The Crossroads by CJ Box

I hit the jackpot this past month. Three of my power rotation authors have a new release or soon to be published titles. 

 

First power rotation author: CJ Box’s The Crossroads by CJ Box. 

By now, readers of this blog know that the MRB boys are big fans of CJ  Box’s 26 (!) Joe Pickett books. Started in 2001 and has published a book every year since. You’ll recall that Pickett is a Wyoming game warder whose primary task is ensuring that hunters, fishermen, etc. all have their licenses up to date and aren’t exceeding state mandated hunting limits. But always seems to end up being involved with cases that are (well) outside hit state mandates. And this one is no different. Sort of.

Joe’s been told by a hunter of seeing what appeared to be a drunk elk on a ranch. This 

falls under his authority so he goes to check it out. The ranch in question is a bit of a 

drive that takes him out of cell phone coverage. He drives out to where Antler Creek 

Rd crosses some other back country road. At this crossroads, Joe stops to consult his 

map. There are three ranches out here. One biggun’ owned by an Atlanta hedge fund 

manager (code word for ‘loaded’). Another ranch is owned by two borderline crackpot 

sisters. The third is owned by a long-time couple/resident who just wants to be left 

alone and isn’t afraid to face down trespassers, hunters, lawmen, anyone.

So far, basic Joe Pickett plot. 

Until he is ambushed. Shot in his own truck, including a head wound. Left for dead. 

This ain’t your ordinary Joe Pickett book now. A guy out hunting comes across the 

aftermath, calls it in and promptly disappears. Word gets out across the law

 enforcement community like a runaway wildfire. Wife Mary Beth is yanked from a 

library board meeting and taken to the crossroads. Daughters are called in. Eldest 

Sheridan is working as an investigator in the mountain area (works for Cassie Dewell 

featured in Box’s six ‘The Highway’ books). April helps run Nate Romanowski’s bird 

abatement business. Both are tough and not to be messed with. Lucy has just returned 

from a university experience in Europe. Not to mention there is a new sheriff in town 

and this is his first big case. Box and Mary Beth are airlifted to Bozeman, MT. Before 

doing anything drastic medically, the brain swelling must be controlled and the medical 

team puts Joe into a medical induced coma. 

Have to admit, when the primary protagonist for 25 books is gunned down in the first 

chapter, it’s painfully obvious that other typically secondary characters will have to step

 up. And the three daughters do just that. Each daughter gets one of the three ranches 

at the end of this road to find out who is behind the attempt on their father.

The Joe Pickett series is legendary for the devotion of its readers and Box certainly 

knows how to set a hook. When was the last time an author put the lead name out 

front and then nearly blew the lead into kingdom come? Had I not had a life that 

demanded attention, the sheer audacity of the plot would’ve kept me glued to my seat 

to see how Box puts the daughters front and center in the storyline while Joe is 

attended to by a team of neurosurgeons. The girls are up to the task because they are 

tough, resourceful, committed, and seriously angry. 

Gotta love it. Should be painfully obvious that Box is taking us into the world of the 

Pickett daughters while daddy recovers (and maybe retires?). Leave it to a great 

storyteller to leave us breathlessly waiting for episode #27 next year. 

And it’s in bookstores so you won’t have to wait. 

 

ECD 

 

Force of Nature

Force of Nature is the 12th book in the series by C. J. Box about his protagonist Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden. I did not remember this story which I previously reviewed in 2012, and I totally enjoyed this important part of the Joe Pickett saga. 

 

In this story, the main player was the infamous Nate Romanowski. Nate had been off the grid for an extended period of time following the murder of the woman he loved. Nate was a skilled falconist which Box explains in clear language, and he had been trained in that art by John Nemecek who had originally recruited him into a secret and exclusive special ops team. Nate had gone around the world doing unspeakable cruel acts on behalf of Nemecek who he thought was being directed by someone much higher in the military/covert hierarchy. 

 

But now, Nemecek had gone rogue, and as the result of past actions, found it necessary to eliminate Nate This story was about Nemecek and Joe trying to locate each other, and of course, Joe Pickett got involved. On the one hand Joe was tested because his lethal skills were not in the same level as the other two main characters, and his long friendship with Nate (as described in earlier books) put him in a precarious role with his fellow law enforcement officers. Nemecek had no limits on the mayhem he was will to inflict on those around him, and even Joe’s family was in danger.

 

This story reveals Box at his finest. Perhaps it is his masterpiece, but then again, I’ve felt that way after reading every book in this series. The conclusion is a page-turner, and I stayed up late and got up early to continue reading this story. You’ll be hooked on this story within the first couple pages. (While this could be a standalone book, it’s best to read these novels in the order in which they were published.)

Buy this book

 

Battle Mountain

Battle Mountain, the latest of the Joe Pickett novels by C. J. Box, has already been reviewed in more detail by Midwest Dave (who introduced the other reviewers in the blog to the great novelist Box). I refer you to that review. After 25 great novels about Joe Pickett, it seems to me this could be the best of the series. If you are not familiar with these novels, then you must get to know Joe Pickett and learn about the predicaments that Box creates for Joe. All of the usual characters are in tis book, Joe, Mary Beth, Sheridan, Nate, Geronimo, and the ultimate psychopath, Axil. You’ll enjoy this one, I promise.

#1498. Storm Watch by CJ Box

Can it really be? #23 in the Joe Pickett series? And we’ve reviewed most of them.

Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett has been called to track down an elk that was injured by a car and has wandered off on its three remaining good legs onto the Double Diamond ranch property. Not a duty Pickett likes because he must put the animal out of its misery.

A serious spring snowstorm has pelted the Big Horn mountains and while the snow makes tracking the elk easy, the knee-thigh deep snow is a challenge. He finds the animal near a heavy pine forest and sees what appears to be a car partially hidden by the snow.

It’s a four-wheeler, well taken care of, with a U Wyoming parking sticker. The trail is still navigable, so Joe follows to see if the owner needs assistance. What he finds is a large windowless, metal shed, and the driver is half in/half out of a ventilation fan, dead from the fan blades. Takes some crime scene photo before a couple shots ring out. Nothing more.

Pickett returns to his truck and phones it into the sheriff. The next day, a crime scene unit finds nothing. No car, no victim. No tracks (more snow). Pickett gets a call from his boss in Cheyenne that Governor Colten Allen wants to see Pickett now, snow be damned. Joe goes and is told in no uncertain terms to cease and desist any further investigation into the death of this university professor.

The death of the prof leads to a series of tentacles that include his mother-in-law, Nate Romanowski (of course) and Geronimo, a fellow falconer from Colorado, daughter Sheridan and her sometime boyfriend (the son of the DD Ranch foreman), a loosely knit clan of conspiracy theorists/secessionists and associated dirtbags, the FBI, former Governor Rulon, and a disabled FBI agent roaming around in an RV.

Yeah, convoluted.

But Box is a seasoned pro and he tells his tale with all the skill and grace we expect from him. His easy way of weaving a story is comfortable for his devotees, including the boys here at MRB.

Box is consistently a winner; another 5-star outing. If you’ve never read him, start anywhere. While there is some order to his books, most any can be a standalone. And if you haven’t been aware, Paramount+ streams a Joe Pickett series, the first season came out in 2021. Nice to watch if so you can put faces to the characters as you read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance reader copy. Available 28 Feb 2023.

And for anyone out there taking notice, this represents our 1500th post to this blog. 

 

East Coast Don

Treasue State by C.J. Box

 

Cassie Dewell’s P.I. business is thriving.  She has more work than she and her receptionist can handle so she takes on April Pickett (Joe and Mary Beth’s adopted daughter) as an intern.  Currently, Cassie has two open cases.

The most immediate case involves a wealthy Florida women who was conned out of her fortune by a devious Montana man.  The previous P.I. on the case was murdered near Anaconda, Montana.  Cassie quickly discovers a likely suspect in the area but his charm, wit, and skills of deception temporarily misdirect her and put her in danger.  The second case is more abstract.  Someone has written a poem promising a buried treasure in Montana to anyone who can decipher the clues found within the poem.  Cassie is hired by the poet not to find the treasure but to see if she can find and identify him.  Fierce competition among the treasure hunters to find the treasure has already resulted in five deaths.  The instigator poet wants to be assured he will remain anonymous.

While I prefer the Joe Pickett series to the Cassie Dewell series, I've grown to enjoy most anything C.J. Box writes.  That same under estimated, ‘dumb like a fox’ attribute comes through in all his lead characters.  That combined with the western outdoor backdrop always makes his work worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance look.

Comment from West Coast Don:

I agree with Midwest Dave that it's a bit strange to read our beloved Box working on a set of characters other than Joe Pickett, but hey, this is CJ Box. I spent a summer in the Bozman area, where Cassie has her PI business, then 16 years old and working on a dude ranch as a wrangler. Cassie has a good business and she is a compelling character, but there haven't been enough books and enough stories about her to have the same depth of feeling created by Joe Pickett. 

Nonetheless, I'm glad I read this, and if Box produces more of this series, or anything else, I'll read that to. The book's plot developed slowly as the author put forth all the background information that we needed, but it picked up into a rapid pace The resolution of the two main plots was excellent. I look forward to more.

WCD

Shadow Reels by CJ Box

Dark Sky left off in the fall with Joe Pickett recovering from an episode with a wolverine and with Nate Romanowski appropriately pissed off after Axel Soledad, a fellow falconer gone rogue, had killed 3 of Nate’s birds, stolen 12 others, and more importantly, had attacked Nate’s wife and threatened his toddler daughter.

Shadow Reels picks right up there. Joe is slowly recovering, Nate is chasing Soledad into Colorado, Thanksgiving week has arrived, and his three daughters are all due to arrive in short order.

It’s Wednesday. Mary Beth Pickett, the town of Saddlestring’s library director, arrives a bit early for work, sees a man placing a package at the door of the library and then hustles off to avoid detection. She picks up the package, carefully opens it, and finds an old photo album dated 1937. Its cover is decorated with swastikas. The photos show some mid-level Nazi functionary with a who’s who of Nazis: Hitler, Himmler, Bormann, Goebbels, etc. While the pictures are disgusting, the bigger questions are who dropped the album at the library, why, and why now?

That same morning, an old rancher calls Joe saying he thinks there is a dead moose bull on the edge of his property. When Joe arrives to investigate, he quickly learns that something’s dead, but not a moose. It’s a fishing guide that has been beaten, tortured, set afire, and tossed across the fence.

While murder isn’t under the purview of the Wyoming Fish and Game, Pickett can’t help but be curious despite being told by the sheriff to butt out. Mary Beth is somewhat spooked by the presence of the photo album but manages to ultimately learn that two members of the infamous Band of Brothers company (the company that liberated Berchtesgaden) were native to Wyoming and both were known to have pilfered some of Hitler’s personal property (including photo albums). One album had surfaced years ago but the other remained hidden, until now. One of the two WY natives was the father of the man just found murdered. Someone wants the album, obviously. The ‘why’ is the question.

Meanwhile, Nate is using his falconry connections to track Alex Soledad who was just seen in Denver by another falconer named Geronimo Jones. Turns out that Soledad is high up in the antifa movement and is trying to bring down the social order of the US. Nate and Geronimo track Soledad from Denver to Idaho to Seattle and finally to Portland. (Geronimo is a tres cool character. Hope he resurfaces in future books).

It’s Thursday. Thanksgiving. The 3 Pickett girls are in for the dinner. So is Nate’s wife and daughter. So is an Asian girl/college friend (of one of the girls. Can’t remember which one is still in college). During early morning meal prep, Mary Beth sees a neanderthal-looking man peering in the window. He’s one of two brothers (from Hungary) charged with finding the photo album.

Mary Beth makes a considerable leap of faith and concludes that the peeper is the killer, is looking for the album, and is willing to do whatever in necessary to obtain it.

OK. Here’s what should be obvious. Shadows Reel has two stories running in parallel. It is less about Joe and more about Mary Beth and the girls. The Romanowski-Soledad trail is more to clean up a loose end from the previous book (Dark Sky). Personally, I liked the way Box organizes and presents the non-intersecting stories. Box is such a good writer that the story flows effortlessly into a fast read (picked it up at the library on Thursday afternoon, done at Saturday breakfast).

I looked at some reviews on GoodReads. Many weren’t too happy with Box on this one. Phrases like ‘mailed it in’ or ‘getting by on reputation’ were seen. Others weren’t happy with Joe being, for all intents and purposes, a bit player. This is Mary Beth’s book. And the girls. One person commented that maybe Joe Pickett as the lead has run its course and Box is setting up one or more of the daughters to carry on with the story. I’m OK with that. Clancy took Jack Ryan about as far as he could before bringing in Ryan’s son. Other authors have also done so. Readers need not be so angry if the author decides to venture off his previously well-worn track, give him a break; this is Box’s 22^nd Joe Pickett book.

Bottom line: This is a good book and a quick enjoyable read. Storytelling and enjoyment that is up to Box’s standard. Whether it’s the beginning of a shift in the direction of Box’s stories or not, I’m still going to be reading about Joe Pickett.

ECD

Shadows Reel by C.J. Box

 

In the latest Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett adventure, Mary Beth, Joe’s wife takes center stage in the drama that ensues.  One morning as she arrives at the Saddlestring library where she is director, Mary Beth spots a man leaving a package at the front door.  The package contains a photo album that once belonged to a powerful Nazi official and the album has apparently been pilfered from the Eagle’s Nest retreat, Hitler’s final hideout at the end of World War II.  That same day, Joe is summoned by a local rancher to investigate the poaching of a dead moose on the rancher’s land.  The supposed moose turns out to be the rancher’s neighbor, fishing guide Bert Kizer.  He’d been tortured and set on fire.  The search of Bert’s cabin that follows reveals someone is looking for something.  Mary Beth explores Bert’s background online and finds that his father had served in WWII and was in the first American contingent to reach Hitler’s famed Eagle’s Nest retreat.  Apparently, the American soldiers, including Bert’s father grabbed whatever souvenirs they could carry and took them home.  But now three fourths of a century later, who and why is someone willing to kill for the spoils?  And why has Mary Beth and her family been put in danger?

C.J. Box has written another suspenseful action packed thriller.  Joe once again saves his family from the evils of the world and yes he crashes another pickup truck.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advance read.

 West Coast Don writes: This is another good C. J. Box story, proving why he's such a mainstay in our list of favorite authors. I listened to this in audiobook format as I strolled a remote beach in Mexico in June 2023. The book has already been reviewed by both MWD and ECD - enough said.

Dark Sky by C.J. Box

 

Wyoming game warden, Joe Pickett is given a task that he detests by the Wyoming governor whom he doesn’t trust.  The task is to escort Steve Price, a Silicon Valley billionaire, on an elk hunt to help him converse with nature and brag about it on his social networking platform.  The governor is hopeful that a successful hunting experience will encourage Price to bring expansions of his company’s infrastructure to Wyoming.  So the pressure is on Joe to make it happen.

Joe packs up his winter gear and hires a local cowboy with plenty of horses and hunting equipment. He picks up Price’s entourage from a corporate jet at the local airport and heads for the mountains.  But a local hunting guide with a grudge against Price lies in wait with his two sociopathic sons to hunt the hunters.  Joe and Price are soon separated from camp, unarmed, without radios and on foot in the mountains.  Joe must use his cunning and knowledge of the terrain to avoid the hunters until help can get organized and come looking for them.  Of course his pal Nate Romanowski as well as wife Mary Beth and daughter Sheridan are involved in the search...major danger and excitement for all.

I’ve read all of C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett books and never tire of the character or the story lines.  In our world of liars and conspiracy theories it’s so refreshing to read about a character who is just what he appears to be with no hidden motives.  Thanks C.J. Box for the hope even if it is rooted in fiction.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance look.

Long Range by CJ Box

Joe Pickett  is called to the Jackson Hole district to help a fellow Game and Fish warden track down a grizzly that may be mauled an experienced backwoods guide. Only way in is a long ride on horseback. The head dog of Wyoming’s Game and Fish department calls the team on the satphone. The county judge from Pickett’s home district is on a tear. Calls the Governor who calls the Game and Fish boss who runs down Pickett. The judge is demanding every person with arrest authority in his county to his house . . . now. No exceptions.

Judge Hewitt lives year round in a gated vacation community that overlooks both a golf course and the surrounding wilderness. Last night, someone took a shot at him. Hewitt bent over to pick up random drop of a napkin and the bullet sailed over his head and struck his wife in the chest. Hewitt wants every level of law enforcement laser-focused on finding the shooter. Joe tells his boss that it’ll take hours to ride back to his truck and then more hours to drive back to Saddlestring. No, it won’t, his boss says. Right about then, Joe hears a helicopter zero in on their location.

If you remember from the previous book (Wolf Pack), a group of cartel assassins were killed in a shootout on the steps of the county courthouse. Among others, the county sheriff was killed and the prosecutor was crippled. An outsider was elected sheriff and the county public defender crossed the aisle to become prosecutor. The new sheriff is an arrogant SOB with plans to completely resurrect what he sees as a failed department. He ain’t liked. And he certainly sees no need for a hunting summons-writing warden.

 

The sheriff has his ideas on how to investigate the shooting. His detective book doesn’t fit in well with the locals, Joe included. While the sheriff has deputies combing the golf course for clues, Joe asks his friend (and ex-spec ops soldier) Nick Romanowski for his opinion on whether a trained sniper could’ve taken the shot.

But Nick has his own issues. He’s become a family man. Married. Newborn daughter. Yarack, Inc (his falcon-based bird abatement company) is flush with business. Not bad for a guy with a history of sitting in trees, naked, to observe nature. He’s is told that the cartel behind that courthouse massacre is gunning for him and to watch his back. And that the cartel isn’t above punishing his family.

So, the soap opera that is Joe Pickett’s life now has three seemingly disparate issues: the grizzly attack, the attempted murder by a sniper, and a cartel’s goal of retribution against Nick.

All in a day’s work for a lowly game and fish warden who isn’t a great shot with a firearm, has a history of state property damage (trucks and homes mainly), but still has the ear of a former governor. Not to mention is a close friend with a one-man wrecking crew.

Let’s see. The first Joe Pickett novel was 2001. Each year we get a new glimpse into Pickett’s life. It’s 2020 so that means this is the 20^th Joe Pickett novel. And I bet sales have increased every year.

Bottom line is simple: if book sales continue to rise, your main character is still fresh, and the stories are compelling, you end up with 20 straight hits and an expanding loyal fan base. And with no indication of slowing down.Yeah. Box is that good. One of the sure fire, can't miss authors out there.

Now that COVID-19 has forced everyone into self-isolation, you’ll be needing some books to binge on. Don't let Netflix nail you to your couch. Here's enough to keep you entertained that are high on the MRB charts: Joe Pickett (20 by Box), Jack Reacher (24 by Lee Child), Walt Longmire (19 by Craig Johnson), Gabriel Allon (20 by Daniel Silva), Lucas Davenport (30 by John Sanford), Harry Bosch (23 by Michael Connelly), Elvis Cole/Joe Pike (19 by Robert Crais), Chief Inspector Armand Gamache (16 by Louise Penny). Outstanding company. Absolutely cannot go wrong. And there’s plenty more out there. Dive in.

But it you’ve never read any Joe Picket books by CJ Box, you just aren’t paying attention. These books are the real deal, boy and girls . . . the real deal.

ECD

The Bitterroots by CJ Box

Bozeman-based PI Cassie Dewell is hired by a defense attorney to mostly verify the facts turned over during discovery. Dewell, being a former cop, doesn't really care for defense lawyers but takes on the job for a variety of reasons. She still doesn't like it, though. And that that corner of the state is in the midst of its largest wildfire in recent memory.

Blake Kleinsasser, the oldest of 3 sons born into a family that controls a small county up near the Bitterroot mountains. He's accused of abduction and rape of his niece and the evidence against him is formidable. Blake was in a blackout drunk when the alleged rape occurred. The lawyer wants the evidence verified so she can talk Blake into a plea deal. Family issues and the line of succession for the 70,000 acres of the Iron Cross ranch mean that should Blake be convicted, he would be cut out of any passing along of family assets. 

When Cassie arrives to essentially dot i's and cross t's, but runs into wall after wall after wall. She's getting fed up with being stonewalled, was even tossed into jail for a night, her Jeep was burned, her motel room bugged, and threatened most every day. Only once she tracks down a former employee of the ranch does this morass of dominoes start to organize and fall into place, which also has a tentacle to her son's interest in a new student in school back in Bozeman.

While CJ Box is well known for his Joe Pickett novels, this, his 4th Cassie Dewell book, is equal to the task. Box is more than just Joe Pickett. It's his stories and how he develops them that sets Box apart from the rest of the numerous pretenders. So go ahead and start reading CJ Box for Joe Pickett, but stick with him as he develops Cassie Dewell. You will not be disappointed.

ECD

The Bitterroots by C.J. Box

In the author’s fourth Cassie Dewell novel, the protagonist has left her career as a police officer in North Dakota to open her own private investigation firm in Bozeman, Montana.  She has tired of the bureaucracy of law enforcement and the misogyny of her co-workers, and needs to work through the PTSD of killing the “Lizard King”, a long-haul trucker and mass murderer.  But starting a new business in a new location brings challenges of its own.  So when a local female attorney wants to hire her to investigate a rape by a wealthy, over barring man from the adjacent county, Cassie has little choice but to agree.

The accused, Blake Keinsasser is the oldest son of a prominent ranching family in Lochsa County.  After three generations, the family business has prospered but has developed a hold over people and politics in the county to preserve their interests.  The first day Cassie begins to ask questions about her client, she is stopped by a deputy and jailed on bogus charges.  Not intimidated by the tactics, Cassie pushes her way into the family only to have her life threatened again.  Still not giving up she finds a former employee of the ranch who fills her in on the family’s history.  Now she knows why she’s in danger but how can she persevere?

C.J. Box does it again with The Bitterroots.  He writes an intriguing story about a fearless, code bound protagonist that you can’t put down, all the while weaving in modern day issues… misogyny, climate change, law enforcement behavior.  An excellent read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance look.

Wolf Pack by C.J. Box

With the help of the Joe Pickett’s old pal, the ex-governor of Wyoming as his attorney, Joe manages to get his old job back as game warden as well as a new state owned home and yet another new pickup truck as part of the settlement.

 

Back at work, Joe receives a tip from the game warden in the adjacent district that a reclusive drone hobbyist is spooking the wildlife then photographing the deadly results.  The hobbyist happens to be the father of Lucy’s boyfriend.  Lucy is Joe’s youngest daughter and last one still living at home.  The drone hobbyist, Joe quickly learns is also of great interest to and under protection of the Federal government.  To Joe the Witness Protection Program does not excuse abusing wildlife on his turf.  He calls on his buddy Nate Rowanowski to ground the drones using his falcons.  But Joe’s persistence in squelching the drones draws him into a treacherous plot by a band of assassins known as the Wolf Pack whose mission is to eliminate the protected witness and everyone who knows him… everyone.

Box once again combines current issues in modern day Wyoming with the moral code and tenacity of a lone game warden to thoroughly entertain… one of his best.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance look.

The Disappeared

The Disappeared is the 18^th novel in the Joe Pickett Series by C. J. Box. We at Men Reading Books have reviewed all of them. I am so enamoured with Box’s stories about Joe Pickett that I have purchased one of Box’s tee shirts which reads (WWJPD) which means, What Would Joe Pickett Do. Joe is a Wyoming Game Warden and all of the novels follow his time on the job, encounters with crooks, and his trouble with the ever changing administration in Wyoming. This unceasingly honest man is constantly challenged by ethical dilemmas.

In this newest novel, Box is sent by the new governor, a shady and obnoxious man. Joe is sent to Saratoga, Wyoming in order to look for an English celebrity who disappeared after completing a week’s stay at the country’s most elite and expensive dude ranch. (I worked on a dude ranch in Montana for a summer in the 60’s, and I think Box captured the essence of that quite well.) Also, about the same time the celebrity went missing (an event which was an international sensation and a great embarrassment to the governor), the former Game Warden from Saratoga had walked off his job without explanation, and he disappeared. When Joe is in the midst of doing his investigation, he ran across the largest wind-energy project in the U.S., and he began to wonder if there might be a connection to the environmental challenges of the development company and the disappearance of the celebrity. And, his oldest child, a daughter named Sheridan, now 23, and had become romantically involved with the head wrangler at the dude ranch.

As usual, the story was richly told. Box’s description of the bitter cold winter that was occurring was as good as his usual descriptions of the rugged Wyoming territory. Box included the ongoing development of Joe’s family and the fascinating Nate Romanowski, a legendary outlaw falconer. This book gave me what a wanted – more time with Joe Pickett and the rugged Wyoming countryside. This would have been read in a single sitting, but fortunately, there were only a couple short interruptions. If you haven’t read Joe Pickett, get to it.

The Disappeared by C.J. Box

It’s January in Wyoming, Joe Pickett’s least favorite month of the year.  Twenty below zero temperatures and strong winds keep away the hunters and restrict the locals, including the game warden, to mostly indoor activities.  For Joe it’s a time to catch up on all the paperwork that goes with his bureaucratic job.  He also is monitoring the progress of rebuilding his state-owned home which was burned to the ground last fall by a family foe.  He suspects the state is moving deliberately slow on replacing his home, because his boss believes Joe’s reputation for destroying state owned pickup trucks has spread to his state supplied house.  So, Joe, his wife, and younger daughter Lucy are living in a rented condo and Joe has been issued a small temporary office in the Wyoming Department of Transportation building just outside Saddlestring.

Joe has mixed feelings when the governor calls and asks to meet in the state-owned jet on the tarmac of the nearly abandon airport near Saddlestring.  Joe had done special projects for former Governor Rulon and the new governor, Coulter Allen likes the idea of a “range rider” to clean up problems around the state.  Allen’s problems, however, tend to be political in nature, and Joe, when presented those opportunities, just tells the governor, “I don’t do political.”  This time, however, Governor Allen asks Joe to get involved in the investigation of the disappearance of a British celebrity, Kate Shelford-Longden.  Kate had spent a week vacationing the previous August at a Wyoming dude ranch/ resort and then disappeared before leaving the country.  Governor Allen is tired of the bad press this is causing and has decided some fresh eyes, Joe’s, could help solve the case.  Coincidently, Joe’s oldest daughter Sheridan, is working at the Silver Creek Ranch in Saratoga, Wyoming, the very ranch from where Kate has gone missing.  Also, coincidently, the game warden for that district has mysteriously abandoned his post, so Joe can sleuth the area undercover as a temporary game warden.  So Joe, even though he doesn’t like the new governor, and even though he doesn’t see his skills as a game warden fitting a missing persons investigation, looks forward to escaping the boring bureaucratic paperwork storm he is facing at home.  Plus, he misses his daughter and welcomes the opportunity to visit her.

Meanwhile, Nate Romanowski calls and asks a favor of Joe.  A friend of Nate’s and fellow falconer is having trouble getting Federal permission to use the endangered golden eagle for hunting overpopulated wildlife.  Nate suggests he meet Joe in Saratoga to explore alternatives.  After learning the scope of Joe’s investigation, Nate, naturally prone to conspiracy theories, becomes convinced that the mysterious departure of the local game warden, the disappearance of British celebrity, and the Federal government’s reluctance to allow golden eagles to be trained to hunt are all related.  He decides to join Joe in his investigation.  Nate soon discovers two possible sources that may explain all of the strange goings on in Saratoga.  One, a power company has invested billions to install hundreds of wind turbines throughout the valley and may somehow be protecting their investment and two, Joe’s mother-in-law, Missy Vankuren, who despises Joe, may be trying to end Joe’s career and marriage by getting him involved in a no win situation.  Her current husband happens to be a defense attorney known for his political support of Governor Allen.  Either way, Nate senses that Joe is in real trouble...and Nate's senses are rarely wrong.

This is my favorite C.J. Box novel to date.  I like the way Box includes all our old favorite characters, Nate, Missy, Sheridan, and even ex-Governor Rulon and gives us some insights into current issues like the fate of the golden eagle, switching from coal to wind as an energy source, unemployment in rural Wyoming, and the curious popularity of ‘romance vacation’ ranching.  I love Joe Pickett and the way C.J. Box takes this dinosaur of a character in Podunk U.S.A. and weaves modern day issues into his world.  For example, without using Donald Trump’s name, Box describes Coulter Allen, the fictional governor of Wyoming, as much the same in character as Trump, causing us to long for people beyond fiction with the morals and values of a Joe Pickett.  When did reading about honorable characters become escapism? 

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance look.

Paradise Valley by C.J. Box

Cassie Dewell is a detective for the Bakken County, North Dakota sheriff’s department.  Her low self-esteem and single Mom status don’t keep her from being the best investigator in the department and her boss, Sheriff Kirkbride knows this.  But she is obsessed with the one that got away… a long-haul trucker/ serial killer… Ronald Pergram… the Lizard King.  Yes, Cassie knows who he is and has once almost caught him… almost.  But he somehow got away and is still out there, trolling truck stops for unsuspecting prostitutes who he can overpower, torture, and murder.  As an independent trucker with no address and cash payment for everything, he manages to evade all law enforcement.

So Cassie tries to set a trap for him.  She posts a load for pick up out of Grimstad, where she now lives, in hopes of luring the Lizard King to her.  One day, he calls to book the load and Cassie assembles a pose of deputies at the local factory where the fictitious load awaits.  But Pergram smells the trap and sends a substitute driver in his truck.  He packs C4 explosives under the driver's seat of the tractor and detonates it with a cell phone call just as the truck backs into the loading dock.  The substitute driver and three deputies are killed in the explosion and three others are injured.  A housewife observes Pergram in a pickup truck on a hill overlooking the factory as it explodes.  He kidnaps her and travels back roads into hiding.

Coincidently the same day, two young teenage boys from Grimstad leave on an adventure in a small boat on the Missouri River.  They stumble across Pergram at his first hideout as they attempt to camp for the night.  Pergram grabs them and puts electronic dog collars on them to control their movements… a method he uses frequently on his victims.  He then heads west into the Montana mountains near a secluded area of Yellowstone known as Paradise Valley.  No one suspects Pergram is still alive or that he has the woman or the two boys… no one that is except Cassie.

But Cassie takes a hard political fall and takes Sheriff Kirkbride with her as the Bakken County DA blames her for the lives lost due to the explosion.  She quits before she is fired but can’t give up on hunting the Lizard King, especially since she suspects he has prisoners.  She heads to Montana, a private citizen now, gathering clues from local law enforcement and citizens as she goes.  She can’t let this scumbag get away again no matter what it costs her.

I love it when a book exceeds my expectations and this one does just that.  Box develops a protagonist, you can’t help but revere.  Her weaknesses are relatable and her courage and tenacity admirable.  Add in her personal code and distain for politics and it’s easy to compare her to Harry Bosch.  I think we’ll see more of Cassie Dewell.

Thanks to Netgalley for the preview.

Vicious Circle

Vicious Circle is CJ Box’s 24^th novel and the 17th book in the saga of Joe Pickett, a Wyoming Game Warden. While this is a novel that could be read without having read the prior Pickett novels, I think the best enjoyment comes from having gone through the character development of Joe, his family, and the bad guys as written in the prior books. In this one, Box furthers the story of the hostility and violence between Joe and the sociopath Dallas Cates and Dallas’ crazy mother. Dallas has been released from prison for his prior crimes and aims for his revenge at Joe and his family. Box brings back the unparalleled outdoorsman Nate Romanowski and Joe’s mother-in-law and ultimate gold digger Missy, the latter who is now married to Marcus Hand, Box’s version of the famous Wyoming lawyer, Gerry Spence, who gets Dallas out of jail another time. Vicious Circle has another great plot!

If you are a fan of crime novels, read CJ Box. He is one of the 10 guys in my power rotation of authors, and he has kept this series thriving with another A+ thriller. Thanks to NetGalley for this prepublication read. The book is due out in 10 days, on 3/21/17.