Tag: Joe Pickett Page 1 of 2

I’m a little worried after all of last week’s Favorites lists, I’m having a hard time writing something that takes multiple paragraphs. Thankfully? I had another stack of books I don’t have that much to say, so…let’s do a few more quick takes.

As always, I want to note, the point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.

Stone Cold

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Joe Pickett, #14
Publisher: Recorded Books
Publication Date: March 10, 2014
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hrs., 49 min.
Read Date: December 2-5, 2022

(the official blurb)
This was a good way to bring Nate back into the series if nothing else. The story was okay, and seeing Joe balance out working for his new administrator and Gov. Rulon was fun. I was less-than-excited about Sheridan’s storyline, it was good to see her in action, and any way that Box can do that is okay with me—I just wanted more, I guess.

Bringing Missy in (and Box might as well have saved time with that reveal, anyone could’ve seen that coming 5 miles away) didn’t do much for me at all. The series really needs less of her, and I don’t get Box’s need to use her as much as he does.

A decent installment in this series—nothing special, but nothing bad, either.
3 Stars

The Twist of a Knife

by Anthony Horowitz, Rory Kinnear (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: A Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery, #4
Publisher: HarperAudio
Publication Date: November 14, 2022
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 8 hrs., 31 min.
Read Date: December 12-15, 2022

(the official blurb)
Until I heard Horowitz on a podcast talking about this book, I wasn’t sure if I was going to bother with the book—but he piqued my interest. I’m glad he did—he’s really good at keeping this series from falling into a formula, and bringing Hawthorne into this case to get Horowitz out of trouble was a nice twist (but something he can’t repeat).

I didn’t buy—at all—the way Horowitz didn’t involve his wife in his situation—or how she reacted. The way the other detectives focused on Horowitz and didn’t really listen to him seemed less-than-credible, too—but not as much.

Still, this was a fun listen—Kinnear’s a great narrator—and this mystery was clever. It was a good time—I know you’ll find more enthusiastic recommendations from several other people, and you should probably take their advice. The best I can do is that this book probably led me to get the next one .

3 Stars

Secrets Typed in Blood

by Stephen Spotswood, Kirsten Potter

DETAILS:
Series: A Pentecost and Parker Mystery, #3
Publisher: Random House Audio
Publication Date: December 12, 2022
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 9 hrs., 40 min.
Read Date: December 15-19, 2022

(the official blurb)
This was a nice step up from the previous books. Spotswood is gaining in confidence and it’s showing. The main client this time out was the best yet and was so believable—the crime was an interesting twist on a familiar setup (see the Castle pilot, for example). The secondary case was pretty much just filler (so much so that Pentecost was willing to give it up), but it still gave some good moments and set up some other promising things. There’s a side trip into an ongoing crusade of Pentecost’s that was really well done—I’m really interested in seeing how this progresses in the future.

This is clearly a Nero Wolfe-inspired series, but it’s becoming less of one all the time—and that’s good. Even better because Spotswood’s Zeck is going to prove to be more formidable and subtle than Stout’s was. (although I wish he’d give Parker the same kind of privacy when it comes to her personal life as Stout gave Archie)

Overall, I liked this.
3.5 Stars

Your Perfect Year

by Charlotte Lucas, Alison Layland (Translator), Carly Robins, P. J. Ochlan (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Publication Date: October 31, 2019
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 13 hrs., 33 min.
Read Date: December 23-28, 2022

(the official blurb)
Ugh. A few years ago I was in the middle of a “I need to read more ‘General Fiction” kick and saw an advertisement (or something) for this—it wasn’t on a blog, I know that much. Something about the description appealed to me, and I got a good Whispersync deal, so the audio and ebook versions sat around since. I wanted to go through the ebook rather than the audio initially—but never seemed to find the time. But I finally broke down and just wanted to get it finished, it’s been calling to me for so long.

I should have held off a little (or a lot) longer. This book didn’t work for me in just about every imaginable way. Within a chapter or two you could see how the whole thing was going to go—including the “big surprise twist”. This is fine if the ride’s enjoyable. But it really wasn’t. The comedy wasn’t all that funny. The drama felt contrived (it’s fiction—all of it is contrived, I realize—but there’s “contrived” and there’s “feeling contrived”). The introspection and self-discovery really didn’t click for me, either.

The best thing I can say about it is that the arc of the publisher of only captial-L Literature and noteworthy Non-Fiction discovering the value and appeal of popular fiction was pleasant (and I just spoiled that…oops). A little self-serving for the writer of popular fiction, but I’m not going to criticize that.

Just pass on this one.
2 Stars

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, my opinions are my own.

Breaking Point (Audiobook) by C.J. Box, David Chandler: Joe Finds Himself Between Some Rocks and a Hot Place

By HCNewton

On August 4, 2022

In Audiobook, C. J. Box, Fiction, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Breaking Point

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Joe Pickett, #13
Publisher: Recorded Books
Publication Date: August 17, 2015
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hrs., 37 min.
Read Date: July 13-15, 2022

What’s Breaking Point About?

Acquaintance and father of one of Lucy’s best friends, Butch Roberson, is in trouble—he’s been being harassed by some EPA agents and they’ve turned up dead. Joe was the last person to see him before he became a prime suspect in their murder and a subject of a manhunt. Which, in the perverse way that only bureaucrats can think, gets him in hot water.

Joe’s now tasked with helping some contractors track Butch through the wilderness—he really doesn’t want to do it, and almost quits over it. But the way these guys are acting, Joe figures that he’s the only one who can ensure that Butch is brought in alive and with a shot at a fair trial (especially if he can get him into local custody).

Joe’s been in hazardous wilderness conditions before—regularly, from the reader’s point of view—but I think it’s safe to say that these are the most dangerous he’s been in. And the humans (officially and unofficially) hunting for Butch are just making things worse.

Meanwhile, Marybeth is doing a little investigative work on the side for Joe while helping Butch’s wife and daughter through this time. She even sends up a flare hoping to get some help from Nate Romanowski.

There’s a whole lot of moving pieces in this novel, and hopefully, the Picketts and Robersons come out of things alive.

Federal Agencies

Outside of some FBI Agents (maybe only one), people who work for the Federal Government don’t come across well in these books. And Breaking Point is no exception

I don’t know—and really don’t care—how much of Box’s own politics are reflected in these books, but he does a great job of portraying the attitudes of people in Wyoming and Idaho (not that he does a lot of Idaho work, but there’s some). Federal Agents are inherently suspect and will wield their power to damage the way of life of citizens. Sure, there are exceptions, but on the whole, you can’t trust them to do the right thing.

It’s never comfortable reading these depictions of the Federal Government, but if nothing else, it’s good to be reminded of/exposed to the way hunters/ranchers/etc.out here think of them—and why they do.

The Sub-plots

The new head of Game and Fish, Lisa Greene-Dempsey (LGD) is a more interesting foil for Joe than the previous officious penny-pinchers. She’s trying to reshape the Agency in a way that Joe’s not comfortable with, and she’s clearly playing politics with him/his job. But the way she’s going about it—with good intentions, I think—makes her a better character and gives us more interesting reactions from Joe. It’s always better to have competing good intentions than having one side just out to hurt the other/improve themself alone. The whole arc there is one of the best Joe vs. The System stories Box has given us.

I don’t get the Marybeth story, it fizzled on all fronts for me. If it’s to underline the financial hardships the family has gone through, he’s done it more effectively before. If it’s laying the groundwork for something else, on the other hand, great—but I want to see it soon. Generally, Marybeth’s stories are a highlight of these novels but this one fell flat for me.

While Sheridan had a pivotal part to play here, it sort of seems to me that Box doesn’t know what to do with her anymore (ditto for her sisters, but Sheridan’s always shown the brightest among them, so it seems worse). I really hope he does something interesting with her soon, I’m not sure how long I’d have stuck with the series if not for her early on, and I don’t want to not enjoy her in the future.

That Death…

There’s a significant character death that shocked me—both in the manner, the function in the story, and the fact that it happened at all. Box treated the whole thing perfectly.

I’m not going to get into details, but it was a smart, gutsy move.

How’s the Narration?

Chandler has the characterizations down pat—every time he says something as McLanahan (and how great is it to see how things went for him between Force of Nature and this book?) I want to punch the guy in his nose. Which is more violent than I typically get, but that voice is perfectly grating—a wonderful match for McLanahan’s personality.

He’s great even when he doesn’t irritate me—Chandler has brought this series to life, and continues that work here. Really don’t have much else to say.

So, what did I think about Breaking Point?

There’s a great call-back to Savage Run, reminding the reader just how far Joe’s come, and some of the things he’s pulled off in his career.

Box delivers a great thriller here, as we’re used to—with some important character work for Joe—including a move that’ll change his professional life forever.

It’s the thirteenth book in a series, and it’s really difficult to come up with something to say. The storytelling isn’t getting stale, the characters are developing nicely, the premise of the novel rings true, and Box executes it well. It’s an incredibly consistent series, really—not getting much better (nor does it need to), it’s definitely not getting worse.

There’s not much more to say—if you’ve liked most of the previous twelve novels (like I have), you’ll like this one. If you’re intrigued by the idea of a Game Warden getting involved in criminal investigations while dealing with wilderness adventures, you’ll likely enjoy this one, even without the backstory.

Box knows what he’s doing at this point, and even with my quibbles, I figure he’s going to do something in the future to remove them. Give this one a try.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, the opinions expressed are my own.

Force of Nature (Audiobook) by C.J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator): Wyoming Requiem

By HCNewton

On April 26, 2022

In Audiobook, C. J. Box, Fiction, Joe Pickett

I’ve ended up working on this post a lot longer than most—definitely longer than any other book in this series. I know I didn’t say everything I wanted to, but I think I covered all the essentials. I also think my trimming ideas/paragraphs/rabbit trails didn’t make this too difficult to follow. Let me know if I missed that mark, will you?

Force of Nature

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)

DETAILS:
Series: Joe Pickett, #12
Publisher: Recorded Books
Publication Date: March 20, 2012
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 11 hrs., 23 min.
Read Date: April 13-15, 2022

What’s Force of Nature About?

Nate Romanowski.

That’s the short version anyway—but it’s not a helpful answer.

Since we met Nate, we’ve known that he’s living off the grid for more than philosophical reasons—he’s not just a modern Thoreau, But we’ve never been given the story behind that. He’s offered to tell Joe, but Joe’s smart enough to know he shouldn’t know (but he is curious).

Well now, those people he’s been avoiding are getting close to finding him. They are approaching, questioning, kidnapping (if deemed necessary), and putting all other sorts of pressure on those who may know something about Nate or his whereabouts. This includes new characters as well as well-established characters—including all the Picketts, his friends on the reservation, his mysterious friends in Idaho, and others.

To protect those who are important to him, Nate has to stop hiding and go on the offense. Along the way, the reader gets answers to a lot of the questions about him that we’ve built up over the previous eleven novels.

We also get another lesson in watching out for your ears around Nate Romanowski, just in case Free Fire wasn’t enough for you.

Yes, there are several other things going on, but they all tie back to Nate Romanowski—his past, his present, and if he has a future.

A Gripe

This is semi-spoilery, but without this, I might have rated this higher, so I have to talk about it. I don’t think reading this is going to ruin anything plot-wise. Still, feel free to skip down to the next heading.

Nate, Joe, and Marybeth all agree that the Picketts have to get out of town for their own safety. So Joe, Marybeth, April, and Lucy get to the airport so they can get out of the reach of those who might try to use them to get to Nate.

See the problem there? I said nothing about Sheridan. Sure, she’s away at college, but we’re talking about people who have gone to Idaho and Colorado to find people to get leverage on Nate. Does anyone really think they can’t get to Laramie? Yes, Joe sends his FBI buddy to talk to her, but that’s to get information, not to watch out for her.

I literally kept talking back to the recording, “What about Sheridan?” Is it possible I missed the two sentences it would’ve taken for Box to justify this choice, but I don’t think that’s the case.

David Chandler

This is book 12, David Chandler has this series down—I’m sure he’s not on auto-pilot or anything, but at this point, it’s got to be comfortable for him.

That said, he’s on his game here, and really gets to stretch his wings a little—there’s (obviously) more Nate than usual, and Nate has a greater emotional range than usual, too. Bang-up job by Chandler.

So, what did I think about Force of Nature?

This is the most action-packed, violent, and unpredictable Joe Pickett novel yet. I’m not sure it’s even close—I’m not sure it’s the best novel in the series, but I’m guessing it’s quite the fan-favorite because of all the Nate material.

It’s the C.J. Box-equivalent of Robert Crais’ L.A. Requiem where we get all of Joe Pike’s background* in the midst of a gripping thrill ride. There’s a version of this post that contains several paragraphs comparing/contrasting these two novels that I’m sorely tempted to write, but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to read it all. This will both serve to humanize Nate as well as build up his mystique. A nice trick to be sure.

* I just got a very real lesson in careful typing by invoking Joe Pike in a discussion about a Joe Pickett novel.

Am I happy to have a lot of questions answered about Nate? Yes. Do I have a whole bunch of new questions about him? Yes. Do I sort of hope that he disappears for at least a book so we can refocus on Joe? Yes. Do I think that anyone with a mild interest in the Joe Pickett series will dig this novel? No doubt in my mind.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Catch-Up Quick Takes: A Few 2021 Books I Can’t do a Full Post About

By HCNewton

On December 30, 2021

In Audiobook, C. J. Box, Fiction, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy

The point of these quick takes posts is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.

Super Powereds: Year 1

by Drew Hayes, Kyle McCarley (Narrator)
Series: Super Powereds, #1
Unabridged Audiobooks, 26 hrs., 11 min.
Tantor Audio, 2016
Read: November 19-25, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Lander University has a program that most universities don’t. They offer a Hero Certification Program—a way for super-powered students to become qualified to be a super-hero. This book focuses on five particular students—they’re not just super-powered, they’ve got a secret, too.

As the title suggests, this book follows them over the first year—as they grow, increase in power and ability, develop bonds, and so on. The book is a nice mashup of superhero training and dumb college kids being dumb college kids.

I went into this expecting something that felt a lot like Fred, the Vampire Accountant. This was less like it than I thought possible—it’s much longer, it doesn’t feel like a collection of interconnected short stories, it’s a novel.

I was impressed at how different it is, sure. But I liked the story, world, and characters. I’m not sure I’m up for four more in this series, but I have a feeling that Hayes will change my mind.

3.5 Stars

Master of Formalities

by Scott Meyer, Luke Daniels (Narrator)
Unabridged Audiobook, 14 hrs., 58 min.
Brilliance Audio, 2015
Read: November 12-17, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Thousands of years in the future, elaborate rules of honor, etiquette, and form have been imposed on the planetary governments to preserve order—even in the midst of war. We’re talking rules that Downton Abbey’s Carson would find overly elaborate and restrictive.

Two planets have been at war for decades—but things have come to a tipping point. It’s up to the two arbiters of these rules on these planets to keep things under control.

This book did something I didn’t expect—I would have admitted it was possible, but wouldn’t have expected that Scott Meyers and Luke Daniels produced something that left me frequently bored and that I had a hard time connecting with at all. It was clever, but that cleverness strayed into convolutedness in the plot. Good enough to listen to, but by a hair.

3 Stars

See Her Die

by Melinda Leigh
Series: Bree Taggert, #2
Kindle Edition, 315 pg.
Montlake, 2020
Read: September 30-October 2, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I don’t have much to say about this book, which is why it’s here, but I wish I did. There’s just something nice about this series, and I’d like to talk about it more.

This is really a follow-up to the first in the series—okay, so Bree got herself the job, what’s she going to do with it? How are the vets in the department and the community as a whole going to handle her coming in? How is she going to do with the whole parental figure for her niece and nephew? Etc. We don’t get definitive answers, but we get some good ideas.

But more importantly, there’s a creepy killer on the loose. In the end, that story is both too outlandish to buy, and I can actually imagine reading about this happening.

I’m coming back for more.

3 Stars

Cold Wind

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
Series: Joe Pickett, #11
Unabridged Audiobook, 11 hrs., 13 min.
Recorded Books, 2011
Read: August 23-24, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Wow. There’s a lot going on in this one. The events of the Nate story were horrible, but Box pulled it off in a way that will be good for the character/series long-term.

Killing Missy’s husband Earl on the other hand…well, like Joe himself, I’m not crazy about any time we spend with Missy, so making her a focal point of a novel isn’t going to make me thrilled with it. But, I ended up really liking this one, too.

These books don’t inspire a lot of thought or writing from me—and maybe they should—but I do consistently enjoy them. Chandler’s narration is solid as ever. At this point, I don’t think I can switch to the print version of the series—I need his voice for Joe and the gang.

4 Stars

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses

by Kristen O’Neal
Hardcover, 379 pg.
Quirk Publishing, 2021
Read: June 2, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
It’s really bothering me that I haven’t gotten a full post out of this yet—and it’s been long enough (and I lost my notes) that anything I end up saying will be super vague and would be too much work to get a longer post.

In a Discord support for chronic illnesses, a group of people from around the world from a variety of age groups, come together to share struggles common to people with a variety of ailments and disorders. A couple of them realize they live nearby and strike up a friendship. Eventually, one of them disappears from contact for too long, so the other takes it upon herself to go try to find her friend IRL.

It turns out that this friend’s chronic illness is a case of lycanthrophy—things get strange and heartwarming from there.

A lot of this is told in modern-epistolary: texts, emails, Discord chats, tumblr posts, etc., etc. I loved the jumble of methods used to tell the story. It really captures the feel for these characters and their lives.

If you look at places like Goodreads, you’ll see a lot of controversy about elements of this book. I didn’t know about any of it until I’d read the book. 96% of what I saw doesn’t reflect the book, and seems to stem from one or two people who hadn’t read the book. Ignore it all.

This was a fun, earnest story that addresses serious things like living with chronic disease and finding your place in the world along with silly things like Lycanthropy and excessive binge-watching with friends. A nice break from reality that maybe helps you think about some things.

3 Stars

Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives

by Tim Hartford, Nicholas Guy Smith (Narrator)
Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs., 45 min.
Penguin Audio, 2016
Read: December 16-17, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I think I’m going to have to make a point to listen to more Hartford books—between the time I put this on my TBR list and picking it up, I’d forgotten it was by the man behind The Data Detective.

The basic premise is this—people who are messy (not those full of utter chaos in habits or possessions), function better than those who are ruled by rigid standards—either metaphorically or literally. When rules (primarily at work) are too inflexible it hurts productivity and satisfaction in the work.

So let people organize their work and workplaces as they will, don’t impose a filing system on people who don’t want it, etc. Sure, keep things tidy, but beyond that…let the individual reign. That’s a horrible oversimplification, but to do it justice would take…well, most of this book. Just go with that as a thumbnail and read/listen to it. It’s entertaining, thought-provoking, and empowering.

I think this went on a bit too long—perhaps if the last couple of chapters had been excised, it would’ve been better. But I might change my mind on a re-read/re-listen.

3.5 Stars

Stuff You Should Know:
An Incomplete Compendium
of Mostly Interesting Things

by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant
Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs.
Macmillan Audio, 2020
Read: December 27-28, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Very little (if any) of this fits into things I should know, and I’m glad the subtitle talks about “Mostly Interesting” things. It’s a strange hodgepodge of in-depth look at topics like…the history of facial hair, Murphy beds, Mezcal, and child prodigies.

It was fine, but nothing special. Before I started it, I figured this would end up turning me into a subscriber to the podcast. It didn’t, but I can see why people would listen to it—the narrators/hosts are pretty engaging and had an interesting approach to their explanations. Maybe it was these topics, the randomness of the topics, or…I don’t know. I just didn’t see the point. It made for a good soundtrack to my workday, but within two days, I’ve pretty much forgotten everything I heard.

2 1/2 Stars

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Below Zero (Audiobook) by C. J. Box, David Chandler: Joe Pickett’s 9th Adventure is Almost Impossible to Believe

By HCNewton

On May 4, 2021

In Audiobook, C. J. Box, Fiction, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Before you read on—if you haven’t read the third book in the Joe Pickett series, Winterkill, you probably shouldn’t read anything else in this post. Really, it’s impossible for me to not ruin Winterkill and talk about this book.

Below Zero

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
Series: Joe Pickett, #9

Unabridged Audiobook, 10 hrs., 22 min.
Recorded Books, 2009

Read: March 24-25, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you haven’t read Winterkill…

What’s Below Zero About?

Joe Pickett’s daughter starts getting text messages from a very unlikely source: April, her foster sister. The sister that Joe watched die in a fire during a horrific FBI raid on a group of survivalists. Joe and Marybeth are skeptical at first—Sheridan is a little skeptical, but she wants to believe. Eventually, they provisionally accept that it is April texting them and Joe heads off to rendezvous with her.

The difficulty comes with April’s traveling companions—she’s fuzzy on the details, but the men she’s with are hurting people. Joe’s able to construct a path of where they’ve been (where they’re headed is pretty murky, though) and pieces together some sort of motive. The victims have been significant polluters in their own way—and he’s pretty sure that one of the killers is an environmental activist and the child of a notorious mobster, who might have been learning a lesson from his father.

Joe now has two goals—track down the person claiming to be April and see if she really is who she claims to be—and learn how she survived, and stop the killings.

The Balancing Act

Behind the murders stands a discussion about environmental concerns vs. real-world solutions vs. way of life in West. This is a theme of the last few books in the series (probably all of the books, it just feels more pronounced). Generally, when I’ve encountered this kind of thing it’s not dealt with very well—the novel preaches at readers about the environment, an unrealistic solution is approved/implemented, or the whole concern is shrugged off (either because it’s too late to do any good* or because the characters don’t accept the legitimacy of the concerns. I love the way Box does this and I wish more authors would learn from him.

* Yes, I realize that it might be too late, but we’re not going to focus on that right now.

Poor Old Lu

I don’t want to say that I’ve disliked Lucy, Joe’s younger daughter. But I’ve never been taken with her as I have been with the rest of the family. She’s too much like her grandmother I guess. She’s about clothes and nice things, not about wildlife or her family or whatever it is that makes Sheridan an interesting character.

But her reaction to the possibility of April being alive? What’s more, her reaction to Sheridan being the sole point of contact between Joe and April? It just broke my heart. I actually wanted her to get to tag along with her dad and sister for a change. I hope this is a sign of things to come and that I finally get the chance to get invested in the character.

David Chandler

I’ve got nothing to say here that I haven’t said before. Chandler is Pickett in my mind. When the TV series starts, I’m going to be comparing Michael Dorman to him (and I think Dorman’s not going to fare too well).

So, what did I think about Below Zero?

I hated, hated, hated the way that Box brought April back. This isn’t General Hospital or Days of Our Lives, after all. Also, it ruined some of the gut-punch of an ending of Winterkill. But by the end, Box had won me over and convinced me that it wasn’t the worst idea he’d ever had.

I do wonder how the traveling murderer story would have worked without the April aspect—part of me would have liked a closer focus on that. But I don’t know how much I’d have cared about them without April as a point-of-entry into that story.

I’m curious about where Joe and the family go from here. It’s possible I’ll totally get over my antagonism toward the April story within a book or two, it all depends on what Box does from here.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Blood Trail (Audiobook) by C. J. Box, David Chandler: Who Hunts the Hunters?

By HCNewton

On April 22, 2021

In Audiobook, C. J. Box, Fiction, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Blood Trail

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
Series: Joe Pickett, #8

Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs, 5 mins.
Recorded Books, 2008

Read: February 10-12, 2021
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Blood Trail About?

Since Governor Rulon re-hired Joe Pickett and made him sort of a Game Warden-at-Large, his life has improved—he and Marybeth have their own home, no longer living in State housing, or at his father-in-law’s. Nor is he really as subject to the whims of Randy Pope, his director. But there’s a price to be paid for this: he’s pretty much at Rulon’s beck and call.

This time, thankfully, he’s called to his former territory—a hunter has been found dead. It’s the beginning of Elk Season, so it’s not that surprising. But…this isn’t your typical dead hunter. This man has been shot and field dressed like an elk. Joe’s garnered a reputation for stumbling into a solution for things like this, and Rulon needs that quickly—people are getting antsy about the killings and pressure is mounting to cancel Elk Season (which would have horrible consequences on Wyoming’s economy). Joe’s been named to a task force with the FBI, and the local sheriff. Not only are they out to preserve hunting season, but they also need to head off a mounting anti-hunting protest movement that is taking advantage of this situation.

Randy Pope decides that this is important enough that he comes to supervise Joe personally—and takes an oddly active and proactive role in fieldwork (which no one has ever accused him of being fit for). I don’t know about anyone else who reads this series, but there isn’t a time that Randy Pope has been around when I haven’t wanted Joe to punch him in the nose (or Marybeth, or Sheridan even), and that’s taken to the nth degree for most of this book.

So not only does Joe have to find a killer (not really his job, ubt he seems good at it) for political and social reasons, he has to put up with antagonism from local law enforcement who resent his role, get micromanaged by an officious twerp who is even less suited for this than he is, and he ends up having to deal with two individuals from his past that he’d rather expected never to have to deal with again over the course of the investigation. I’m not going to identify these people, but neither Joe or Marybeth are prepared to have them in their lives again, frankly, I wasn’t ready either.

We Should Talk About Nate

I get into a spoiler in a vague way here. Feel free to skip to the next header.

For various and sundry spoilery reasons, Joe decides that he needs Nate Romanowski’s tracking help. Now, Nate’s been in FBI custody for a few months, ever since the FBI double-crossed Joe at the end of Free Fire. Given the urgent nature of things, Rulon is able to finagle a release into Joe’s custody.

And then Nate ditches Joe for days. Joe, the good friend, covers for him (he’s also covering for himself and his own ability to maintain custody). Sure, he ultimately comes back and pitches in. But it’s pretty clear he didn’t need that much time to do his thing—I get that Nate has his own way of working and that Nate isn’t that terribly concerned with people who aren’t him (what does he care if someone’s killing hunters?)—but he should care about his friend and the deal that got him out of custody, right?

I lost a lot of sympathy for Nate here. And a good deal for Joe, too, later in the book when it comes to Nate.

A Low-Stakes Antagonist

Now that Joe lives in town, in a normal house with a yard and no need to consult a government budget officer for upkeep on his home, it falls to Joe to take care of things. He has a neighbor now (I forget his name, one of the hazards of audiobooks is that I can’t look it up easily). This man is retired and is far too concerned with his own yard and upkeep, and carries that over to Joe’s.

We don’t spend a lot of time with him, but it’s easy to see that he’s a burr in Joe’s side—a constant problem, a constant annoyance. Sure, Joe’s off working for the governor and trying to stop a killer, but surely he could take the time to mow his lawn, like a decent citizen.

This book needed a little lightness, and this crank delivers it.

A Word About the Narration

At this point, I really don’t know what to say about David Chandler, he’s great at this.

However, ,I have one thing to say. For most of the book, I assumed the killer was one of two people. And despite the fact that we get the killer’s POV frequently, it was still pretty unclear which one of the two it was (assuming I was right). Until about halfway through in one scene, Chandler makes 1 choice when he reads one line. And we “hear” the character in a voice Chandler would use for that character, not just the generic Killer’s POV voice he’d been using throughout. And then I knew exactly who it was.

I understand why he made that choice. But, man. It ruined things a little bit for me.

So, what did I think about Blood Trail?

This was, hands down, my favorite entry in the series. The tension, the huge character events, the motive for the crime, and the way it ended…I can’t explain all my reasoning without ruining the novel.

But man…this is the standard I’ll be judging books in this series by. Is it going to be that impactful for new readers? No, but it would work as a jumping-on point if you’re not in the mood to read the seven previous books.

Blood Trail is a great entry in this solid series, with entries like this, it’s easy to see why it’s lasted for twenty-one (so far) books. Check it out.

4 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Free Fire (Audiobook) by C. J. Box, David Chandler: Pickett’s on the Case in a Prosecution-Free Zone

By HCNewton

On January 11, 2021

In Audiobook, C. J. Box, Fiction, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Free Fire

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
Series: Joe Pickett, #7

Unabridged Audiobook, 11 hrs., 5 min.
Recorded Books, 2010

Read: December 3-7, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

What’s Free Fire About?

As it appeared certain at the end of In Plain Sight, Joe was fired as a Game Warden. He’s working on his father-in-law’s ranch, trying to make it by (his family no longer lives in state property, either). Sure, Marybeth’s business is doing pretty well, but it’s not the same.

Then Governor Rulon comes calling. He liked Joe the first time they met, and he’s pretty sure that Joe is the kind of straight-arrow he can count on. Someone figured out a weird loophole in the overlapping state and federal laws that govern the area of Yellowstone National Forest, and shot and killed several people and was unable to be prosecuted for it. Rulon’s hands have been tied and he can’t do anything about it. But he’d like Joe to go down and take a look, reporting to him, so Rulon can tell voters he looked into it.

Joe’s a Game Warden again, but one at large. No one at Yellowstone is happy to have yet one more person poking around there. But Joe has a job and he’s doing to do it right, no matter what feathers he ruffles.

Family Drama

We don’t get nearly enough time with the Pickett clan. Despite his hardships, things are good with Joe and Marybeth. Things could be better for the kids—because of their ages, and Joe’s very public lack of a job.

Joe and the family are living in a house on Marybeth’s Father-in-Law’s ranch—where Joe is working. The relationship between the Father-in-Law and the Picketts is pretty strong. Maybe even stronger than the relationship between Marybeth’s mother and the Picketts (the fact that Joe likes him probably accounts for a lot of that).

But it looks like things aren’t all happy on the ranch—there’s a lot of problems and who knows how long that’ll work for everyone.

Competition for Stephanie Plum?

Not in a million years, did I think I’d compare Joe Pickett to Stephanie Plum. But this Wyoming Game Warden might be as hard on vehicles as that New Jersey bounty hunter. It’s not as laughable yet, but it’s getting there.

I actually enjoy it more than I’d think I would.

I Did Not See that Coming

Now that I get to this point in the outline, I realize that there are two things I didn’t see coming. The first is that here in book seven, we get a lot of Joe Pickett backstory. If you’ve ever wondered what Joe’s childhood was like—or why we only hear about Marybeth’s family, this book will tell you.

But what I meant to talk about when I wrote the headings was this: Nate Romanowski shocked me. I’ve talked before about Nate serving as Joe’s Hawk/Joe Pike/Bubba Rogowski/Henry Standing Bear figure. We know what to expect from these figures—they’re the heavies. They do the morally/legally questionable things. They’re more likely to be the violent type (and more effective at the violent things anyway). But what Nate does here made me audibly gasp. I’m not saying he was wrong I just didn’t expect it.

At the same time, there are things that happen to him at the beginning and end of the novel that were surprising, but they rank among the “huh, that’s interesting,” kind of thing, not a “what did I hear?” kind of thing.

A Word About the Narration

Actually, I don’t really have anything to say here, Chandler delivers another solid job. He is the voice of Joe Pickett to me at this point. The two go together now.

So, what did I think about Free Fire?

I thought Box did a great job of coming up with a way to keep Pickett as a Game Warden and at the same time not making Twelve Sleep, WY to have a murder-rate that rivals Cabot Cove, ME.

Putting him in Yellowstone was just icing on the cake, and the angle of this prosecution-free zone in the Park is brilliant. At this point in the series, readers know the regular cast of characters and this world—Box can lean into them—or start defying expectations—as he needs to. This is a comfortable place for fans to spend time, and judging by the number of times Pickett comes back? It stays that way. I get that and am already eager to get back to spending time with the Pickett clan.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Catch-Up Quick Takes Timeless; Point Blank; Smarter Faster Better; Heartburn; In Plain Sight; Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed; The Bitterroots

By HCNewton

On August 4, 2020

In Audiobook, C. J. Box, Comics, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Non-Fiction, Steampunk, YA/MG/Children's Books

The point of these quick takes post to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness. Half of this particular group bothers me to include here, but I’m afraid I’m about to lose track of them. The other half? Well, I might have trouble coming up with enough to talk about even in this format.

Timeless

by Gail Carriger, Emily Gray (Narrator)
Series: The Parasol Protectorate, #5
Unabridged Audiobook, 11 hrs., 25 mins.
Hachette Audio, 2012
Read: May 13-18, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I won’t deny that there were a couple of moments that had me on the edge of my seat, but overall this concluding novel felt like a letdown. There was just a lot of treading water going on, the plot just wouldn’t move for ages, it seemed.

An audiobook narrated by Emily Gray Unabridged Audiobooks a multitude of shortcomings, however. She’s just so much fun to listen to.

I’m glad I listened to this series, but I’m also glad that I’m done. It started strong, but over the course of the series, it kept getting weaker and weaker. A fun mash-up of Urban Fantasy and Victorian Steampunk, but ultimately unsatisfying.

Point Blank

by Anthony Horowitz, Simon Prebble (Narrator)
Series: Alex Rider, #2
Unabridged Audiobook, 5 hrs., 42 min.
Recorded Books, 2013
Read: May 29, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Alex Rider is back with another dose of escapist spy fiction for the MG set. It’s fun, but disposable. It’s the audiobook equivalent of NCIS, an entertaining way to spend some time, but that’s about it. I liked what Horowitz did with his character and I appreciated the growth in Alex.

This time, Alex is sent to an exclusive private school in the guise of a child of a rich and powerful man. Two similar fathers, from different parts of the world, with sons at this school, had recently been assassinated and M16 wants to get to the bottom of it.

Prebble did a fine job with the narration, I hope he continues.

This was clever and pretty exciting, I hope the series continues in this vein—I can absolutely see why my son tore through them (and re-read them, probably the only things he re-read). I’ll be back for more (just wish I’d made myself do this back when he was reading them).

Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

by Charles Duhigg, Mike Chamberlain (Narrator)
Unabridged Audiobook, 10 hrs., 23 min.
Random House Audio, 2016
Read: July 2-6, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
My chief complaint about Duhigg’s book, The Power of Habit, was that I expected something the reader could use for themselves. This isn’t as easy to apply as you might want, but it’s clearly written with an eye for the reader not just to understand the principles of efficiency and productivity, but to show some ways to bring the lessons home.

That said, it’s not a how-to book, it’s not self-improvement, it’s largely about the science/study/understanding of productivity. I found it just as fascinating as the last book, and can see where it’d be a useful guidebook for people in some sort of position of authority in an organization.

Duhigg also shows us his process while illustrating his own application of the book’s lessons—which I really enjoyed.

I’m absolutely on board for whatever book Duhigg puts out next, Chamberlain is a great narrator for his material, too.

Heartburn

by Nora Ephron, Meryl Streep (Narrator)
Unabridged Audiobook, 5 hrs., 30 min.
Random House Audio, 2013
Read: July 7, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
A very pregnant cookbook writer/TV host/new mom’s marriage crumbles around her, as she attempts to salvage it, protect her children, and make a way for herself in the world. Really, she’s trying to do it all, and do it well. (that’s a lousy summary, just click the link above, will ya?)

The narrator? This Meryl Streep person? I tell you what, I think she’s going places—there’s something special about her performance. Seriously, she did a great job, no surprise there.

Nor is it a surprise that Ephron can write a clever little book. I’m a long-time fan, I knew I should’ve picked this up when it was released. I don’t know that it’s necessarily deep, or that you walk away with new insight into the human condition, marriage, or love. But it was funny, it felt honest and real, and you get caught up in the life of Rachel Samstat right away. Solidly entertaining.

In Plain Sight

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
Series: Joe Pickett, #6
Unabridged Audiobook, 8 hrs., 23 min.
Recorded Books, 2008
Read: July 22-24, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
So this is all about chickens coming home to roost—almost everything that happened in this novel ties into one or more of the previous novels. And never the fun stuff from those novels. There’s the marital issues we got a glimpse at since Day 1 (and getting worse all the time—especially in the last book), the dead former Sheriff, the new Sheriff and his issues with Joe, Joe’s new boss—and more that I will just gloss over and let you read.

There’s a truly disturbing secret unearthed that really sheds light on so much of what happened in the book, most authors would’ve spent a lot more time on it than Box did here, he just let it be something that happened on the way to the major showdown. I like that he did it, but also kind of wish he’d given us a little more about it.

I did like the new governor and hope we get to see him again. (I especially like the fact that he’s a fictional politician and governs a neighboring state, not my own, I don’t even think I could enjoy him as a fictional Idaho governor).

There’s a lot left hanging at the close of this novel, I know the series continues (for many, many books to come), but I really have no idea what it’ll look like when I come back for Free Fire. Joe will be different, too, no matter what the circumstances around him are like. I assume Box is going to address it and I’m very curious about it.

Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed

by Laurie Halse Anderson, Leila del Duca (Art)
Paperback, 208 pg.
DC Comics, 2020
Read: July 25, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I really didn’t need this book, Leigh Bardugo’s YA retelling of Wonder Woman’s origin was good enough, and superior to this one. But I’d read some largely positive reviews and decided to give it a shot.

It felt less like a Wonder Woman story, and more like Anderson wanted to find a way to talk about certain issues and shoved Diana into the necessary circumstances and then shaped the character around that, rather than making it feel organic and earned. Also, there was too much left unexplained. There was so much I didn’t understand about what was going on with Diana on the Themyscira and physically that it felt more like Anderson dropped the ball and less like she was being understated.

It wasn’t bad, but it sure wasn’t good.

The Bitterroots

by C. J. Box, Christina Delaine (Narrator)
Series: The Highway Quartet, #5
Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs., 49 min.
Macmillan Audio, 2019
Read: July 30-31, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Cassie’s done with law enforcement (but like Harry Bosch, will always think like a cop), and is making a living as a PI. A blast from the past calls in a favor owed and hires her to do some work as an investigator for the defense in a criminal proceeding. Cassie hates the idea in general, and loathes it in particular—the client is clearly guilty. Clearly guilty of raping his teenage niece, no less. He’s also a highly unpleasant person—she wouldn’t want to work for him even before the rape charge. But a debt’s a debt, and she figures she’ll find enough evidence to get him to switch his plea to guilty and work out a deal.

Readers/Listeners know all too well that the clearly guilty part guarantees that Cassie will eat some crow on this point, but that’s for later.

So Cassie travels to the very small town in northern Montana where the crime took place and the client’s estranged family runs everything from their ranch to the school board and all things in between—including the Sheriff’s Office and Courts. Things do not go well for her and her investigation—which just makes her think there’s something for her to find to help the client after all.

I definitely listened to this too soon after In Plain Sight, one of the themes of it is repeated here—not something I’d have noticed (at least not as much) if a few more weeks had passed.

Box ultimately won me over, but I came close to DNFing this a time or two, and I really didn’t enjoy most of the book. It was just a little heavy-handed, and the tie-in to a prior nemesis really didn’t work for me at all (and I’m not sure the introduction of the tie-in works now that I’ve seen where Box was taking it—it’s too complicated to explain, especially for this post, let’s just say I didn’t like it). But by the end, I liked what Cassie got up to and how she handled herself—and I like the way that Box dealt with the climax and denouement—both were really strong (and semi-unexpected).

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Catch-Up Quick Takes: Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner; Out of Range; The Fangs of Freelance; Wonder Twins, Vol. 1: Activate!

By HCNewton

On July 3, 2020

In (Auto)Biography, A-B, Audiobook, C. J. Box, Comics, Fiction, G-L, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy

The point of these quick takes post to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.

Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner

by Judy Melinek, MD, & TJ Mitchell, Tanya Eby (Narrator)
Unabridged Audiobook, 7 hrs., 43 mins.
Tantor Media, 2014
Read: June 12-14, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
I really don’t know what to say about this account of a forensic pathologist’s training in NYC. Read it, listen to it, whatever. It’s fascinating. It’s a good reminder/way to learn that not all of forensic pathology is what you see on police procedurals (and even then…wow, fictionalized).

Her retelling of the reasons she left her surgical residency—and the fact that she’s not the exception to the rule (beyond having the good sense to leave when so many don’t), is one more reminder that we desperately need to overhaul medical training in this country.

But that’s not what the book is about—it’s about the day-to-day grind, the countless ways pathologists find evidence about what kills us, the hard job of getting answers for the bereaved, and yeah—there’s the criminal justice side to it. I’m a little squeamish when it comes to real-life medical “stuff”, I’ll watch a Tarantino marathon and not blink and the bucks of blood (well, maybe the dance scene in Reservoir Dogs some days), but I can’t last 15 minutes in a medical documentary without my toes literally curling. There were moments listening to this that made me wonder—but there weren’t many, and they passed quickly. If you’re like me, stick with it.

I was all set to say this is a good book and well worth your time, and then we got to the penultimate chapter. Melinek wisely organized her story by topic, not chronology. Largely due to this chapter (I’d guess), because you want it at the end so it doesn’t dwarf the rest. She started her residency a few weeks before September 11, 2001. I’m not even going to try to describe it. The whole book could’ve been written about this and the immediate aftermath.
3.5 Stars

Out of Range

by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
Series: Joe Pickett, #5
Unabridged Audiobook, 9 hrs., 11 mins
Recorded Books, 2008
Read: June 16-17, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Of all the books in this post, this is the one that bugs me the most—but I’m being honest, I’m not going to find the time to give this the post I want to. Like his fellow Wyomingite (I had to look that term up), Walt Longmire, Joe Pickett has to leave his home occasionally. There’s just no way Box can keep killing people in that sparsely populated area.

So Joe goes to Jackson Hole to temporarily fill the office of a warden who killed himself—and, maybe, just figure out what drove the man to suicide*. Seeing Joe out of water, yet right at home in the work is great—I’m betting Box will do things like this in the future (again, see Longmire), and it’ll be worth it.

* Spoiler: he does.

Joe leaves Marybeth and the kids at home, with the usual financial woes, stresses of a pre-teen far too wise for her years (but with all the attitude of a preteen), and new loneliness. This marriage is headed for trouble—thankfully, both of them realize it (I’m not sure I can handle them splitting, and I’m not a die-hard Pickett fan yet).

Great mystery. Better sub-stories (I can’t start talking about the Nate Romanowski story without spoiling it). I’m really, really glad I started this series.

The Fangs of Freelance

by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)
Series: Fred, The Vampire Accountant, #4
Unabridged Audiobook, 8 hrs., 21 mins.
Tantor Audio, 2017
Read: June 23-26, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Fred’s move to become a freelance accounting consultant for The Agency really just opens the door for more adventures (as well as for more challenging accounting jobs). It frequently looks like he bit off more than he can chew, but with a little help from his friends… Fred’s also dealing with the ramifications of starting his own clan in the last book—a move I thought was inspired and I’m enjoying watching that clan solidify.

This is probably the best of the series, really. Hayes makes some bold moves here. Heyborne’s narration remains strong and entertaining.

This is really a nice, reliable “cozy” Urban Fantasy series. I’m glad I stumbled upon it.
3 Stars

Wonder Twins Vol. 1: Activate!

by Mark Russell, Stephen Byrne (Artist)
Series: Wonder Twins, #1
Paperback, 160 pg.
DC Comics, 2020
Read: June 27, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

(the official blurb)
Okay, so…straight out of the second (pretty sure, it was the second) incarnation of Super Friends comes this Wonder Twins series. And it was . . . eh, okay, maybe?

Zan and Jayna are on Earth, sent here by their parents under the watchful eye of Superman. They’re open about their alienness, telling everyone at school about their home planet, its culture, and their abilities. And pretty much no one cares. After school, they hang out in the Hall of Justice as interns, they end up battling The League of Annoyance (villains too lame for consideration in the Legion of Doom). Oh, and eventually, Zan buys a circus monkey that turns out to be blue.

I really dug the art. I’m not sure what else to say about that—I’m interested in checking out more of Byrne’s work. Oh, wait…I have said nice things about him already. I should pay more attention to things like that.

The tone of this was wildly uneven—was it comedic? Was it earnest?. The League of Annoyance was too silly for this book—too silly even for the Teen Titans Go cartoon. I liked a lot of what went down in the Hall of Justice (especially the supercomputer).
3 Stars

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from any of them, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Trophy Hunt by C. J. Box: Pickett takes on an X-Files-y case

By HCNewton

On May 19, 2020

In A-B, C. J. Box, Fiction, G-L, Joe Pickett, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Trophy Hunt

by C. J. Box
Series: Joe Pickett, #4

Paperback, 375 pg.
G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2004

Read: May 15-16, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

I’m short on time, so I’m going to cut a corner and use the official blurb:

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 sight, Joe starts to investigate what he hopes in an isolated incident.

Days later, after the discovery of a small herd of mutilated cattle, Joe realizes this something much more terrifying than he could have imagined. 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 another, more challenging prey? Soon afterward, Joe’s worst fears are confirmed. The bodies of two men are found within hours of each other, in separate locations, 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 Saddlestring – and it appears his rampage is just beginning.

Pro tip: don’t read C. J. Box describing a moose corpse while eating lunch.

That aside, I had a lot of fun reading this. Joe ends up being the Game and Fish representative on the task force the governor calls for to investigate these mutilations. Sheriff Barnum is also on the task force, giving us more opportunities to be annoyed by him (I’m really looking forward to the upcoming election which should remove him from office).

I have a note to compare Nate Romanowski and his approach to spirituality and nature and Henry Standing Bear’s—and I think that could be a fruitful discussion, but I think I need to see Nate wax spiritual a little more in future books. But at least at this point, Nate seems like some white dude getting a little strange, whereas Henry seems genuine (which isn’t to say Nate’s fake, he’s just…new at it?). Regardless, it was good to see Nate again, and I like the way that he’s settling into the series (if only so there’s someone around who can shoot and is generally on Joe’s side).

On the one hand, the constant discussion about the precarious financial situation the Picketts face is a refreshing and bracing bit of realism—but if Box would ease off on it a little bit, that’d be nice, just a bit. I like seeing Marybeth struggling to find her place in the world in a way that helps her family—if nothing else, her bouncing around from employer to employer (as her small business allows) she can be put in all sorts of interesting places to tie into Joe’s cases (see these last two books).

Lucy took a bigger role than she usually gets, which sadly took a little bit of space from Sheridan. But she still gets a chance to shine, which makes me happy.

But what brings readers back is Joe Pickett. He’s not the smartest, the quickest, the most insightful mystery protagonist around. But he’s dogged. He’s persistent. He’s one of those rare good guys. He gets the job done, eventually, because that’s what he needs to do. Easy to like a character like that, he’s not really Everyman. He’s the kind of guy an Everyman would like to be.

(which does mean that the reader figures things out a lot faster than he does, but oh, well)

This was the first Joe Pickett novel that I read instead of listening to (my library doesn’t have the audiobook)—this is the first time I’ve gone from audio to print. It was interesting, but I think I prefer Chandler’s narration to my own (but I liked getting the spelling of a couple of names).

It’s a solid mystery, a good time with some characters that I liked. It’s a little heavy on the “woo-woo” stuff (Joe’s term), but I can live with that. I don’t know that this is the best one to come to the series with, but it’s a good installment for those that are familiar with the characters.

3.5 Stars

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.