Rating: 
Summary: Only Once In a While
Review: As an avid and virtually constant reader, it is exciting to come upon a book (a first effort, at that) that can be legitimately characterized as one-of-a-kind, best of the year so far. This is that book. The theme is unusual, the author knows his stuff, and the last 40 or 50 pages will totally consume you until the end. I was devastated that the book had to come to a conclusion, and further that I'll probably have to wait another year for his next one.
Rating: 
Summary: A good beginning
Review: Gee, maybe it's because I'm a downtown city-born person, or maybe I'm hypercritical, but this isn't (by my standards) a five star book. It's three and a half, to be sure. But any novel that has a wife saying to her husband, "You're the last of your kind ... You have a good heart and your moral compass is a model of its kind ..." is a novel that doesn't hit the bull's-eye. That bit of dialogue (in its extended version) is straight out of romance novels. It just doesn't ring true in what the author has structured. The reader's already got the message; having the wife deliver it greatly reduces the impact.There are, though, a lot of things that do ring very true. The author's feel for the west comes through loud and clear; there are some fine descriptive passages that paint a very believable and clear portrait of a part of the world that, to many of us, is completely unknown. I liked the secondary characters better than most of the primary ones. Joe Pinkett's mother-in-law, Missy, for one, comes across as horribly real. Joe's little girl Lucy, who scarcely appears, is consistently more believable than Sheridan, the older daughter, who drifts in and out of believability. Sheriff Barnum is a quirky, unpredictable, well-developed character; yet the villains of the piece are fairly transparent from the outset. Joe Pickett is something of a twerp who redeems himself in the final few chapters of the book. And those final chapters work very well, with nice tight narrative drive and some unexpected actions by the hero who becomes, all at once, fully dimensional. C. J. Box has talent. There's no doubt about that. Open Season is well-paced and lean. I'll buy his next book in the hope that he continues to grow, while resisting the temptation to have his characters speak improbable lines.
Rating:
Summary: Anticipating the next one.
Review: I have become a fan of J A Jance and this compares very favorably with her books.
I appreciate his feelings for his family that come through.
Good character development, good suspense, thankfully a lack of
gratuitous sex.
Good job, Chuck.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome to Wyoming!!!
Review: A great mystery with all of the elements: murder, mayhem, big business trying to steal from the little guy and, of course, distrustful locals. At the center of it all is our hero, Joe Pickett, Average Guy. Absolutely refreshing. Joe isn't an ex-anything, plagued by demons can't get rid of, trying to do a job he burned out on years ago (which seems to be the story of most mystery novel protagonists). He's just a man trying to support the family he loves doing a job he loves. All of that while solving a couple of murders on the side. Next time you're in Saddlestring (Sheridan), stop by Stockman's Bar(The Mint) and see for yourself how much of Wyoming C.J. Box captured in a delightful 300-page novel. I can't wait for "Savage Run."
Rating: 
Summary: Open Season has real people
Review: C. J. Box has created real people with faults, feelings, frustrations and fears. The descriptions of typical Wyoming locations are accurate enough to make a Wyomingite feel like it is a place where he/she camped, hunted, or fished recently. The narrative is plausible because the politics truly exist. Do not begin reading this book in the evening because you will be up all night hiding behind a mountainside rock with a terrified little girl. You can't just put the book down and leave her there. Get on the waiting list for the next Joe Picket novel.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: Being a neophyte when it comes to the mystery genera, I mistakingly thought WHO-DONE-ITs were supposed to keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. This novel, although a good read and reasonably well crafted, leaves little doubt beyond page 90 as to who the villians are and what their motivation is. The remainder of the book does contain some suprises, but fails to maintain an adequate level of tension.
Rating: 
Summary: not that good
Review: I almost stopped reading Open Season after the first half as I tired quickly of the cardboard characters and slow plot. The story recovered in the second half. I did not appreciate the misspellings, "is" for "his", or the injured character who was dead on the next page but then alive in the following chapters.
Rating:
Summary: A GAME DEBUT FOR A GAME WARDEN
Review: As a mystery writer with my initial novel in its initial release, I was genuinely impressed with C.J. Box's OPEN SEASON. In this debut mystery, C.J. Box introduces Joe Pickett, a game warden worthy of reader interest. Joe is an honest man who is willing to risk everything for what he views as right. He is a family man in a small Wyoming town. His family could have a far more comfortable life if Joe would simply be more willing to compromise with the local established power structure. Yet he is a man of principles, and he stands by his principles during the trying events presented in this novel. The death of poacher launches the plot, and other deaths follow. Joe's family even becomes threatened, yet he still refuses to compromise. C.J. Box has an impressive debut here, and Joe Pickett easily earns the right to future engagements.
Rating:
Summary: Best First Mystery of the Year!
Review: What an excellent discovery!!! I enjoyed this book so much and am looking forward to the second book in the series. Box's writing flows from the heart. Pickett is a wonderful creation, an everday man with many faillings. He loves his family and his job and the mystery he becomes embroiled in will test the limits of both. His vivid descriptions of Wyoming should make their tourist bureau happy. Both heart-warming and gut-wrenching, this is truly a remarkable debut.
Rating:
Summary: The best debut mystery of 2001!
Review: "Open Seasons" is the brilliant debut mystery from C. J. Box, a new author who is quickly taking the mystery world by storm. If this book is any indication of his potential as a writer, we can expect great things from him. This is not only one of the best first mysteries I've read in a long time; it's one of the best, period. C. J. Box's writing is crisp and clean, the seemingly effortless kind of prose that is actually the reflection of many hours of toil and sweat. His plotting is likewise excellent, keeping the reader in rapt attention as he gradually tightens the screws of suspense. Go ahead and award "Open Season" the Edgar Award for "Best First Novel." If this book doesn't win, that would really be a crime. --David Montgomery, Mystery Ink
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