Vicious Circle: A Joe Pickett Novel begins with Dave Farkus. A man that Game
Warden Joe Pickett has dealt with many times before. This time it is because the
man has been missing from his hunting camp for over twelve hours and the
weather is about to go downhill in a big way thanks to a strong fall snowstorm.
Not only is he missing, but two days ago the same Dave Farkus left a rather
strange voice mail for Pickett.
At least part of the message
has increased the worry for the entire Pickett family. Farkus claimed to have
seen Dallas Cates in the local area. Specifically, in their hometown of Saddlestring,
Wyoming. If true, that means Dallas is back from the penitentiary and no doubt has
revenge on his mind. Threats have been made before, but if Dallas is back that
means he can probably follow through on his long stated goal of making the
entire family pay and then die. While they all can take precautions, there is
little they, or law enforcement, can do until Dallas Cates actually tries to do
something. The problem is that he may have gotten smarter while in prison as
well as gained some friends to help.
First, Pickett has to
find Farkus hopefully in time. In all likelihood, Farkus is dead and that means
Pickett has to figure out where Farkus has been, who he talked to, and fill in
the blanks. That is an investigation that will take time. If Dallas Cates is
pursuing revenge, time is not on the side of the Picketts.
The latest in the
series is another good one. There is very little character development and far
less scenic descriptions of the Wyoming wilderness. Instead, this is more of a
thriller style and where descriptions and explanations are minimized in favor
of constant action.
On that level Vicious
Circle: A Joe Pickett Novel works very well. All the usual players are
back in their customary roles coupled with a couple of new additions that
easily could be foils or friends as the situation dictates. But, in pushing the
thriller aspects of storytelling, the major role of the wilderness takes a back
seat in this read. That is a disappointment as the Wyoming wilderness has
always been a primary character in this series. While still present in the
read, the wilderness is regulated to a very backseat role throughout the book.
With those quibbles
in mind and a reminder to read the series in order, Vicious Circle: A Joe Pickett Novel
by C. J. Box is recommended.
Vicious Circle: A Joe Pickett Novel
C. J. Box
C. J. Box
Random House Large Print
March 2017
ISBN# 978-1-5247-5608-6
Large Print Paperback (also currently available
in eBook, Hardback, and audio)
480 Pages
$29.00
Material supplied by
the good folks of the Plano Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2017
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