Long Range

In the 20th story of the Joe Pickett saga reader’s find the scrappy Wyoming Game Warden once again in over his head and involved in matters way beyond poachers or some dude with an expired fishing license. Local magistrate, Judge Hewitt, a cantankerous no-nonsense judge whom Joe has dealt with a number of times in the past is sitting down to dinner at his plush golf course home when a bullet comes through the window, missing him but striking his wife Sue as she’s brining in the entrée. The judge quickly assembles the town’s law enforcement including Joe and sets them to the task of finding the shooter pronto. It soon becomes evident that this is the work of a highly skilled sniper using hi-tech equipment and naturally suspicion begins to fall on Joe’s mysterious buddy, ex- Special Forces, master falconer, and all around Ninja, Nate Romanowski. Even though Nate’s gone legit the past couple of years and now has a wife and baby daughter named Kestrel (I know, too cute) his outsized reputation makes him the favorite of the new Sheriff who is more concerned with positioning himself for higher office than finding the truth. Oh, and Nate’s also being stalked by a cartel assassin seeking vengeance following the events from the previous novel, “Wolf Pack”. Box knows how to tell a story and this book is no different; the plot moves along swiftly and the suspense builds nicely. Over the course of this series Pickett has become less inept and more competent although his penchant for getting in trouble remains intact. We learn in “Long Range” that Joe is 50 years old which is an interesting revelation. This book also has Box kill off another recurring character and retire the judge; the author got rid of three regulars in "Wolf Pack" too so he seems to be setting things up for some changes. Joe's pickup still gets shot up though, and Nate rips at least one guy's ear off so those elements are preserved. We also learn in “Long Range” that Joe is 50 years old which is an interesting revelation. When author’s pin an age on their protagonist in novels that are set in real time it establishes an obvious end point where the character can no longer believably continue to be a crime buster. The late Robert B. Parker for example established P.I. Spenser as a Korean War veteran but quickly dropped that and although we know Spenser is aging (and should be in a nursing home by now) he still soldiers on today in new mysteries written by proxies. Michael Connelly is meeting this issue head on with his popular Harry Bosch character who is a Vietnam vet aging out of the LAPD and winding things down as a P.I. in a manner that feels authentic. Conversely, author Craig Johnson with his Vietnam era Sheriff Walt Longmire, who has to be 70 years old, still out doing ridiculous stuff that he could never do and carrying on an intimate relationship with his undersheriff. I was pretty critical of C.J. Box’s earlier Joe Pickett installments but the series has gotten better with each book and Box had done a fine job of building this franchise as one of the best of the genre. His “Highwayman” novels are very good and in my opinion better and well worth reading (ignore the poorly adapted TV series loosely based on them as they bear little resemblance to the books) if you like the Pickett stories

Dudley Do Right needs to work on his dismount. A.great read good over evil triumph again. This.was.a.fast.passed story and.I enjoyed it until the last period.

Great book. All of his books that I've read so far are really good. I feel like I'm there with him.

Great plot, and usual characters. Boxes books are always a clean and easy read that you don't want to put down. Very good distraction from the craziness of today's world.

Good series

Riveting with plot twists. Surprise at ending. Characters developed well Will definately purchase more of this series. Good read all around.

If you like Joe, you’ll love this book. Start at the beginning of the series so that the ages of the family make more sense, but this is good clean Pickett fun.

While I prefer the toughness of Walt Longmire and the tough good guy competence of a Clint Eastwood hero. The everyman image of Joe Pickett is starting to grow on me. I'm not a fan of frame ups and unnecessary intrigue. Thankfully thus story doesn't get overly hung up in them to the point of becoming tedious. The story moves well and there is a main plot and a major subplot which honestly could have been it's own book. Plus another subplot that would make a good short story. But, don't worry it never bogs down or present too many characters to keep up with. This is a good story and a stand alone book if you are like me. A casual reader of the series and not that interested in having to go back and read them all in order.

I buy Kindle books when they're cheap, typically 0.99 each. If it's a series I'll buy them all when they reach my price point. Sometimes I find gems. The Joe Pickett series is a gem, he's become one of my favourite characters of all time. The books are very evocative of place and the characters are realistic and human. I love that the main protagonist is a game warden who's a lousy shot with a handgun and has a reputation for writing off his vehicles. I've just read number 20 in the series and I'd strongly recommend everyone to buy and enjoy them all immediately. Because then C.J.Box will have sufficient incentive to continue writing new adventures just for me.

CJ Box ,in my opinion, is amongst the elite of crime fiction writers. His primary character, Joe Picket is different to most in that he is happily married, has no dark secrets and doesn't suffer from depression or alcoholism. He is just a good guy with a strong sense of right and wrong. He is a game warden in Wyoming national park and has a tendency to stumble into threatening situations. Fortunately he always managed to come through successfully if not always unscathed.. This is usually due ,in no small way, to the help of his friends Nate Romanowski, an ex special forces man and falconeer who has no hesitation in delivering his own form of justice in protecting himself and his friend Joe. The location of the national park plays a huge part in creating the character and atmosphere around which all the action takes place. The wonderful story telling keeps you e enthralled from start to finish and the rural setting throws up a wonderful collection of interesting and eccentric characters both good and bad.l

Where do I start? The daughters have flown the nest and Joe and the delightful Marybeth are rattling around in a new big house, paid for by the state.It's all lovely and quiet until an attempt on the judges life results in the death of his lovely and popular wife. Ok this leads to several different plot lines going on.For those of you who don't know, Joe is prone to losing the states trucks, either by theft whatever. I was relieved to find that the truck in this case was left behind in a very safe place at the start of the story. Oh boy, I relaxed too soon.Three plots, murder of judges wife, killing of guide by crazy grizzly bears and attempted murder of attorney.These all fall together absolutely beautifully. Of course we have the incredible Nate who has now settled down and has a good job, a beautiful wife and a child, but we can't leave him out of the story, in fact he is a very big part of it.Oh CJ Box how do you it. You pull me in every time. Don't stop writing. You're the best, (and Joe and Nate).

This series of books, written by CJ Box over many years, is a complete classic.What is amazing to me is how little CJ Box and his hero Joe Pickett is known in the UK.My mother refuses to have a Kindle but, like me, loves Joe Pickett stories. I’m trying to buy the books in paperback but finding difficulty. Come on publishers get them released in UK!

This far into the series, the hero is becoming gratingly naive and gullible given the myriad times others have betrayed , used or generally taken advantage of him. Always; in spite of his previous experiences.However . . . . a great descriptive of the "West" , the landscape / weather, the wild life and of course the wild human fauna. If you can stop hoping Mr P would "man up" then these are a very good read.