Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
Summary: A welcome find
Review: There's a growing body of mystery fiction set in the beauty of the West, or at least primarily outdoors. As much as I love both the classic and neo-noir mystery authors, this is a refreshing trend in the hands of good writers, and as far as I know a particularly American one. It's so great to see that there are talented authors willing to write about parts of this country other than it's mean streets. (See the customer recommendations for other such authors.) Mr. Box has provided us the benefit of a protagonist who is not a loner, has no addictions, dead spouses, or other demons in his past to drag around for easy characterization points, and whose dream job keeps him and his family in near-poverty. It's a good read from the first paragraph, and apparently the series is proving successful because despite Amazon.com's note about this being an out-of-print edition I found my paperback copy new at a chain bookstore on July 1, 2004. This story really lets the chips fall where they may; certain motives and villians may be easy to pick up early on, but the real fascination here is when the main characters will do the same, what they'll do about it, and what price the author will extract from them and us. On the way to those revelations I got so invested in the Pickett family that emotions really ran high by the final chapters. As another reader stated, I didn't want this book to end; these are people you feel protective of and whose company you don't want to leave. The chapter-heading quotes from the Endangered Species Act remind us that there are unintended consequences flowing from every action, one of the quiet themes, like love of nature and a sense of fitting into one's landscape, that gracefully runs through this story. The author's ability to portray how the mind of a seven year old girl works is a wonderful device for highlighting the difference in how children view the world vs. adults. I look forward to following this family through many years to come. This debut novel has "movie" written all over it, so let's hope Hollywood takes note. I could easily see someone like Thomas Jane in the role of Joe Pickett.
Rating:
Summary: Being a Game Warden is a perilous business
Review: It's always a great day when an avid mystery reader discovers a good, new series writer. The other day, based on member reviews, I read "Open Season" by C. J. Box, and he is certainly that kind of writer.
This is the first of Mr. Box's Joe Pickett series, and it was very enjoyable. I especially liked the fact that Joe's wife, Marybeth and his delightful daughters, Sheridan and Lucy were portrayed as real people. His older daughter, Sheridan, in fact, demonstrated a lot of grit for a seven-year-old. It is a tribute to Mr. Box's skill that she really sounds and thinks like a seven-year-old, if a very smart and brave one. It was refreshing to see the family playing an important role in the mystery, rather than the author includng its members as mere ciphers, as is often the case.
Joe is a Wyoming Game Warden who, when new on the job, suffered an embarrassing incident involving a local poacher that severely recduced Joe's credibility. Game Wardens are apparently very high profile law enforcement officers in a state where every man and many women hunt game animals in every legal season. Sometimes in illegal seasons, as well.
The plot involves developers who want to build a gas pipeline in northern Wyoming (an hour's drive from Billings, Montana), and the consequences from the possible discovery of an endangered species in the area. By now, most people know what kind of fallout would occur if the Environmental Protection Agency and its fans got involved. However one feels about environmental protection, the threat to the pipeline's backers if an endangered species was discovered in the area needs no explanation.
Several murders occur, and Joe proves to be a pretty good detective in finding the killer. As the story moves along the author, in the form required for a meaningful mystery novel, piles wheelbarrows full of trouble on his hero. Just when Joe is at his lowest point, his wife, Marybeth gives him a pep talk that sets his mind at rest and gets him successfully to the end game. Marybeth's talk sounds like something from an 1850's melodrama, but that is a small price to pay in an otherwise very believable mystery novel.
I certainly got the full impact of the perils of being a Game Warden in a remote and unpopulated state. There is no way I could live in such a place, but I could certainly appreciate the folks who put up with it.
As a final treat, the author includes a quotation from a man reflecing on the unintended consequences of the Environmental Protection Act that is worth the read alone.
Rating: 
Summary: Predictable, and very 'young adult'
Review: I'm actually miffed at Lee Childs and Tony Hillerman. Their blurbs on the front cover sold me, so I bought the book. It was SO obvious I could scream. The bad guys, villains, were utterly predictable from the first. No shocks there whatsoever. And the entire short novel felt very much like I was reading young adult fiction geared toward 16 or 17 year olds.
I was not impressed and felt cheated by the other authors who gave this book great blurbs. It should have been a graphic novel for little boys. Oh, and Joe Pickett? Very boring, very boy scout-one dimensional.
Rating:
Summary: No Mike Hammer here
Review: For decades the fictional detective was a clone, with variations, of Sam Spayde, tough, single (better yet, divorced), womanizing, tough-talking, insensitive, cocksure, and living in a gritty city such as New York, LA, or Chicago. In the past few years we have seen a considerably more realistic literary detective, and C.J. Box's Joe Pickett is a fine example. Pickett is very married, has two little girls, is a rookie game warden in Wyoming, and not at all sure about what is the right thing to do in every case.
Early on, Pickett carelessly loses his gun to a criminal, a taboo in law enforcement. He seriously considers taking a civilian job with a pipeline company because he just isn't making enough money to support his family as he would like. Then he must choose between the job offer and the harder but considerably less lucrative right thing to do. It is touch and go for a time.
The plot involves the discovery of an animal thought extinct for a century and the havoc it will create if the word gets out. Forget about snail darters and snowy owls. The suspense and plot movement are excellent. The characters are interesting, three dimensional, and feel right. The little Wyoming town and the wide open vistas of mountain and canyon are a welcome change in crime fiction. Not all crooks live in large cities.
My only quibble with it is that the writer went a few pages too long, i.e., too far past the decisive action. The final chapter was touchy feely and didn't work. But that is a minor matter. The body of the book is fine, and I can scarcely wait to read more books by C.J. Box.
Rating:
Summary: A welcome find
Review: There's a growing body of mystery fiction set in the beauty of the West, or at least primarily outdoors. As much as I love both the classic and neo-noir mystery authors, this is a refreshing trend in the hands of good writers, and as far as I know a particularly American one. It's so great to see that there are talented authors willing to write about parts of this country other than it's mean streets. (See the customer recommendations for other such authors.) Mr. Box has provided us the benefit of a protagonist who is not a loner, has no addictions, dead spouses, or other demons in his past to drag around for easy characterization points, and whose dream job keeps him and his family in near-poverty. It's a good read from the first paragraph, and apparently the series is proving successful because despite Amazon.com's note about this being an out-of-print edition I found my paperback copy new at a chain bookstore on July 1, 2004. This story really lets the chips fall where they may; certain motives and villians may be easy to pick up early on, but the real fascination here is when the main characters will do the same, what they'll do about it, and what price the author will extract from them and us. On the way to those revelations I got so invested in the Pickett family that emotions really ran high by the final chapters. As another reader stated, I didn't want this book to end; these are people you feel protective of and whose company you don't want to leave. The chapter-heading quotes from the Endangered Species Act remind us that there are unintended consequences flowing from every action, one of the quiet themes, like love of nature and a sense of fitting into one's landscape, that gracefully runs through this story. The author's ability to portray how the mind of a seven year old girl works is a wonderful device for highlighting the difference in how children view the world vs. adults. I look forward to following this family through many years to come. This debut novel has "movie" written all over it, so let's hope Hollywood takes note. I could easily see someone like Thomas Jane in the role of Joe Pickett.
Rating:
Summary: Don't start reading this unless you have all night
Review: I had a lot to do tonight around the house, but was having a hard time focusing. So I figure I'll read a chapter or two of this book "Open Season" that I'd picked up because it seemed kinda interesting... It's now a little past 2:00 AM. My eyes are blurred, I gotta take a leak, and my shoulders and back are stiff from laying on the couch reading all night. Just couldn't put it down once I opened it. Finished the book, read the teaser for the next Joe Pickett novel, read the short bio of CJ Box on the back page, and then even reread all the reviews in the front of the book. Just couldn't get enough. Of course, I also went on Amazon.com and bought the next novel. Joe Pickett and his family are some of the best characters I've encountered in a long time, and I know I'll be following them for years to come (I hope). Just a great book!
Rating:
Summary: IMPRESSIVE AT LEFT COAST
Review: CJ Box spoke on environmental issue novels at Pasadena's Left Coast Crime mystery convention. He explained how he wrote this work and the issues he hoped to address in it. Following his panel, I bought the book. I just finished reading it. It is a marvelous success, deserving its unprecedented award status. It has also been translated into nine languages. Good work, Mr. Box.
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