Publication Day Review: The Crossroads: A Joe Pickett Novel by C.J. Box

 

Marybeth Pickett always knew that being the wife of a Wyoming Game Warden meant the worse could happen at any time. She knows from the start of The Crossroads: A Joe Pickett Novel that it has almost happened. At least her husband is still alive, if only by a thread. 

 

That November morning a Wyoming Game and Fisheries Department pickup was found smack in the middle of Antler Creek Road by a hunter. It was riddled with bullet holes. Her husband, Joe Pickett, was also hit and suffered severe trauma.

 

She soon makes her way to the isolated scene where the ambulance crew is prepping him for an emergency helicopter ride to Billings, Montana. Shot, including once in the head, he needs a trauma unit and far more medical care that the small community hospital in Saddlestring, Wyoming, can provide. First, he has to survive the half hour plus chopper flight to get to the trauma unit.

 

With a newly elected sheriff in town, and other local law enforcement challenges, their three daughters decide that they will figure out who ambushed their dad. Sitting in the hospital with their mom isn’t going to help. Sheridan, April, and Lucy are known in the community which means people will talk to them. They know how to investigate having grown up in a household where both parents have investigated a lot of cases over the years.  They know they can do this. To figure out who did it, they have to figure out why he was on the road and where he was headed. They are going to figure it out.

 

And Nate Romanowski might get involved as well.

 

The Crossroads: A Joe Pickett Novel is the latest book in the long running series. It is also a mighty good read. In addition to the reminder of how Marybeth and Joe met and details of their marriage, readers are given a long glimpse into the lives of their adult daughters. Ladies that have seen a thing, or three, as they grew up and have the scars and internal resources to deal with any problem.

 

The Crossroads: A Joe Pickett Novel is an intense and very good read. This one will keep you up late-night reading, if you are not carful. Strongly recommended.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4qBcI8G 

My digital ARC came by way of the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a review. 

 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2026

Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Battle Mountain by C.J. Box

 Lesa's Book Critiques: Kevin’s Corner Annex – Battle Mountain by C.J. Box

Publication Day Review: Battle Mountain: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box

Battle Mountain: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box is the latest in this long running series. While Joe Pickett is certainly in it, this is more of a Nate Romanowski novel. For very good reason as Nate is still on the hunt and his quest for revenge though the trail has gone cold in more ways than one.

 

Nate is still looking for Axel Soledad. An evil man who has done many horrible things. Nate is going to get him, no matter what. Soledad killed Nate’s wife, Liv, and must die. He knows it won’t bring Liv back. But, every day Soledad breathes is another day that he has lived far too long.

 

The chase continues this early October as Nate is lowly getting closer and closer to a showdown with Soledad. In a surprising turn of events, Geronimo has found Nate high up in a mountain range as he contemplates what to do. Geronimo also wants Soledad dead for going after his wife and child. They survived. But, Geronimo thinks if he and Nate unite in the hunt, they have a better chance of ending the evil man finally before he spills more blood and hurts anyone else.

 

At the same time this is happening, Governo Rulon wants Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett’s help. His son in law, Mark Eisele, has gone missing as has the elk hunting guide, Joseph “Spike” Rankin. They were preparing for elk hunting season in the vicinity of Battle Mountain in Southern Wyoming. Spike was supposed to let the Governor know every day how his son in law was doing as the man is an outdoor novice with no experience at all. Not only is his daughter and wife starting to worry a little bit, Rulon does not want the local sheriff involved as he is one of those Sovereign Nation idiots, and does not want the media to get wind of anything. Rulon wants Pickett to go down there and find the two men and do it as quietly and discreetly as possible.

 

One can’t say no to the Governor. Not only is a force of nature, Pickett owes him several times over for past situations. Saying no was never an option.

 

The result is a fast paced read as various forces converge on Battle Mountain. While you now know the two primary storylines, much more is going on in the read that will culminate in a battle on the mountain. History tends to repeat itself.

 

As always, politics is present in this read, though in this case it works better for the story and is not so heavy handed as some of the recent reads in the series have been. More than anything, Battle Mountain: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box is an action adventure read with no character development as the primary characters were fleshed out long ago. The read also serves as a great escape from the world madness that infects our lives on a daily basis now.

 

Strongly recommended.

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/40T79H3

 

My digital ARC came by way of the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons, through NetGalley with no expectation of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2025

Review: Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box

It is a beautiful Wyoming mid-October day as Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Novel by C.J. Box by begins. It had been beautiful, until it was marred by tragedy. Clay Hutmacher JR., who had planned to ask Sheridan Pickett to marry him that night, was violently killed by a grizzly bear. It came after him in the river he was fishing in and attacked him without provocation. Not only was the attack savage, there are not supposed to be grizzly bears in this part of Wyoming. It will take 24 hours before his dad finds what is left of his body in the waters and bank of the Twelve Sleep River as it cuts through the Double Diamond Ranch.

 

In response to a devastated phone call from the dad, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett comes to Clay Hutmacher out at the ranch and sees the same horrible scene. No father should ever have found his son the way he did. It is also clear to Joe that a grizzly is responsible. Even though there are not supposed to be any grizzlies in the Bighorn Mountains of North Central Wyoming.

 

Joe Pickett starts calling in folks and activating resources. That includes “The Predator Attack Team.” Even though Joe is an auxiliary member, he is onsite, so he will be fully involved. This is a designated team of game wardens that have specialized training to deal with large carnivore attacks. Their mission will be to hunt down the bear and kill it.

 

First it has to be found. That proves to me far harder than it would be in a normal situation.

 

What follows is a complicated and fast-moving tale as a succession of what seems to be random bear attacks occur locally as well as across the region. Is it really a grizzly bear? Or, is it something else and far worse? Could it be both?

 

That is up to readers to discover in Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box. Not only is the latest installment of the series a good one, politics are minimized in this read. Unlike the last novel, Storm Watch, the read here returns to the roots that made this series so good from the first book. The focus in Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Novel is on apex predators and staying alive in a read that only partially ties everything up. It is a good one and well worth your time.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3HXGe3M 

My reading copy came from the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin Putnam Group), through NetGalley with no expectation of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2024

Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – SHOTS FIRED BY C.J. BOX

 Lesa's Book Critiques: KEVIN’S CORNER ANNEX – SHOTS FIRED BY C.J. BOX

Review: Storm Watch: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box

While I reviewed this book late last month, it came out this past Tuesday, so I am running my review again. 

 

The worsening weather this day in late March for Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett means that he is on the clock. A major snowstorm is coming down from the Bighorn Mountains. He is on foot and on the hunt for an injured elk after a collision between the elk and a car earlier that morning. The elk had left the scene on three good legs according to a state trooper, so now Game Warden Pickett has to find that elk and end its suffering before the storm hits.

 

Snow is heavy on the ground as it is thanks to a winter of relentless and constant storms. More snow and high winds are going to make a bad situation way worse. Time is of the essence. He calls and gets permission from the foreman of the Double Diamond Ranch known to all as “The Double D” to cross their land in pursuit of the badly injured elk. With one eye on the darkening sky rolling down from the mountains, he sets out following the trail.

 

After being on the trail of the elk for a few minutes, he finds a vehicle hidden in the trees off of an old small two track road. He investigates and nobody is in the SUV. Thanks to the fact that it is unlocked, he also finds that the interior is fairly warm. Among other things inside is a topographical map with four locations marked by x’s in a black marker. The person or persons from the car are not lost. They meant to be here in this isolated spot though they may not have counted on the powerful storm closing in on the area by the minute.

 

As Pickett begins to look around the immediate area, he realizes he is hearing a mechanical scream coming from somewhere nearby, He gets up on a ridge and starts looking for the missing person or persons as well as the source for the noise. As the snow begins to build in intensity, he can see tracks from the SUV to a nearby small metal building of some type. The longer he looks at the structure, he realizes that a dark form is hanging out of the steel louvers on one side of the building

 

The dark form is a person and not moving.  

 

What follows is a complicated read that touches on espionage, the growing Sovereign Citizen movement, domestic terrorism, and a host of other issues driving our nation’s politics at this time. The MAGA crowd comes in for their fair share of criticism as do other groups on the far right.  Various characters depict those positions and their behavior and statements may offend readers who believe in their cause.

 

While there is a mystery here as to what is going on, this is a politics heavy thriller more than anything. It shows the ongoing shift of the last few books from the solidly good mysteries that began the series to more of thrillers populated with cardboard cutouts as secondary characters.

 

It is my hope that Mr. Box returns to his roots that made this series so good in future installments in this series.

 

My reading copy came by way of the publisher through NetGalley.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

Review: Storm Watch: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box

 

The worsening weather this day in late March for Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett means that he is on the clock. A major snowstorm is coming down from the Bighorn Mountains. He is on foot and on the hunt for an injured elk after a collision between the elk and a car earlier that morning. The elk had left the scene on three good legs according to a state trooper, so now Game Warden Pickett has to find that elk and end its suffering before the storm hits.

 

Snow is heavy on the ground as it is thanks to a winter of relentless and constant storms. More snow and high winds are going to make a bad situation way worse. Time is of the essence. He calls and gets permission from the foreman of the Double Diamond Ranch known to all as “The Double D” to cross their land in pursuit of the badly injured elk. With one eye on the darkening sky rolling down from the mountains, he sets out following the trail.

 

After being on the trail of the elk for a few minutes, he finds a vehicle hidden in the trees off of an old small two track road. He investigates and nobody is in the SUV. Thanks to the fact that it is unlocked, he also finds that the interior is fairly warm. Among other things inside is a topographical map with four locations marked by x’s in a black marker. The person or persons from the car are not lost. They meant to be here in this isolated spot though they may not have counted on the powerful storm closing in on the area by the minute.

 

As Pickett begins to look around the immediate area, he realizes he is hearing a mechanical scream coming from somewhere nearby, He gets up on a ridge and starts looking for the missing person or persons as well as the source for the noise. As the snow begins to build in intensity, he can see tracks from the SUV to a nearby small metal building of some type. The longer he looks at the structure, he realizes that a dark form is hanging out of the steel louvers on one side of the building

 

The dark form is a person and not moving.  

 

What follows is a complicated read that touches on espionage, the growing Sovereign Citizen movement, domestic terrorism, and a host of other issues driving our nation’s politics at this time. The MAGA crowd comes in for their fair share of criticism as do other groups on the far right.  Various characters depict those positions and their behavior and statements may offend readers who believe in their cause.

 

While there is a mystery here as to what is going on, this is a politics heavy thriller more than anything. It shows the ongoing shift of the last few books from the solidly good mysteries that began the series to more of thrillers populated with cardboard cutouts as secondary characters.

 

It is my hope that Mr. Boxx returns to his roots that made this series so good in future installments in this series.

 

 

My reading copy came by way of the publisher through NetGalley. Publication day is 2/28/2023. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2023

Short Story Wednesday Review: Shots Fired: Stories From Joe Pickett Country by C. J. Box

With Season One of "Joe Pickett" having started on Paramount+ last Sunday, I thought this would be a good time to share this review from the massively magnificent archive here at Casa Tipple and Home Eatery Library.

 

When I was a kid growing up in Northeast Dallas my parents always took us camping on the winter breaks as well as during the summers. Not only did we do a bunch of parks and sites here in Texas we spent weeks at a time up in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. My dad was an avid hiker and he and I frequented many a trail. Little did I know then that, as fate would have it, once I moved out at age twenty I would never make it back to the mountains I had loved since a child. Author C. J. Box is one of a handful of writers who really bring the beauty of the wilderness alive for this reader. His latest book titled Shots Fired: Stories From Joe Pickett Country does it again in spectacular fashion.

 

The short stories in this anthology are ones that have appeared in various anthologies as well as three brand new ones exclusive to this book. Four of the tales feature Game Warden Joe Pickett and /or Nate Romanowski. One story is set overseas in Paris by way of South Dakota and is a very dark tale. There is one based on a snippet of history from before WW2 and the magnificent Hindenburg. The ten tales presented are all good ones and readers get to them after a short introduction that explains the background of each work.

 

The book opens with a Joe Pickett story titled “One-Car Bridge.” Joe has to deliver some bad news to the manager of the Crazy Z Bar Ranch one Saturday in September. The absentee ranch owner, a very wealthy man by the name of Lamar Dietrich, is known for his harsh ways and absolute refusal to accept anything less than total success by all of his employees. He won't be happy that the Game and Fish Commission has formally denied his plan to convert around two thousand of his sprawling ranch into an exotic game hunting operation. Mad does not begin to cover what Joe and others expect his reaction to be and the ranch manager and his family are in for it.

 

In the “Pirates Of Yellowstone” Eddie and Vladdy have come a long way from their home in Prague to work in the park. They were assured by Yellowstone Park representatives in Prague that they had jobs to work for the official park concessionaire. Unfortunately, now that they are here and very ready to work, their jobs do not exist. The best the HR representative here can do is put them on a waiting list. They have to make some money---one way or another.

 

From modern day, readers journey back in time to September 1835 where the winter snows have come early and heavy to the mountains known as the Wind River Range in “The End Of Jim and Ezra.” Pushed hard by newcomers and a lack of beavers in their normal trapping grounds, Jim had made the decision to go far higher into the mountains than normal. Higher than any white trappers had ever gone before and it worked. It had worked so well Jim hadn’t wanted to leave. Now the snows have come and they can't get their beavers or themselves out. Hopefully the weather will break before they do.

 

Nate Romanowski is the main focus of “The Master Falconer” though Joe Pickett does make a brief appearance. Visitors from overseas have landed in Saddlestring, Wyoming, and they plan on conducting some business with Nate. Not that he has any interest in ever dealing with them again even before they use what he cares most about against him.

 

“Every Day Is A Good Day On The River” is the title of the next story as well as statement of life for many folks. In the tale, Randall “Call Me Duke” Connor has two clients in the flat-bottomed Mckenszie boat drifting down the river. Jack and Tim are supposed to be on the North Platte River for a day of relaxation and fishing. Jack is a bit nervous never having done this before, but Tim seems very quiet and in a mood. Jack would be quite a bit more nervous if he had any idea what is coming at them.

 

Based on a picture from 1936 and some very interesting history “The Pronghorns Of  The Third Reich” comes next. A debt from before WWII has come due and Clint means to collect it no matter what..

 

Joe Pickett is back in the next tale titled “Dull Knife.” Checking the license status of a group of ice fisherman on the surface of Dull Knife Reservoir in the Big Horn Mountains should be a fairly routine event. Even with all the noise the ice is making at twenty-two degrees below zero.  Pickett's license check once he gets across the noisy ice leads to far more interesting things.

 

“Le Sauvage Noble (The Noble Savage) comes next where those in Paris can't get enough of the idea of American Indian's and Cowboys. So on the advice of his buddy Lyle, Jimmy Two Bulls packs his recently purchased and allegedly authentic Indian garb and leaves South Dakota behind for Disneyland Paris and the Wild West Show. According to Lyle, if he plays the Indian role correctly good times will be had with the way too sophisticated women of Paris.

 

“Blood Knot” comes next and this very short story is all about family legacy and appreciation. Intense and over quickly it can't really be described more without ruining the read.

 

The final story is “Shorts Fired: A Requiem for Ander Esti.” Like the previous story, legacy and tradition are key components of this tale. It is late September and Joe Pickett is sent to investigate the shooting of a vehicle driven by Burton Hanks. He reported being shot at and claims to know the identify the shooter. Burton expects Pickett to dispense immediate justice by arresting Ander quickly and hauling him to jail, but Pickett sticks to his usual method of trying to figure out all the facts first.

 

This collection of short stories is a good one and there is not a bad one in the bunch. Split fairly evenly between the Pickett stories and others that feature interesting characters and often difficult situations, Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country provides a lot of good reading. For those new to the Joe Pickett series of very good books, this read explains why so many are fans including this reviewer.

 

 

This reviewer was selected to receive an ARC of the book by LibraryThing in exchange for my objective review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014, 2018, 2022

Review: Shadows Reel: A Joe Picket Novel by C. J. Box

Shadows Reel: A Joe Picket Novel by C. J. Box begins the day before Thanksgiving. It has been a few weeks since recent events (Dark Sky: A Joe Pickett Novel) and Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett is still recovering though he is back to work. He is feeling the aches and pains as his body continues to heal as well as his age, but is glad to be out in the field and doing his job. back at work He is looking forward to Thanksgiving and all the company which will include Liv Romanowski and her baby daughter, Kestrel, as Nate Romanowski is away and on the trail of the violent outlaw falconer, Axel Soledad. That hunt and Nate’s POV becomes one of the three storylines in the read and is slowly revealed.  

But, at this point, that is all in the future as Pickett and his dog, Daisy, head to business at hand. The destination is the Crazy Z-Bar Ranch, where owner Lorne Trumley has reported a dead moose on his property. The hunting season for moose ended a couple weeks ago so this is a problem.

It soon becomes clear that a far bigger problem is going on than a dead moose when he arrives in the general area. Something smells like burned pork. Ravens are on top of the dark mound which is still smoldering in spots as evidenced by the smoke/steam coming upwards on this chilly morning. Pickett grabs his binoculars and looks at the mound and suddenly everything is much clearer.

It is a body.

A body means investigation by the recently elected Scott Tibbs. It also means that Sheriff Tibbs is not a fan of Joke Pickett and does not appreciate the fact that Joe Picket has created a mess that has to be dealt with at Thanksgiving. As if Joe Pickett scheduled and planned the events. Tibbs does not want Pickett anywhere around, but of course Pickett is going to keep his nose in the investigation as that is what he does.

He is not alone in that as his wife MaryBeth tends to do the same thing with matters that his close to home. These days she is now the director of the library and often comes to work before everyone else. Pulling into her space at the library before dawn that same morning that soon saw her husband looking at a smoldering dead body, she had witnessed somebody leaving a package at the door of the building. The drop-off by the shadowy figure was spooky as was the way the package appeared. It is only after she takes some pictures of it and then unwraps the package does she realize that it is some sort of detailed leatherbound photo album that dates back to the 1930s. It documents a year in the life of a Nazi government official by the name Julius Streicher. It is a legacy of nightmarish history.

It is also a book that some will kill for as Mary Beth, Joe Pickett, and family and friends soon learn. They want it back and don’t care what they have to do to get it.

Nate’s hunt for the violent outlaw falconer, MaryBeth’s album, and the discovery of the body by Joe Pickett, are the three plot lines that are the storytelling pillars of Shadows Reel: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box. As befitting a book in a well-established series, there is not really any character development here. Much of the read is from the perspective of Mary Beth as she researches the book and comes to grips with the horrors it represents as well as the current threat that exists. Because of that situation as well as the hunt by Nate, much of this book has Joe Pickett regulated to the sidelines. This reader prefers reads where he is front and center and not so much on the periphery of various things. Still, while not the best work in the series, this reader enjoyed the complicated tale.

 

 

My reading copy came from the Dallas Public Library System by way of the OverDrive eBook app.

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022

Review: Dark Sky: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box

 

It was not a job that Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett wanted, but the Governor made it clear he had no choice. At fifty-one and doing a job for the most part he loves, he is very well aware that politics controls his career and his department. If he did not already know, a recent meeting with the newly elected Governor made that fact abundantly and bluntly clear in a recent meeting.

 

So, on this October morning with signs that winter is coming, Joe Pickett is at the Saddlestring Municipal Airport watching a Gulf Stream worth sixty-five million dollars power across the western sky above the Bighorn Mountains. It is a plane he is not looking forward to meeting and not just because standing there in the morning cold is not doing a lot for his still healing leg due to the events in Long Range. The rifle round ripped through his thigh and, while he is better and able to be back at work, he feels it when he stands in the cold or where he exerts that leg. He is also not wearing his gun, holster, or belt and he is keenly aware of the missing weight.

 

It is not long before the plane stops and the man he is supposed to take elk hunting comes down the stairway. Steven “Steve-2” Price, social media tech mogul, has arrived for his hunting experience. With him is his assistant, Timothy Joannides, and his bodyguard Zsolt, who treats Joe like he is a threat and not law enforcement. It is clear from the start that the three men have no business coming to Wyoming for an elk hunt and the trip is designed as a sort of publicity stunt. It is also clear that they will be treating Joe and his friend who is helping guide the trip, Brock Boedecker, as glorified servants to do their every whim.

 

The three from California, despite what Steve-2 says, are not there to really experience nature and fully participate in the elk hunt. Thanks to all their high-tech toys and unwillingness to actually help set up camp or do anything, they are there to be seen, by way of constant social media posts, to be seen on the hunt. While his daughters know about Steve-2 and use his sites, Game Warden Joe Pickett cares nothing about that.

 

Pickett’s plan is to get through the next few days as best as he can while hopefully accomplishing the main mission as outlined by the Governor. His job, as well as the jobs of many others is at stake, per the Governor's stated threat. A mission that would be difficult at best if things went right. It won’t because the five of them and their horses are not the only ones in the mountains.

 

Dark Sky: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box is the latest in this long running series and is a good one. Readers unfamiliar with the series could start here as the backstory is limited and does not impact previous reads. Readers long familiar with the series will find plenty to enjoy in this latest read that ends in a fittingly violent and intense resolution in the mountains of Wyoming. An ending that is also used, much like a billboard neon sign out by the highway, to tell one and all the focus of the next book in the series.

 

  

Dark Sky: A Joe Pickett Novel

C. J. Box

http://www.cjbox.net

G. P. Putnam’s Sons

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/588964/dark-sky-by-c-j-box/

March 2021

ASIN: B08BKTNP9X

eBook (Hardback, audio, and large print paperback formats also available)

363 Pages

 

 

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Library System. Big time thanks to Scott who was able to make the technology work for his old man. 

 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Long Range by C.J. Box

Bookblog of the Bristol Library: Long Range by C.J. Box: Reviewed by Kevin Tipple Welcome back guest reviewer Kevin Tipple! His blog, Kevin's Corner , is an award-winning source of reviews ...

Review: Long Range: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box

Humans and there ever advancing technology have always had an impact on the West. Often in unintended ways with major consequences. One of those who has noted those changes have been Author C. J. Box. He has done so in a variety of series, especially those that feature Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett. The same is true in his 21^st book in this long running and evolving series, Long Range: A Joe Pickett Novel.

As the book begins, Pickett is astride a borrowed horse and in the Teton Wilderness instead of his beloved Saddlestring District. One of three game wardens that make up the newly formed “Predator Attack Team” they are on the hunt for a grizzly bear that has killed a local hunting guide. That is if one can believe the out of state hunter, Julius Talbot. The story he tells is bizarre and does not describe typical bear behavior. Going with the client and sole witness back to the site of the attack, will allow the Game Wardens to recover what is left of the body and verify the story.

That is the plan until the Director of The Wyoming Game and Fish Department calls on a satellite phone and orders Joe Pickett to board the arriving helicopter and get back to his district immediately. The legendary and notorious Judge Hewitt is enraged and calling in markers and favors. Someone took a shot at him, missed, and hit his wife, Sue Hewitt. She is now in the local hospital in critical condition. Judge Hewitt has demanded that all local law enforcement assemble for a meeting in his chambers. He is enraged, justifiably so, and wants to get all local law enforcement working the case his way.

At the same time, Nate Romanowski is also about to be an enraged husband as well. He has been trying to live on the grid and follow all the rules after finally having numerous federal charges dropped. That past of his, working in and out of the shadows, is something that will again he used against him in the here and now.

The latest in the long running series, Long Range: A Joe Pickett Novel picks up a few months after Wolf Pack. The events of that book play a significant role in this read. As has always been the case in this series, people age, relationships change, and for the Picketts, family is the center of everything. The marital dynamic between Joe and his wife, Marybeth, remains the heart and sole of this series that should be read in order. 

Simply put, Long Range: A Joe Picket Novel by C. J. Box is very good and well worth your time. 

My hardback large print reading copy came from the Kleberg-Rylie Branch of the Dallas Public Library System by way of the “Library to Go” curbside delivery at the Lochwood Library. Appreciate your libraries and librarians as they are all that stands between us and the twin demons of ignorance and hate.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2020

Afternoon Reading

With heavy storms in the forecast for tomorrow morning and following on and off rains predicted for the rest of the weekend, I spent a good chunk of this afternoon practicing my best skill: Reading. I am halfway through the read in large print. The glass was iced tea.

Review: "Shots Fired: Stories From Joe Pickett Country" by C. J. Box

When I was a kid growing up in Northeast Dallas my parents always took us camping on the winter breaks as well as during the summers. Not only did we do a bunch of parks and sites here in Texas we spent weeks at a time up in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. My dad was an avid hiker and he and I frequented many a trail. Little did I know then that, as fate would have it, once I moved out at age twenty I would never make it back to the mountains I had loved since a child. Author C. J. Box is one of a handful of writers who really bring the beauty of the wilderness alive for this reader. His latest book titled Shots Fired: Stories From Joe Pickett Country does it again in spectacular fashion.

The short stories in this anthology are ones that have appeared in various anthologies as well as three brand new ones exclusive to this book. Four of the tales feature Game Warden Joe Pickett and /or Nate Romanowski. One story is set overseas in Paris by way of South Dakota and is a very dark tale. There is one based on a snippet of history from before WW2 and the magnificent Hindenburg. The ten tales presented are all good ones and readers get to them after a short introduction that explains the background of each work.

The book opens with a Joe Pickett story titled “One-Car Bridge.” Joe has to deliver some bad news to the manager of the Crazy Z Bar Ranch one Saturday in September. The absentee ranch owner, a very wealthy man by the name of Lamar Dietrich, is known for his harsh ways and absolute refusal to accept anything less than total success by all of his employees. He won't be happy that the Game and Fish Commission has formally denied his plan to convert around two thousand of his sprawling ranch into an exotic game hunting operation. Mad does not begin to cover what Joe and others expect his reaction to be and the ranch manager and his family are in for it.

In the “Pirates Of Yellowstone” Eddie and Vladdy have come a long way from their home in Prague to work in the park. They were assured by Yellowstone Park representatives in Prague that they had jobs to work for the official park concessionaire. Unfortunately, now that they are here and very ready to work, their jobs do not exist. The best the HR representative here can do is put them on a waiting list. They have to make some money---one way or another.

From modern day readers journey back in time to September 1835 where the winter snows have come early and heavy to the mountains known as the Wind River Range in “The End Of Jim and Ezra.” Pushed hard by newcomers and a lack of beavers in their normal trapping grounds, Jim had made the decision to go far higher into the mountains than normal. Higher than any white trappers had ever gone before and it worked. It had worked so well Jim hadn’t wanted to leave. Now the snows have come and they can't get their beavers or themselves out. Hopefully the weather will break before they do.

Nate Romanowski is the main focus of “The Master Falconer” though Joe Pickett does make a brief appearance. Visitors from overseas have landed in Saddlestring, Wyoming, and they plan on conducting some business with Nate. Not that he has any interest in ever dealing with them again even before they use what he cares most about against him.

“Every Day Is A Good Day On The River” is the title of the next story as well as statement of life for many folks. In the tale, Randall “Call Me Duke” Connor has two clients in the flat-bottomed Mckenszie boat drifting down the river. Jack and Tim are supposed to be on the North Platte River for a day of relaxation and fishing. Jack is a bit nervous never having done this before, but Tim seems very quiet and in a mood. Jack would be quite a bit more nervous if he had any idea what is coming at them.

Based on a picture from 1936 and some very interesting history “The Pronghorns Of  The Third Reich” comes next. A debt from before WWII has come due and Clint means to collect it no matter what..

Joe Pickett is back in the nxt tale titled “Dull Knife.” Checking the license status of a group of ice fisherman on the surface of Dull Knife Reservoir in the Big Horn Mountains should be a fairly routine event. Even with all the noise the ice is making at twenty-two degrees below zero.  Pickett's license check once he gets across the noisy ice leads to far more interesting things.

“Le Sauvage Noble (The Noble Savage) comes next where those in Paris can't get enough of the idea of American Indian's and Cowboys. So on the advice of his buddy Lyle, Jimmy Two Bulls packs his recently purchased and allegedly authentic Indian garb and leaves South Dakota behind for Disneyland Paris and the Wild West Show. According to Lyle, if he plays the Indian role correctly good times will be had with the way too sophisticated women of Paris.

“Blood Knot” comes next and this very short story is all about family legacy and appreciation. Intense and over quickly it can't really be described more without ruining the read.

The final story is “Shorts Fired: A Requiem for Ander Esti.” Like the previous story, legacy and tradition are key components of this tale. It is late September and Joe Pickett is sent to investigate the shooting of a vehicle driven by Burton Hanks. He reported being shot at and claims to know the identify the shooter. Burton expects Pickett to dispense immediate justice by arresting Ander quickly and hauling him to jail, but Pickett sticks to his usual method of trying to figure out all the facts first.

This collection of short stories is a good one and there is not a bad one in the bunch. Split fairly evenly between the Pickett stories and others that feature interesting characters and often difficult situations, Shots Fired: Stories from Joe Pickett Country provides a lot of good reading. For those new to the Joe Pickett series of very good books, this read explains why so many are fans including this reviewer.

Shots Fired: Stories From Joe Pickett Country

C. J. Box

http://cjbox.net

G. P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group USA)

http://www.penguingroup.com

ISBN# 978-0-399-15858-2
August 5, 2014

Hardback

288 Pages

$26.95

This reviewer was selected to receive an ARC of the book by LibraryThing in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Review: "Stone Cold: A Joe Pickett Novel" by C. J. Box

Stone Cold: A Joe Pickett Novel is the fourteenth book in the series and features the return of both fugitive outlaw Nate Romanowski as well as Game Warden Joe Pickett. While Nate is doing what he has to do to survive and is out of contact with the Picketts, Joe is as well while also worrying about his missing friend. That means when Governor Rulon suddenly demands that he come to Cheyenne and doesn't care that Joe Pickett hates to fly, he has to go. The hatred of flying is just one of several reasons Joe is not going to like this assignment.

Not that Joe Pickett really has a choice. The only reason he once again has his job as Game Warden is because of Governor Rulon. Not only did Joe keep his seniority in the service, he also got a raise and the title “Special Liaison to The Executive Branch” to go along with it. Joe gets the job done and sometimes the Governor, who has a major independent streak, puts him to work on special projects. This is going to be one of those cases.

For Wyoming Game Wardens being sent to Medicine Wheel County in the far northeastern part of the state is punishment. Beautiful land with few residents, most extremely poor and receiving governmental assistance, it is not a place where a place to advance a career. Those who live in this area also don’t welcome outsiders.

Though they seem to have welcomed a man by the name Wolfgang Templeton. That may have happened because he brought a lot of money to the area which he seems to be running as his personal fiefdom. Half a dozen years ago Templeton showed up from out of nowhere and bought the Sand Creek Ranch. He also bought up plenty of private properties in the area. According to the governor, the Feds think that Templeton is involved in some sort of murder for hire business. While the state folks don't have any real reason to suspect anything, because of politics they have to be seen as doing something to check it out. A Department of Criminal Investigation agent was recently sent in to investigate and quickly after arrival died under strange circumstances. Governor Rulon wants Pickett to go in undercover by doing his real job check things out. He is to trust no one, including the assigned Game Warden Jim Latta, and to evaluate and report without taking any real action.

The whole deal is a mess and one Joe Pickett does not want any part of. He has enough going on at home with his strong willed daughters and things there are starting to heat up again. But, Joe understands very well he can’t say no to Governor Rulon. Before long Joe is in the deep woods in so many ways.

This latest in the series is another good one. Interesting characters, multiple ongoing storylines that continue book to book, and plenty of mystery and action make this one another compelling read. Author C. J. Box once again brings the beauty of Wyoming alive in a complicated tale that quickly engages the reader or many levels. Stone Cold: A Joe Pickett Novel releases next week and is well worth your time.

Stone Cold: A Joe Pickett Novel

C. J. Box

http://www.cjbox.net

G. P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group)

http://www.us.penguingroup.com

March 11, 2014 (Scheduled Release)

ISBN# 978-0-399-16076-9

Hardback (e-book and audio available also)

384 Pages

$26.95

I was selected to receive an ARC via the Early Readers group on LibraryThing for my use in an objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

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