Helpful Score: 4
I was recommended this book by Amazon and read it from the library a couple of years ago. I've been looking for the sequel ever since (and just found out that there are now 5 books in the series. It's a great book, and I recommend it highly.
From booklist:
Every few years a first novel appears that immediately sets itself apart from the crowd. As readers, we feel that special shock of recognition that announces, "Here is something special." Taking dead aim with his first sentence ("When a high-powered rifle hits living flesh it makes a distinctive--pow-WHOP--sound that is unmistakable even at tremendous distance"), Wyoming first-novelist Box remains square on target throughout this superb debut. Joe Pickett, game warden of Twelve Sleep County in Wyoming, is just the kind of everyman hero we can't help but identify with: something of a plodder, even a bit of a bungler (he loses his gun to a poacher in the novel's opening scene), he is nevertheless the kind of man who responds to a crisis with courage and the ability to act decisively (just the way we like to think we would respond). And Joe faces a major-league crisis in his rookie year as game warden: when three elk hunters are killed under suspicious circumstances (one of them dies in the warden's backyard, apparently on his way to deliver something), Joe can't understand why his colleagues seem to want to sweep the case under the rug. When he looks under that rug, however, he finds a many-tentacled scam involving an oil pipeline and an endangered species. Soon Joe's career is in jeopardy and his family in mortal danger. The plot is constructed with airtight precision, generating remarkable suspense while drawing us completely into a vividly realized world. The Wyoming high country is a palpable presence here; its ruggedness plays a crucial role in the story, and its grandeur is continually set against the venality of most human concerns. The endangered-species theme, often a plot element is crime fiction, is explored with impressive complexity and no shortage of villains on all sides of the issue. And, best of all, the soft-spoken Joe Pickett is a Gary Cooper for our time: flawed, insecure, but a stand-up guy when it counts--the perfect mix of dream and reality.
From booklist:
Every few years a first novel appears that immediately sets itself apart from the crowd. As readers, we feel that special shock of recognition that announces, "Here is something special." Taking dead aim with his first sentence ("When a high-powered rifle hits living flesh it makes a distinctive--pow-WHOP--sound that is unmistakable even at tremendous distance"), Wyoming first-novelist Box remains square on target throughout this superb debut. Joe Pickett, game warden of Twelve Sleep County in Wyoming, is just the kind of everyman hero we can't help but identify with: something of a plodder, even a bit of a bungler (he loses his gun to a poacher in the novel's opening scene), he is nevertheless the kind of man who responds to a crisis with courage and the ability to act decisively (just the way we like to think we would respond). And Joe faces a major-league crisis in his rookie year as game warden: when three elk hunters are killed under suspicious circumstances (one of them dies in the warden's backyard, apparently on his way to deliver something), Joe can't understand why his colleagues seem to want to sweep the case under the rug. When he looks under that rug, however, he finds a many-tentacled scam involving an oil pipeline and an endangered species. Soon Joe's career is in jeopardy and his family in mortal danger. The plot is constructed with airtight precision, generating remarkable suspense while drawing us completely into a vividly realized world. The Wyoming high country is a palpable presence here; its ruggedness plays a crucial role in the story, and its grandeur is continually set against the venality of most human concerns. The endangered-species theme, often a plot element is crime fiction, is explored with impressive complexity and no shortage of villains on all sides of the issue. And, best of all, the soft-spoken Joe Pickett is a Gary Cooper for our time: flawed, insecure, but a stand-up guy when it counts--the perfect mix of dream and reality.
Helpful Score: 2
First Book in the Joe Pickett series. If you like good mystry books with alot of heart and great Characters this is a book for you!! It also has plenty of action.
Helpful Score: 2
First book of the ongoing character Joe Pickett, game warden. If you think you have 'best' friends you might want to rethink that when strange things start happening in your territory. When you find a murder scene and all of a sudden you find a dead man on your wood pile, who had disarmed you previously, and you suddenly find yourself suspended from your job but yet you keep on trying to discover the reason behind all this without knowing that your daughter is somehow involved. For a first novel this was enough to keep you interested and rooting for Joe all the way.
Helpful Score: 2
Joe Pickett isn't your average hero. He's a game warden trainee who becomes involved in a murder when a local outfitter's body appears in his woodpile. The plot concerning greedy business interests versus a thought-to-be-extinct mammal in Wyoming's beautiful wilderness is familiar, but the characterizations are great. Joe is a courageous yet flawed hero; his wife, Marybeth, is loving yet headstrong. What happens to the characters in this novel is reflected in their emotional growth over the next books in the series and often has devastating consequences. A great read.
Helpful Score: 1
Loved this start to a series with Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden, as the main character. Box does a great job with both characterization and locale. The plot centers around the conflict between a gas line that would bring work to the rural Wyoming town and the possibility of an endangered species being in the area. Greed and power mongering make folks who Pickett trusted not so trustworthy. Pickett seems a little out of his depth in this book, very principled and a little naive...but a great father. I'm looking forward to getting to know Pickett and his family better, since this is the first of 11 so far. I love a new (to me) series!
Helpful Score: 1
During a recent visit to Yellowstone Park, I noted that there were several C.J. Box novels in the gift shops there. I had never heard of Box but after reading some of the cover blurbs, I decided to give him a try and I'm glad I did -- I really enjoyed this one! This crime novel is off the beaten path in that the protagonist is a Wyoming game warden - Joe Pickett. Pickett has just recently been made warden of a mountainous Wyoming county and he is still trying to get adjusted to the position. At one point he cites the Wyoming governor for fishing without a license and then when he confronts a poacher, he gets his gun taken away. This leads to him getting involved in a triple murder of a group of outfitters and a mystery involving an endangered specie. Pickett's family also gets involved including his young daughter. Along the way, Pickett is not sure who to trust and who is trying to keep him from doing his job. I thought this was a great first effort from Box and I'll be reading more of the Pickett series. High recommendation!
Helpful Score: 1
Wow! While I was uncertain about this novel at the beginning, I quickly became a fan of the main character, Joe Pickett, and his family. Excellent character developement and insight into each of their personalities. The underlying story was wonderful and I enjoyed crying, worrying, and then finally smiling as I reached the end of this part of this family's story. I'm off to request the 2nd in this series. Excellent through and through.
Helpful Score: 1
I first heard about CJ Box books in an article from Cowboys & Indians Magazine last fall, 2010. I ordered his first Joe Pickett book, Open Season, and really enjoyed it. The story was set in my favorite part of our country, the West. After reading Open Season, I ordered his next book. I was only ordering one book at a time and I'd finish one and then wish I had the next book. I've now read all of the Joe Pickett books as well as the books CJ Box has written that are just novels set in the west.
Joe Pickett is a game warden with a young family. If you like reading about the mountains and outdoors, and you like mysteries, you really need to get started on CJ Box books.
I just preordered his latest book and had to buy it in hardback. I have decided to keep all of my CJ Box books.
I also enjoy Robert Crais and Lee Child.
Joe Pickett is a game warden with a young family. If you like reading about the mountains and outdoors, and you like mysteries, you really need to get started on CJ Box books.
I just preordered his latest book and had to buy it in hardback. I have decided to keep all of my CJ Box books.
I also enjoy Robert Crais and Lee Child.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an outstanding mystery about a Wyoming game warden, Joe Pickett. He is a family man and a very believable character. This is the first in the series.
We really liked this book. It was the first novel with the Joe Pickett character. The author has a wonderful of describing the Wyoming countryside. The book reminds me of the great Louis L'Amour novels I have read.
Terrific series
First outing with C.J. Box. He brought several good ingredients together to make this a very satisfying book. Our main man Joe is high virtue, but still a full fledged regular guy. He loves his family, but he's not going for modern dad-of-the-year. There's lots of nature appreciation, but there is more bad guy activity. Realistically raw language so we remember these are real men and not oversized Boy Scouts. He also wrote the relationships among the characters with nuance and wry understanding.
I'm already onto his next book.
I'm already onto his next book.
Loved this book!! Couldnt put it down. Great series I'm
on book number 4 already! A must read!
on book number 4 already! A must read!
My husband and I both enjoyed the book. This series of books has turned my non-reading husband into a reader. Thanks.
This is the first book of a new series that I'm going to read. Excellent-----and I don't usually read crime novels. Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden, is a little slow on the up-take, but saves his family and delivers Wild West justice.
I like the fact that these books are never predictable.
Excellent mystery featuring Game Warden Joe Pickett.
This is the first of the Joe Pickett novels, about a game warden in northern Wyoming, not far from where I grew up. They are great mysteries, in an interesting setting.
Excellent first book of the series about Joe Pickett, Game Warden.
Well I think I have found what I have been looking for (another author that writes to my tastes), that is if the first book in the series is any indication! One of the best "First" books I have read by an author ever, with maybe one exception which would be Krueger's "Iron Lake". The character's are believable, also vivid, and colorful. I love the main character Joe Pickett a game warden and how he make mistakes just like all of us do at times-no ones perfect. It starts off that he has one of those never live down happenstances where he tries to arrest a violator and the perp sneakily lifts Joe's gun out of his holster and then has the drop on him. We all have one of those oops that we have to live and deal with-and just like Joe, others that never let us live them down! I have been to Wyoming several times and really love the Bighorns and like the pictures that CJ Box paints, as I can almost smell the fresh air. Too you come to love his family especially Sheridan one of his daughters who is quite the pill. In addition you come to despise the bad guys and then root for Joe to come out on top. This is one of those mysteries that when you set the book on the nightstand at night and then in turn you can't wait to pick it up again. The suspense and tension ratchets up till the last pages come flying off the book. Yep sign me up, as I am ready to order more in the series. Many thanks to CJ Box for an enjoyable weekend of reading, and again sign me up for more of this if it is a preview of what to expect in the series!
Kind of like the Nevada Barr series---a game warden ends up dealing with a lot more than simply wandering-off tourists or under-sized fish in somebody's creel.
Additionally, although Joe Picket is definitely a guy's guy, he admits to making mistakes and not being perfect.
This the first book in the series, and it definitely leaves you wanting more.
From back cover: "When a high-powered bullet hits living flesh, it makes a distinctive pop--WHOP sound that is unmistakable even at tremendous distance." and so it begins for Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden who, with the shot of a rifle, is thrust into a race to not only save an endangered species, but to unravel a mystery that threatens the life and the family he loves.
Additionally, although Joe Picket is definitely a guy's guy, he admits to making mistakes and not being perfect.
This the first book in the series, and it definitely leaves you wanting more.
From back cover: "When a high-powered bullet hits living flesh, it makes a distinctive pop--WHOP sound that is unmistakable even at tremendous distance." and so it begins for Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden who, with the shot of a rifle, is thrust into a race to not only save an endangered species, but to unravel a mystery that threatens the life and the family he loves.
Very good first of the series......can't tell you too much about it.
Joe Pickett is the new game warden in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming. When he finds a local hunting outfitter dead, splayed out on the woodpile behind his state-owned home, he takes it personally.Even after the "outfitter murders," as they have been dubbed by the local press after the discovery of the two more bodies, are solved, Joe continues to investigate.
Joe Pickett is the new game warden in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming. When he finds a local hunting outfitter dead, splayed out on the woodpile behind his state-owned home, he takes it personally.Even after the "outfitter murders," as they have been dubbed by the local press after the discovery of the two more bodies, are solved, Joe continues to investigate.
Excellent first book from C. J. Box
When the high-powered bullet hits his living flesh, it makes a distinctive - pow- WHOP - sound that is unmistakable even at a tremendous distance. And so it begins for Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden who, with the shot of the rifle, is thrust into a race to not only save an endangered species, but to unravel a mystery that threatens he life and the family he loves.
First time reading this author's work.. Really enjoyed his characters.. Real people with real flaws and strengths.
First time reading this author's work.. Really enjoyed his characters.. Real people with real flaws and strengths.
When the high-powered bullet hits his living flesh, it makes a distinctive - pow- WHOP - sound that is unmistakable even at a tremendous distance. And so it begins for Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden who, with the shot of the rifle, is thrust into a race to not only save an endangered species, but to unravel a mystery that threatens he life and the family he loves.
When a high-powetred bullt hits living flesh, it makes a distinctive - pow-WHOP-sound that is unmistakable even at tremendous distances. And so it begins for Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden, who, with the shot of a rifle, is thrust into a race to not only save an endangered species, but to unravel a mystery that threatens the life and the family he loves.
1st book in the series
Enjoyed the story, an easy read. Not a lot of suspense or major twists, but good character development and interesting plots.
