C. J. BOX – Nowhere to Run. Putnam, hardcover, April 2010. Paperback reprint: Berkley, April 2011.

Genre:   Licensed investigator. Leading character:  Joe Pickett; 10th in series. Setting:   Wyoming.

First Sentence:   Three hours after he’d broken camp, repacked, and pushed his horses higher into the mountain range, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett paused on the lip of a wide hollow basin and dug in his saddlebag for his notebook.

   Game Warden Joe Pickett is making the last pass before going home through the territory he has been covering for the past year. He’s following up on reports of vandalism and other hunter’s game butchered out. He doesn’t expect to run into twin brothers who resent being asked to follow the rules and nearly cost Joe his life.

   He also doesn’t expect the only reason he escapes is a woman who may have been an Olympic contender but disappeared. His determination to enforce the law and to possibly rescue the woman sends Joe, with his friend Nate, back into the mountains and an old-West showdown.

   Box writes books that are entertaining, exciting and occasionally touching. He also writes book that make you think about the bigger issues and does it in such a way that doesn’t preach or become didactic, but makes you weigh both sides of the question and make your own choice. That is a real talent.

   The character of Joe Pickett is one of an average man; very human, married, loves his family, loyal to his friends. He learns he is not invincible, but believes in his job even it’s dangerous and, perhaps, not smart… “It’s my job. I do my job.”

   Even his wife, Marybeth, acknowledges his job is who he is… “You do what you do because you’re hardwired for it. You get yourself into situations because you have a certain set of standards…”

   That relationship and those principles give Joe the structure that defines him. The interaction between Joe and the other characters is believable, and occasionally humorous.

   In this book, Box has given Joe two very challenging enemies; both in terms of surviving against them, but opposition of views on issues that are very timely. One thing, of which I am becoming very tired, is the overuse by authors of the ignorant, obstructive, jealous superior official. Yes, I know it all-too-often exists, but it has become rather cliché.

   The pacing is wonderful; it fluctuates between tension and rest. Box’s descriptions demonstrate his knowledge and love of Wyoming, and shares that with us by taking us along and letting us see what Joe sees, both in terms of its beauty and potential danger.

   The dialogue has a natural flow and refreshingly little profanity. This is a very good story. I became so involved, it was a one-sitting read for me and I am now anxious for the next book.

Rating:   Very Good.

        The Joe Pickett series —

1. Open Season (2001)

2. Savage Run (2002)
3. Winterkill (2003)
4. Trophy Hunt (2004)
5. Out of Range (2005)
6. In Plain Sight (2006)

7. Free Fire (2007)
8. Blood Trail (2008)

9. Below Zero (2009)
10. Nowhere to Run (2010)