Tag: C J Box

Stone Cold – C J Box -Nate’s Out for Blood!

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Stone Cold - C.J. Box

C.J. Box — Stone Cold (Joe Pickett #14)

Some writers take pages to hook you. In the latest Joe Pickett novel, C.J. Box does it in the first paragraph: Nate Romanowski shoves a drift boat into the Bighorn River and heads downstream toward the mansion of the man he intends to kill.

If this is your first Pickett, you’ll admire the crisp, descriptive prose. But if you’ve read a few (in my case, all but one of the first fourteen), you have the same “uh-oh” reaction I did: “Nate is going to murder someone.” That’s not going to end well.

Nate is Joe’s shadowy friend—he shows up when Joe needs him most—but he’s also on the run from the feds. Is that why he’s rowing toward a kill?

The Joe Pickett Connection

Meanwhile, Game Warden Joe Pickett gets a special assignment from Governor Rulon: look into billionaire Wolfgang Templeton, who’s buying up Medicine Wheel County and may be running a murder-for-hire ring for the ultra-wealthy. Joe is told to observe, not get involved (sure, Jan). It turns personal when a grainy video from a victim’s home seems to show… Nate.

On the home front, Joe’s daughter Sheridan, an RA at the University of Wyoming, calls about a resident: a mysterious guy in a long black coat who spends all night on violent, shoot-’em-up video games.

So Joe heads to Sand Creek Ranch, with Templeton on one side of the board, Nate on the other, and Sheridan giving him one more reason to worry.

The action is fast and the pages fly, as they do in the best Pickett novels. The characters keep evolving (fourteen books in), and Joe’s moral compass still points true. Nate’s? Not so much.

Should you read it?

  • Hook: Cold-open with Nate on a kill mission.
  • Plot engine: Billionaire land grab + possible contract killings.
  • Series payoff: Joe/Nate relationship tension turned up to 11.

Tip: New to the series? Read a few earlier books first so you can fully appreciate the Joe and Nate dynamic.

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C.J.Box

About C.J.Box

Charles James Box Jr. is an American author of more than thirty novels. Box is the author of the Joe Pickett series, as well as several standalone novels, and a collection of short stories.

Visit C.J.Box page

If you like the family and character connections in this series…

You might also enjoy:

William Kent Kreuger
Michael Robotham
Michael Robotham
Peter May
  • William Kent Krueger — the Cork O’Connor series blends crime with family, history, and a strong sense of place
  • Michael Robotham — especially the Joe O’Loughlin books, where personal lives are always part of the story
  • Peter May — the Lewis Trilogy, where past, family, and landscape are tightly woven together

Breaking Point – C.J. Box – Joe Pickett # 13

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Breaking Point- C.J. Box

Book 25 for the year is Breaking Point, the 13 the in C.J.Box’s great series and it’s another good one. I had checked the book out a couple of weeks ago, but I got immersed in two other books and it sat on the shelf. Finally, a few nights ago I picked it up and I don’t think I set it down until I was done! Box can really tell a story with believable characters and suspense that doesn’t let up!

The Story

This story revolves around Butch and Pam Roberson, whose daughter Hannah is best friends with Joe’s daughter Lucy. Butch and Pam set out to build their dream house only to be sited by the EPA for illegally filling wetands, after a year-long battle and skyrocketing fines, two EPA agents set out from the Denver office to deliver a compliance letter to the Robersons, only to end up dead on the Robeson’s property and Butch is the only suspect!! Soon there is a manhunt of epic proportions for Butch who has taken flight to the rugged woods and mountains that surround his home. Joe’s official job is to lead the group chasing Butch, but Joe’s real job to save Butch’s life so he can find out the true story about what happened!!

My Thoughts

While the action and suspense was non-stop and I devoured the book super quickly, I did think that the portrayal of the EPA both from a compliance standpoint and the manhunt was a little over the top. As a wetlands delineator and having dealt with NJDEP for the last 25 years, I thought the whole EPA issue could have been handled quickly. But then again considering the other case The Sacketts cited in the book and the premise of this book is taken from a true story maybe not!! Either way the book is a fantastic read, so check it out!

Comparing Joe Picket to Cork O’Connor

Joe Pickett is one of my favorite characters. He reminds me a lot of Cork O’Connor in William Kent Krueger’s books. Both have been in law enforcement Joe is a Game Warden and Cork an ex-sheriff. Both are good honest men with families. Joe has a wife Marybeth, two natural daughters and one foster daughter. While Cork has two daughters and a son. Both have trusted friends that help them.  Joe’s friend Nate (who makes a small appearance in this book) /Romanowski is just a tad (said with heavy sarcasm) more violent than Cork’s spiritual guide Henry Meloux! Throughout both series the well-developed characters have evolved, the children have grown up,  the families have dealt with typical family problems, and both men have dealt with the gray areas involved in their pursuit of justice!

While I don’t think that you necessarily need to read the earlier books to enjoy this one, I think that once you read it you’ll want to find out more about Joe and his friends, particularly Nate,  Joe’s mother-in-law Missy and Joe’s problems with his vehicles!!! Enjoy!!

Book 19 of 2012 – C.J Box – Force of Nature

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Nate Romanowski  is the kinda person I would probably not like I real life, but in the world of Joe Pickett, I do! Both are characters in C.J. Box‘s Joe Pickett series and Book  No 19 of 2012 is Force of Nature the 13th book in that series! Nate Romanowski is falconer and an ex-member of the special forces now wanted by the FBI. He lives in the hills near Saddlestring, Wyoming and he has saved Game Warden Joe Pickett’s butt more than once and several incidences has done Joe’s dirty work. After Nate survives an attack on his life by locals and hears from a dying team member that “they’ve deployed”, he meets with Joe.  He says knows who is after him his ex-commander and falconry mentor John Namecek and he’s leaving the area to find out what’s happening  moreover Nate doesn’t expect to win the battle! Now Joe has never known why Nate had to move and live off the grid and Nate can’t tell him now because it will put Joe’s life in even more danger!

So the rest of the book is Nate’s attempt to survive the attack from John Namecek  as his friends and former comrades are being eliminated one by one and even Joe’s family are threatened along the way the terrible secret that Nate has been carrying around is revealed and it all revolves around falcons and the force of nature!!

As I said previously, this is the 13th book in the series and I’ve read all except No 12 Cold Wind. I love all the characters obviously Joe and Nate and then there’s Joe’s family Joe’s wife MaryBeth, her mother Missy, who was the focus of the ast book and Joe’s children daughter’s Sheriden and Lucy and adopted daughter Alice. The kids have always been an important part of the series Sheridan, now a student at the University of Wyoming, has in the past learned falconry from Nate. April’s relationship to the family has evolved over many books! This book can be read and enjoyed without reading any of the other books, but after reading it you probably will want to go back and catch-up with Joe’s adventures!

Box has written several stand alone novels the latest being  Back of Beyond, which was very good! Box has won several awards including:  the Edgar, Anthony. Macavity,Gumshoe and Barry, as well as, the French Prix Calibre .38 and a French Elle magazine literary award.  So check him out!

When I was looking for some pictures today of Saddestring I came across this article Running in the Bighorns perfect. (Note to Edward start running again!)

C.J. Box – Back of Beyond

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Back of Beyond. is C.J.Box’s third stand alone thriller..It was eleased soon after the 11th Joe Pickett novel Cold Wind  (which I started a while back and didn’t finish before it was due back at the library)

What the Press Says

“…timeless…gripping…resemble(s) an Agatha Christie closed-community whodunnit but with horses, bears, wolves, and hunting rifles.””
Sunday Times (UK)

AP: “…the new book may be his best yet…a roller-coaster ride of unexpected twists and turns, making “Back of Beyond” one of the most suspenseful wilderness thrillers since “Deliverance.”
Associated Press / ABC Ne

“…a taut tale…that hooks you.”
USA Today
“If Box isn’t already on your list, put him there.”
Toronto Globe and Mail

The Story

Back of Beyond was a fast and furious ride through the back country of Yellowstone Park. The novel’s main character is Cody Hoyt a divorced, alcoholic cop thrown off the Denver Police force and now stationed in Montana.

When Coty finds his mentor from AA dead in his burned out cabin, Coty knows it’s not the accidental death it appears to be but murder!

Soon clues link the murderer to an outfitter leading tourists on a spectacular multi-day wilderness horseback trip into the remote corners of Yellowstone National Park

. Coty’s  son Justin is one of the tourist on the trip with his step-father to be! Among the tourists is fourteen-year-old Gracie Sullivan, an awkward but intelligent loner who begins to suspect that someone in their party is dangerous.

After accidentally shooting the coroner at the crime scene, Coty is suspended from the force and soon takes off on a chase to stop the tour and rescue his son from the murderer! The action is fast and furious and the book was a real page turner with lots of twists and turns.

Here’s what some folks are saying:

Final Thoughts

I agree with all of them. I’ve loved Box’s books from the first one I read ! I love the characters in this book particularly Coty and Gracie! So if C’.J.Box is not on your list of  “to be reads” put him there! I myself hope this is not a stand alone but that Coty has another adventure. Hey James Lee Burke has two main characters why not Box! Maybe Coty can meet up with Joe Pickett!

Book 16 – Nowhere to Run – C.J. Box

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Nowhere to Run is my 16th read of the year and the 10th book in Box’s Joe Pickett series, which keeps getting better and better. This books opens with Joe in his last week of temporary assignment in Baggs Wyoming. The assignment has lasted a year and Joe will be returning to his wife and family soon. But Joe goes into the mountains to investigate some strange happenings, which include camp lootings, tents being slashed, and an elk butchered before the shooters can even collect it! There was also the case of a female Olympic class runner going for a run into the woods and never coming back! On the hunt Joe runs into two twin brothers Caleb and Canish Grimm, who appear to be the men who butchered the Elk! When Joe asks for their fishing license and gives them a citation for hunting without a license their wrath is taken out on himand he barely escapes the mountain alive, but not before he potentially sees the Olympic runner……and the rest of the book revolves around finding out who the Grim Brothers are and was that really the lost runner!

Like all Box’s books the characters are great from Joe to his wife Marybeth, Marybeth’s golddigging mother Missy. the kids Sheridan, Lucy and April to Nate Romanowski and the Brothers Grim! Coupled with the characters is Box’s great descriptive writing about the beauty of the mountains that form the setting of the story!

The pages in this book flew by and overall it was a very enjoyable read! The series can probably be read out of order because the story stands on its’ own but to get the full effect you need to know Joe and his past! So get busy because you have nine books to go to catch up but it will be worth the trip!