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Summary: uppolishak
Review: Okay, a good story but I think the part about the "extinct" animal was a little hokey.
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Summary: His Second Hit
Review: I love his stories!!! If the first few pages don't get you then you should give up and just pull the dirt up over your grave. If he keeps this up he'll be at the top of my "A" List.
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Summary: C.J. Box has "trapped" himself a winner !
Review: On a lazy sunday morning TROUBLE rode into the backyard and died on Joe Pickett's woodpile, changing his life forever. Open Season, by C.J. Box is the first in the Joe Pickett mystery series. This first novel has won several awards including the Anthony award for best first novel of 2001. In Open Season, Pickett, a Wyoming Game Warden has the undaughting task of trying to uncover the truth behind the murders of three men at an outfitters camp. Pickett's fellow law enforcement officials have closed to book on these murders, convinced that they have arrested to killer, Pickett believes otherwise. And so as the new guy in town Pickett sets out to find the reason behind the deaths. One of the things I like best about this novel is the father-daughter relationship that Pickett has with his two little girls. Also, Pickett comes across as a more average guy and not the "super" sleuth of most novels. From the beginning when Pickett unknowningly gives a ticket to the governor of Wyoming for fishing without a license Joe is somebody we can all relate to. From the first crack of the rifle to the last this book is sure to please!
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Summary: FABULOUS first mystery
Review: This is a FABULOUS first book. Typically I only read cozy mysteries -- those with very little sex or violence. This goes over that barrier but does not contain as much sex and violence as a hard core mystery. It stars Joe Picket who is a game warden in Wyoming, his wife Marybeth who is pregnant with their 3rd child and their 2 girls Sheridan and Lucy. Joe recently replaced Vern Dunnegan as game warden and the locals still can't get used to that fact. Sheridan tells her dad of her dream of a monster coming into their backyard. Joe discovers that Sheridan wasn't dreaming. Ote Kealey was found dead and bloody on their woodpile out back. Ote had been camping up on Wolf Mountain. Joe's perplexed as to why Ote would come to his house. To protect his family, Joe has them check into a local motel. Then he sets out with Wade, another game warden, to discover what was going on up on Wolf Mountain. This thrusts Joe into a race to try to save not only an endangered species, but to figure out a mystery that will threaten his life and his family. I liked the author's character, Joe Pickett, and his family. I enjoyed the way the author lets you see things from Joe's point of view as well as from Sheridan's. I don't know much about game wardens and it is not a profession I would think would be interesting for a book, but it is in this series. I felt I got to know a little about the profession and the problems and joys of that profession. I HIGHLY recommend you read this first book.
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Summary: Fallible hero
Review: There are many things to like about C.J. Box's first novel.
For one thing, the protagonist, Joe Pickett, is a game warden in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming, a great setting. Box also does a good job with complications when a local hunting outfitter is found murdered in Joe's backyard. Joe had caught the outfitter poaching, but had been relieved of his gun when he'd begun to write the citation (Joe is much more fallible and believable than a lot of genre heroes). The game warden whom Joe had replaced is a local legend who'd quit his job to work for InterWest, a natural gas pipeline company with plans to build across the state(Unless those persnickety environmentalists find a reason to squelch matters). Joe is also having trouble making ends meet on his salary and his mother-in-law, who's always felt he wasn't good enough for her daughter, Marybeth, arrives to help with the children. The legendary game warden offers Joe a job with InterWest and he's tempted to take it. When two more dead outfitters are found and a possible suspect is also gunned down, most everybody is satisfied that the case has been solved. Except Joe. It's all much too cut and dried for him.
Probably the most engaging character in the book is Joe's seven-year-old daughter, Sheridan, who witnessed "the monster" stumble into Joe's backyard and pass out on the woodpile, leaving a little box full of animal feces from several Miller's weasels, an endangered species, whom Sheridan takes on as pets.
The plot of OPEN SEASON leaves a bit to be desired. There's an ambiguous chapter where a man, who's been watching her play with the weasels, threatens Sheridan. There are only two possible suspects, and when you eliminate the obvious one, there's only one. And he's too much of a maniac to be credible.
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Summary: Animal Lovers will love this one!
Review: Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett wears jeans and a straw cowboy hat. His job is to protect the state's endangered wildlife. He gets just a bit more than he bargained for when he somehow becomes involved in a weird series of murders to investigate. Despite being told by his boss to stay out of it, despite being made fun of by the townfolk for various mistakes he has made in the past, despite the eventual suspension of his job and the financial destitutional state of his family, Joe Pickett picks up the trail on his own, and soon learns that there is a lot more out there in the woods of Wyoming than it seems. Determined to find out if his suspected "conspiracy" exists, even at the the danger of his own daughter's life, Joe Pickett moves on. Suspenseful and full of surprises.
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Summary: Great book
Review: I just finished reading this book and I previously read "Savage Run." I would strongly encourage readers to read "Open Season" first. Of the two, I feel that "Open Season" is the far superior book. It was spell-binding and very difficult to put down. Box is not only a great story teller, he is also obviously an inherent part of the country, climate, profession, and people he writes about. I hope he continues writing because, like Tony Hillerman, I think he's got a lot more to say. Read this book, you'll enjoy it!
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Summary: A Wonderfully Imperfect Hero
Review: Open the pages of this highly original debut novel, and watch as the people and the images spring right out at you. C. J. Box does an unbelievably good job of getting into the head of a young girl, and presents us with an imperfect and highly believable hero. Joe Pickett, daddy, husband, game warden, who doesn't quite get everything right no matter how hard he tries. While the mystery wasn't too difficult to figure out, it was real enough that you wanted to reach into the book and help these folks out. While the world of outfitters and hunters is not my usual cup of tea, four years living in Wyoming and riding horses every chance I got, should make me qualified to say he got the sense of place just right. The book design, and integration of the endangered species was far above par, but the editing was poor (effect rather than affect being something I particularly found annoying). I look forward to more by this author!
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Summary: An excitng story and a wonderful new character
Review: Joe Pickett is a naïve, straight-as-an-arrow, family man. He has become a game warden because he loves the outdoors. But he never thought about how he would provide for his family on the measly salary, or how he would handle the inevitable political situations that would arise. And finally, he is so gullible around his fellow man that he keeps getting his gun taken away from him. But Joe is one of the good guys. He may not be quick and bright but he is dogged and smarter than he appears. So when a strange set of circumstances gets him involved in a bizarre murder case in his own backyard, Joe won't give up until he solves the mystery. Box mixes into a complex mystery the fascinating discovery about an endangered species and a commentary on the culture clash between the western hunters and the bureaucratic environmentalists. Throughout the book, Box describes in loving detail the landscape of rural Wyoming, both its grandeur and ugliness. Joe Pickett, one of the most original characters in the genre, and the exciting story make Open Season a wonderful read.
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Summary: A great first novel.
Review: A mystery that takes place in Wyoming where the main character is a game warden almost scared me off since I've always lived in a big city. I'm really glad I read it! The characters were well developed (and mysterious to the end!)and the description of the setting was terrific. This story by the end showed me that there are some universals no matter where you go. We are all flawed and one of our biggest flaws is greed. Even thoough it's Wyoming, don't let that fool you, there is plenty of suspense throughout the story. I can't help but add, the names of the towns really gave me a chuckle!
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