a purgatory of his own making. He has made enemies while protecting the environment of Saddlestring, Wyo. His boss hates him and wants to get rid of him.
says, "Box has created an exceptionally good series of contemporary crime novels full of tense suspense and believable, emotional, well-crafted characters...the well-plotted tale races to an explosive
If you need a good reason to pick up a new mystery, look no further. C.J.
says, "What mystery writer Tony Hillerman is to New Mexico, C.J. Box is to Wyoming... crackling good reads..."
Box sights in hot new mystery
Joe Pickett's self-confidence, family and career are in the crosshairs in author C.J. Box's sixth book featuring the troubled, but appealing Wyoming game warden.
reads, "Just be warned, you'll want to keep the lights burning to see if your theories on resolution of the many mysteries in the book hold true -- and you'll be inspired to seek out those earlier Pic
writes, "...crammed with action...Box, having lavished all his audience's frustrations on his everyman hero, lets him act out their deepest fantasies of revenge..."
raves, "...Arguably, Box is steadily staking his claim as the heir apparent to such masters of the genre as Zane Gray and Louis L' Amour.
says, "C.J. Box ain't one of those pale-skinned writers strapped indoors by the dull glow of a computer screen..."
Game Warden Joe Pickett returns in a twisting, action-packed tale of greed, power, and murder. And meat.
"In the crowded field of crime fiction, C.J. Box has quickly established himself as an original voice. When I came across the world of Joe Pickett, I was reminded of the time I discovered the work of Tony Hillerman. Like Hillerman, Box is exploring new territory. He is fresh, captivating, and has something to say."
- Michael Connelly
Joe Pickett is attempting to survive his mother-in-law's wedding to a wealthy local rancher when he receives some disturbing news: Will Jensen, a fellow Wyoming game warden and a good friend, has killed himself. And Joe's been picked to temporarily run Jensen's Teton district.
Jackson Hole is a far cry from Joe's hometown of Saddlestring -- it's the epicenter for many environmental extremists and an elite playground for the rich and powerful -- and Joe quickly finds himself over his head. Yet despite the pressures of his new job and his surprising and disturbing attraction for a married woman named Stella, he can't get his friend's suicide out of his mind. By all accounts, Will had changed in the last few months of his life, becoming violent and unpredictable.
Meanwhile, back at home, Marybeth is frightened by threatening phone calls and asks the outlaw falconer Nate Romanowski for assistance, not realizing she has opened the door to much more than help.
The closer Joe comes to the truth about Will's death, the more his own life begins to mirror Will's and spiral out of control -- and he realizes that if he's not careful, he may end up as Jackson's next victim.
OUT OF RANGE proves once again that C.J. Box is one of the most original and entertaining voices in mystery fiction in the most riveting and surprising Joe Pickett novel yet.
Odd departmental doings also figure into C.J. Box’s “Out of Range” (Putnam, 308 pages, $24.95), the fifth in an outstanding series involving game warden Joe Pickett.
It's an image as big as the West itself, and almost as old - the lone lawman maintaining order and fighting the good fight in a vast and rugged territory. C.J.
*STARRED* When a fellow game warden kills himself, Joe Pickett is transferred to Jackson Hole – “Wyoming’s very own California” – where the new and old Wests collide head-on.
OK, let me admit it - I'm a fan of Wyoming author C.J. Box. A big fan.
C. J. Box is another brilliant voice from the American West. His series featuring game warden Joe Pickett is set among the mountains and forests of Wyoming.
C.J. Box has staked out memorable turf — the rugged landscape of Wyoming — for his series about game warden Joe Pickett.
In Box's taut, suspenseful fifth Joe Picket novel (after 2004's Trophy Hunt ), the Wyoming game warden is temporarily transferred from his backwater base, Saddlestring, to Jackson, a sophisticated tou
Saddlestring, WY, game warden Joe Pickett (Trophy Hunt) takes a temporary assignment in upscale Jackson, when friend and coworker Will Jensen dies from an apparent suicide.
If you aren't familiar with the name "C. J. Box" you're missing out on something, and someone, special.
This time, I wanted to write a mystery. Of course, the previous Joe Pickett novels are considered mysteries, or thrillers set in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. With Trophy Hunt, I set out to construct a full-fledged mystery filled with death and deception that will keep the reader in suspense until the last pages – and, I hope, thinking about it long afterward. My intention is to challenge the reader to note important clues (they’re there) in a hard-charging story involving murders and mutilations, a rogue grizzly bear, self-proclaimed experts in the paranormal, twists and double-twists, and an investigation that leads toward an unexpected, and (for Joe) deeply unsettling conclusion.
My novels include environmental issues that are integral
to the modern West. Trophy Hunt is no different. The boom
in coal bed methane development in the Rocky Mountains has
literally transformed the terrain – and the economy
– in ways both good and bad. I was researching the
issue for background when something entirely unrelated happened:
the discovery of dozens of mutilated cattle in Montana.
Remembering the stories of cattle mutilations from my youth,
I contacted the lead reporter covering the story and she
supplied me with clippings, reports, and extremely disturbing
photos. The details of the deaths were eerily similar: no
obvious cause of death; faces and genitals surgically removed;
no tire tracks, footprints, or evidence near the bodies;
and, strangest of all, the bodies were untouched by natural
predators. I knew as I leafed through the documents that
Joe Pickett would have a new case - one that would test
his sense of reality.
Joe Pickett has been compared to Gary Cooper by both reviewers
and the actor’s only daughter for his quiet, but determined,
approach. Imagine Joe’s frustration and self-doubt
when the evidence points to something he simply will not
let himself believe in?
As the pressure mounts and the rural citizens of the area
look ominously at the big sky and form their own conclusions,
Joe strikes off on his own, and is plunged into a world
filled with twisted motives, hidden agendas, long-held secrets,
and the gnarled black heart of an age-old mystery.
It's an idyllic late summer day in Saddlestring, Wyoming, and game warden Joe Pickett is fly-fishing with his two daughters when he stumbles upon the mutilated body of a moose. Whatever-or whoever-attacked the animal was ruthless: Half the animal's face has been sliced away, the skin peeled back from the flesh. Shaken by the assault, Pickett begins to investigate what he hopes is an isolated incident.
Days later, after the discovery of a small herd of mutilated cattle, Pickett realizes this is something much bigger. Local authorities are quick to label the attacks the work of a grizzly bear, but Joe knows otherwise. The cuts on the moose and the cattle were too clean, too precise to have been made by jagged teeth. Are the animals only practice for a killer about to move on to a different, more challenging prey?
Joe's worst fears are realized when the bodies of two men are discovered within days of each other, their wounds eerily similar to those found on the moose and cattle. There's a vicious killer, a modern-day Jack the Ripper, on the loose in The Bighorn Mountains - and it appears his rampage is just beginning.
In the vast expanse of Wyoming, where hunting is a way of life, game warden Joe Pickett is used to catching poachers squatting beside the half-skinned carcasses of deer or elk.
Box's riveting fourth Joe Pickett adventure (after 2003's Winterkill) opens on a disturbing note, with the Wyoming game warden's chance discovery of the oddly mutilated body of a moose near his favori
The events at the center of Box’s fourth novel featuring game warden Joe Pickett make the fate of the Donner Party look like a square dance.
"I want to get inside his head, see what makes him tick. Find out what he's thinking and why he came here. And who sent him."
I've come to really like the Joe Pickett series by C.J. Box. Pickett is a good hero.
For an author like Chuck Box, it's hard to constantly better yourself when
your first novel wins a whopping four prestigious mystery awards. But when
In the Joe Pickett series by C.J. Box, Pickett is a good hero.
Two authors from our American West have written action-packed, compelling
stories that are vastly different while sharing many similarities that guarantee
lively reads.
Box, whose superb Joe Pickett series has nailed some great western issues (ecoterrorism, endangered species, survivalists), here draws a bead on one out in left field: cattle mutilations.
Author C. J. Box mines Hillerman territory in Trophy Hunt, his fourth novel featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett.
In Saddlestring, Wyoming, game warden Joe Pickett and his two daughters are fishing when they see dead fish floating in the water.
WINTERKILL is one of the TOP TEN MYSTERIES OF 2003 according to Oline Cogdill of the South Florida Sun Sentinal: "Few mystery authors who use the environment as a plot foundation are as even-handed and clear-eyed as Box. In his third novel, Box blends the hot-button issue of survivalists, the FBI interventions at Waco and Ruby Ridge and personal freedom into a thrilling and heart-wrenching plot."
C. J. Box, one of mystery's most exciting new talents, offers more thrills and chills amid the dangerous beauties of the Wyoming wilderness in Winterkill.
What city dweller hasn't occasionally longed for the simple life in the mountains, with civilization near enough to provide the essentials but not the entanglements?
C.J. Box has done it again with this third appearance of Joe Pickett, who lives and works in Saddlestring, Wyo.
It's tough being a Wyoming game warden. Fifty-five underpaid game wardens patrol the entire 97,000 square miles of land.
The setting in some novels is as important as the characters or the plot. That's the case with two well-crafted murder mysteries.
Maybe you think you've lived your whole life without knowing what life might be like in a place called Saddlestring, Wyoming and that's okay with you.
Box makes it a resounding three for three with this worthy successor to last year’s celebrated Savage Run, which followed his acclaimed debut, Open Season (2001).
Westerners and lovers of things Western, rejoice - there's a new book out by Wyoming writer C.J. Box, and it's a doozy.
In Box's third Joe Pickett novel, the murder of an employee of Twelve Sleep National Forest leads investigators to a reclusive hunter with a grudge.
Few mystery authors who use the environment as a plot foundation are as even-handed and clear-eyed in their approach as C.J. Box.
Mysteries often provide unexpected pleasures. Intricate plots and surprise endings are standard fare, but a delightful fringe benefit can be a mini-travelogue.
If Nevada Barr were a guy, she might write like C. J. Box. Two things the authors do have in common is their love for the great outdoors and memorable protagonists.
Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is back for his third Western adventure (after Savage Run), again confronted with murder and mystery while doing his job during a rugged mountain winter.
Our Tip of the Ice Pick Award for May goes to C.J. Box for Winterkill (Putnam, $23.95, 400 pages, ISBN 0399150455), his third installment in the series featuring Game Warden Joe Pickett.
Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett returns in this third adventure in C.J. Box's tough, tender, and engrossing series, which just keeps getting better.
Booklist (starred review) says "Box makes it a resounding three for three...Pickett remains an utterly sympathetic, Gary Cooperish hero...Pickett is our voice for decency...A superb mystery series wit
Laconic Joe Pickett returns to his slightly offbeat duties in Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains in C. J. Box's Savage Run. Joe is called to the scene when an exploding cow kills a famous ecoterrorist, Stewie Woods, and his bride of three days, who were peacefully spiking trees. A visit to the cow's pugnacious owner leaves Joe defensive, angry, and curious: Why doesn't the rancher ask any questions about the bizarre accident that happened on his land? Then Joe's wife, Marybeth, begins receiving phone calls from her high-school boyfriend—-the peculiarly healthy-sounding Stewie Woods. Stewie may or may not be alive, but his old pal Hayden Powell and other environmental activists are all turning up deceased in strange circumstances. As the body count climbs, Joe tries to sort out the bad guys, the good guys, and the truly dead guys in this sometimes funny, sometimes angry sequel to Box's award-winning first novel, Open Season. Box depicts the spare beauty and cussed individualism of the intermountain West with the sure hand of a seasoned writer. --Barrie Trinkle
In advance reviews, Open Season has been pronounced "something special," (Booklist), and it lives up to the billing. It is not C.J. Box's skill at plotting (the story of greedy business interests and local corruption is fine, but familiar), but rather the character of hero Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden, that makes this a series kickoff to remember. Like all the best mystery protagonists, Pickett is stubbornly ready to risk everything when his own personal sense of morality is at stake. But Joe is also a guy who sometimes gets things wrong, and this characteristic of messing up adds a dimension of humanity to the book.
C.J. Box makes the town of Twelve Sleep, Wyoming (where Joe and his pregnant wife and his daughters have come to live in a tiny house that could be a lot nicer if Joe only had a job that paid better), come alive to the extent that one can almost smell the crisp mountain air and pine needles. The locals display an impressive array of grudge holding and "don't mess with us" attitudes, but Joe is unwilling to forget he's sworn to uphold and enforce a full battery of laws that many of these neighbors have no intention of obeying.
When a well-known poacher, with whom he has humiliatingly tangled, suddenly turns up dead in his own backyard, Joe finds himself at the top of a downward path that, first, will lead to more bodies and then will put his entire family into peril. Open Season doesn't pull its punches, and Box does allow bad things to happen to good people. Read it and find out how skillfully he handles both his hero's complexities and also the ambiguities inherent in a life dedicated to law enforcement. --Otto Penzler
Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel by Mystery Readers International
Edgar Award Finalist for Best First Novel by an American Author - Mystery Writers of America
L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist for Best Mystery/Thriller of 2001.
Kirkus gave it a starred review and called it "a high-country Presumed Innocent that moves like greased lightning."
Booklist, in their starred review, said Open Season's hero, Joe Pickett, "is a Gary Cooper for our time."
807 Barnett
Encampment, WY 82325
Tel. (307) 327-5308
email: GEMuseum@aol.com
http://www.grandencampmentmuseum.org/
Details TBA
Details TBA
Albany County Public Library/Library Foundation/Friends of the Library
310 S. 8th St
Laramie, WY 82070
307-721-2580 ext 5456
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