Winterkill (Joe Pickett, 3)

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Summary: A Great Series Continues: Winterkill
Review: Following up on his debut novel "Open Season" and his second novel "Savage Run" C. J. Box brings Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett back for another intense adventure. Showing the same sense of style and ability to weave a complex entertaining tale as he did in his first two books, this novel builds further on the deep characters involved and culminates in a shocking and disturbing conclusion for fans of this series.

As the novel opens, an early winter storm is bearing down on Battle Mountain in 12 Sheep County, Wyoming. Game Warden Joe Picket is on the mountain on patrol. He has recently seen a truck in the area and knows that at least one hunter is up on the mountain somewhere with him and most likely seeking an elk before the pending storm hits. Warden Pickett earlier had seen an elk herd also in the vicinity so the hunter may be in luck. Then as the sky darkens and the snow begins, Warden Pickett hears gunfire. Gunfire that seems to continue long after one elk should have been hit which means the hunter might actually be a poacher.

Warden Pickett soon finds that the herd he saw earlier has been massacred. Bodies of elk, dead or dying are strewn in a small meadow and the shooter is Lamar Gardiner, head of the United Sates Forest Service for the area. When Gardiner is confronted, he seems not to realize what he has done and is erratic in his responses. Warden Pickett takes him into custody and as they begin the multi hour journey back down the mountain out of the blizzard, Gardiner becomes increasingly deranged in word and actions. Somehow, he manages to escape leaving Warden Picket to go after him in the snowstorm. Eventually, Warden Picket finds Gardiner, dying, and pinned to a tree after being shot through by two arrows.

The loss of his suspect and subsequent murder once again make Joe the laughing stick of the local Sheriff's Department. But in a parallel story line, Warden Pickett has more pressing personal matters to attend to. While he wants to figure out why Gardiner did what he did and who killed him, he faces the loss of his foster daughter, April. April's mother who abandoned her three years ago leaving her alone and taken in by Warden Pickett and his family suddenly returns to Saddlestring. The adoption hasn't been finalized and now her mother is back and wants April back. Even though her mother is part of a group of anti federal extremists camping in the local forest, they are powerless to stop her mother from taking her back because she has a court order. Warden Pickett, a member of law enforcement is torn apart as he watches the system he is sworn to uphold disintegrate in his face because he can't protect April and a killer roams free.

Along with his usual intense writing, complicated characters, strong sense of pacing and another great mystery, the author once again weaves in numerous details of how the public lands are being protected or not as the case may be by those sworn to protect the nation's fragile resource. As always, C. J. Box brings the beauty of the Wyoming Mountains alive for his readers along with his characters. This third book is another in what seems to be building into a great series. As such they should be read in order from the beginning as noted and those that do will get more out of the intense and shocking ending of this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Winterkill
Review: I am a avid reader,but as a senior with a fixed income I can only afford to buy paperback books, this book like many I want to read have to small of print to read comfortable. They are losing out on a lot of sales just to save printing a few more pages.

Rating:
Summary: CJ Box, you're on my list!
Review: I had picked up CJ Box's first book, "Open Season" about 2 years ago without knowing anything about it. It looked like a nice light read. I was very impressed by Box as a first time author, and thought the book was much better than the marketing implied (it seemed like a pulpy, survivalist-out-for-revenge book at the time). Then came "Savage Run" and I was pleased that Box had avoided the sophomore curse. Clearly not a one-hit-wonder, this Box guy.

So, when "Winterkill" appeared for pre-order on Amazon[.com], I knew it would be worth the money. I had no idea what was to come. In this, the 3rd Joe Pickett book, Box has shown that, as a writer, he is just getting warmed up. Rather than being more-of-the-same, as many of these recurring character series are, "Winterkill" breaks the rules and delivers a few surprises that I defy anyone to predict. At a point in the series when his main characters risk becoming predictable and 2-dimensional, Box has instead raised the bar, giving them depth, conflict and soul. Clearly the best of the 3 novels so far, Box has given much more insight into his cast, especially Joe. And he's laid enough groundwork to continue a few story lines for several more books. The surprises and twists in this one are nothing short of courageous for a writer this early in his career. Box pulls off plot developments that many a seasoned writer would avoid like the plague. This guy is one to watch.

CJ Box, you're on my list of writers who's books I will buy sight-unseen. I don't need to know anything about the plot or even the title. Just tell me it's a new CJ Box book and I'm grabbing my wallet!