Bruce -
The main plot of this Joe Pickett novel was very good. It was suspenseful and fast paced. I would give it 4.5 stars. However the subplots involving his kids and mother-in-law are stale and boring. It seems Box involves them as filler for his story so he can get at least 350 pages out. Another criticism is the continued reliance on Nate Romanowski to bail Pickett out of every jam. Then there is the standard meme of Pickett as the lone honest man fighting against the corrupt bureaucracy without a friend in the world (other than Nate). If no one in the state of Wyoming likes the man then maybe there's a reason we shouldn't like him either. Box constructs an interesting anf fun plot but he really needs to work on the characters and relationships involved in the plot. I'll continue to read this series, however, and I give the book 3.99 stars overall.
