Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Taking place during Montana's "Summer of Fire," C.J. Box's The Bitterroots is a story that has the sudden, ferocious power of a sledgehammer. When Cassie Dewell tells someone where she's going, she's told "You have no idea what kind of... snake pit you're going to fall into," and that's the honest truth. The smoke of countless forest fires may obscure the Kleinsassers' sinister grip on the county in which they reside, but the acrid stench of the smoke gives them away. Even the name of their property-- the Iron Cross Ranch-- has an ominous ring to it.
Cassie Dewell faces one challenge of escalating intensity after another, but, folks, she's put down her Denise Mina novel, and she's determined to get to the bottom of things simply because the other side is overplaying their hand. These challenges are humiliating, shocking, infuriating... and I would have done exactly what she did. (Some folks don't react well to intimidation.) The only qualm I had was that, for the single mother of a teenage boy, Cassie went much farther out on a limb than she should have.
The Kleinsassers are a family of vipers, and I wanted to see Cassie bring them down. One person remarks, "We seem to be witnessing the Olympics of family dysfunction right here in Montana." Some of the Kleinsasser revelations didn't surprise me one bit, and I cheered Cassie on to the very last page.
As always, the setting has an important role in Box's novels. Readers will experience the Summer of Fire in the steep mountains and deep valleys of northwestern Montana close to the Idaho border, but they will also learn a bit of history. This is the land of the Big Hole Battlefield, where Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce fought for their freedom, and Box's story does justice to the landscape and history of the area.
Now begins the wait for Cassie Dewell's next investigation.
Cassie Dewell faces one challenge of escalating intensity after another, but, folks, she's put down her Denise Mina novel, and she's determined to get to the bottom of things simply because the other side is overplaying their hand. These challenges are humiliating, shocking, infuriating... and I would have done exactly what she did. (Some folks don't react well to intimidation.) The only qualm I had was that, for the single mother of a teenage boy, Cassie went much farther out on a limb than she should have.
The Kleinsassers are a family of vipers, and I wanted to see Cassie bring them down. One person remarks, "We seem to be witnessing the Olympics of family dysfunction right here in Montana." Some of the Kleinsasser revelations didn't surprise me one bit, and I cheered Cassie on to the very last page.
As always, the setting has an important role in Box's novels. Readers will experience the Summer of Fire in the steep mountains and deep valleys of northwestern Montana close to the Idaho border, but they will also learn a bit of history. This is the land of the Big Hole Battlefield, where Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce fought for their freedom, and Box's story does justice to the landscape and history of the area.
Now begins the wait for Cassie Dewell's next investigation.
If you haven't read books by C J Box you need to get started! Terrific book.
Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed The Bitterroots (Cody Hoyt / Cassie Dewell, Bk 5) on + 1223 more book reviews
Another great thriller from Box, one of my favorite crime/suspense authors. I've read all of his books including the Joe Pickett series and his Cassie Dewell/Cody Hoyt novels. This Cassie Dewell novel has her now in Montana working as a PI after her involvement with the "Lizard King" in Box's great Highway Quartet novels. Cassie reluctantly takes a case from a defense attorney firm to look into a man accused of raping his niece. This takes her to a remote county in Montana near the Bitterroot Mountains and to a twisted family, the Kleinsassers, who own a large ranch in the area and have most of the county under their control including the local sheriff and his officers. The man accused of the rape is the oldest Kleinsasser son who left Montana and made his way in New York. The rest of the family despises him for leaving and do not want him to share in anything from the ranch in Montana. So did he really commit the rape or was he set up? The evidence seemed pretty damning but things gradually turn up and all is not as it seems.
As I said, I'm a big fan of Box and wait patiently for his new novels to be published once or twice a year. I really enjoy the Pickett series but his others novels are just as good or better! I'll be looking forward to his next one.
As I said, I'm a big fan of Box and wait patiently for his new novels to be published once or twice a year. I really enjoy the Pickett series but his others novels are just as good or better! I'll be looking forward to his next one.
Donna C. (g-ma) reviewed The Bitterroots (Cody Hoyt / Cassie Dewell, Bk 5) on + 3152 more book reviews
I love the Joe Pickett series but I just can't get into the Cassie books, they just seem to implausible to be believed and she is a whiny person for a PI
Read the Pickett series it's great!
Read the Pickett series it's great!
