A few years ago, I thought it might be nice to move to Wyoming. I looked at housing and income information, weather, and the availability of the basic necessities of life. For one reason or another, I shelved the idea. That was until I discovered C. J. Box and his Joe Pickett novels. They have me seriously considering moving to Wyoming again. My husband isn’t completely against the idea, but wonders about the winters.
All that aside, I find Box to be a compelling writer. His characters are like real people. His descriptions of the localities are lyrical. You can sense his reverence for his home state and all that it has to offer in the way he writes about it.
I bought one of his novels at our local Costco. Checking out, the cashier told me I was really going to like it and that there were very many books before the one I was buying. I reserved my judgment until I read it. I was instantly converted. And very happy that there were many more.
Joe Pickett is a game warden for the state of Wyoming. More often than not, his sense of what is right and what is wrong gets him into trouble. And it’s not necessarily trouble related to his regular job. He gets involved in solving all sorts of crimes and problems.
Joe Pickett is the kind of guy you want on your side and not the other way around. He’s at his best doing his job in the wilds of Wyoming and a bit inept in social situations, which just increases his charm. In many ways, Joe is the quintessential cowboy of the old west; polite, quiet, competent, and a good hand on the ranch.
I now own all but the most recent novel. I could review a single novel in the series, but I’m not sure I could do it justice as a singleton. It really is more of a serial than a series with each new novel building on where the last one left off. Box immerses you in the lives of Joe Pickett and his family.
I can highly recommend them all. Box blends good description with great action scenes. He balances peril and danger with depictions of family life. These people could be your neighbors.
Box writes about his characters with dignity. He makes them so real that you are sure that if you were to visit Saddlestring, Wyoming, you would see Joe walking down the street with his Stetson firmly clamped on his head and a determined-to-set-things-right look on his face.
If you haven’t read any of C. J. Box’s Joe Pickett novels, try one, any one. I’m sure you will be delighted.
Maddie's Mom Writes 