Rating: 
Summary: A Dark Fantastic
Review: I hated this book! Or maybe I was just rooting for C.J. to get his stuff together in the third book and have Joe Pickett ready to fly for another twenty years. It's what I expected anyhow. Didn't happen.
The first Joe Pickett story seemed a little tall and convoluted, but the yarn was spun tightly and with dexterity and wit. I couldn't put it down. You knew that C.J. Box and Joe Pickett would be around for a long while. The second book had me looking forward to more Joe Pickett yarns in spite of exploding cows. An audience was building. Word was getting around that C.J. Box could keep you interested. It was time for Pickett to settle down a bit, ease off the fantastics, and start a long career. Then he fell off the mountain.
WINTERKILL opens with a humiliating and extremely unlikely scene of a Forest Supervisor's "nervous breakdown" that contributes nothing substantial to the story. From there, it traverses a litany of extremes. Our humble, heroic game warden in remote Wyoming is forced down a gauntlet of sociopathology, psychopathology, political aberrations, weather extremes, bureaucratic obstruction and cover-up, and the killing of a carefully developed sympathetic character. Then, incredibly, staight-arrow Joe Picket becomes complicit in a felony that will never be discovered.
C.J. Box is a clever, compelling writer, but I don't see how Joe Pickett will ever recover from this dark detour.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm back in the Big Horns!
Review: C.J. Box continues to capture the spirit of Wyoming, especially the beautiful Big Horn mountain region. Once again readers are caught up in the life of Joe Pickett, his family, law enforcement colleagues, and an expanding array of modern antagonists. I served on the faculty and my son graduated from the University of Wyoming, we hiked and camped the Big Horns. Through Joe Pickett we have returned to once again immerse ourselves in the rugged beauty and experience the harsh winters and the ever-present wind. This is Wyoming in all of its magnficient splendor.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular in every way!
Review: C.J. Box's third Joe Pickett novel, "Winterkill" is simply magnificent.Joe, a Wyoming game warden is good at his job, a loyal family man, a good guy with flaws and doubts who does not suffer incompetents. The murder of a Forest Service supervisor brings in federal bureaucrats led by the spiteful, psychotic and underhanded Melinda Strickland. She immediately and incorrectly railroads Nate Romanowski, a local loner with a mysterious past. When the government hating survivalists, the Sovereign Citizens camp on nearby federal land, Strickland recognizes a high profile opportunity. She is willing to orchestrate a bloody conflict to further her career. Pickett understands the potential disaster, and with Nate attempts to uncover the true murderer before the showdown commences. In the end, Joe must bend the law to insure justice---an act that deepens the character. Filled with bright characters, the severe beauty of a Wyoming winter and incredible suspense, "Winterkill" is a present-day take on the old fashioned western. Outstanding!
Rating:
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: 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!
Rating:
Summary: A Dark, Wild, Intense Ride with Joe Pickett
Review: I have loved each of the Joe Pickett novels to date, and with Winterkill C.J. Box opens with a bang and then floors it. Joe Pickett and his family are taken to the limit in frightening and completely believable ways, and this novel shows how scary it can be to be up against a force of practically pure evil, even if she's wearing a green Forest Service skirt. It is easy to miss the humanity and beauty of the novel because of the tension and pace, but I know it's there if I want to go back. In his third outing, Joe seems angrier, and more determined than ever before. This time, he gets some help from a charismatic loner named Nate Romanowski whom, I hope, we'll see again. This is one the best new series in crime fiction, and the suspense is unbearable -- as is the sad, if realistic, sense of inevitability at the end. Powerful. I eagerly await the next Joe Pickett novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Getting Too Political/Right Wing
Review: I have read all 3 of Box's novels. He writes well and in general the stories and characters are interesting. But, each book has progressed a little further in ithe apparent aim to fault government in general and environmental agencies in particular. Winterkill is almost cartoonish in this regard. Clearly, with any form of regulation, there are problems. But, it's hard to believe that all Federal employees in the west are bad guys bent on making the poor locals lives miserable. Box really gets carried away in Winterkill and it damages the credibility of his story. I was hoping for a series that brought good stories founded on the inevitable conflicts of environmental issues but I am losing hope.
Rating: 
Summary: Great characters, good writing, but did not love ending
Review: I have read all of the books with the Joe Pickett character, but I got the sense while reading this one, that the character was written with a little more Hollywood in mind with some of his behavior. Then I heard Bruce Willis was taking the roll in movie version of this book so perhaps I was not far off.
The author writes well, good descriptions and setting. I will forever be traumatized by a short scene concerning a yorkie. Unfortunately I thought one of the plot lines really didn't need to occur concerning their foster daugheter, nor did I love the neatly wrapped up vengeful ending..
Rating: 
Summary: As Grim and Dark as the Title Suggests....
Review: I really enjoyed the first two Joe Pickett novels. The can't shoot straight game warden and his family met up with some interesting characters and great mysteries. But this is NOT a fun read. Joe has gone from being a goofy, all too human guy to being almost a vigilante in just three novels. It held my interest, don't get me wrong, but I read to be entertained and when I finished reading I thought "well that was no fun". Too grim and dark, with the bad guys being almost cartoonishly bad. No one(including me!) seemed to be having a very good time in this book. I hope for the next Pickett novel, CJ Box picks up the mood a bit and gets Joe back into his "goofy good guy" persona. There are enough "tortured hero" characters out there, Joe Pickett doesn't need to become one of them. I want the old Joe back.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting, Interesting and Touching!
Review: I thorougly enjoyed reading WINTERKILL. Mr. Box is a brillant writer and brought me into his world in an exciting, interesting and touching way. The excitement showed me the challenges that Joe was going through being a part of the forest service. Mr. Box made me aware of his love of the land. His descriptive way of expressing its beauty was very interesting and made me want to see Wyoming like he does. Joe's family which consisted of Marybeth and the girls reached out to my heart as I watch this tale unfold. I immediately became a part of them; laughing and crying when needed. I offer this to you all and say, if you want a book that will hold your interest and weave a tale of mystery and beauty, I suggest that you read WINTERKILL. Then immediately go out (as I did) and buy and read his other two books. They were amazing. I look forward to the next Joe Pickett novel. Thank you Mr. Box, a job well done.
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