Out of range

When a fellow game warden kills himself, Joe Pickett is transferred to Jackson Hole--Wyoming's very own California --where the new and old Wests collide head-on. Pickett investigates the suicide, meanwhile angering both a hotheaded developer and an irascible outfitter--and attracting the developer's beautiful wife. (Back home in Saddlestring, Joe's wife, Marybeth, calls family friend Nate Romanowski for help with threatening phone calls and finds herself tempted, too.) Contemporary issues are always integral to Box's books, and here he examines the modern quest for authenticity through something called the Good Meat Movement. In the fifth installment of any series, even one this good, one might reasonably expect a creeping sense of routine. But, if anything, Box is getting better. Incorporating his own natural curiosity into his characters' opinions, he strides a Teton-sharp line between the hard-boiled ethos, where concepts of right and wrong are almost meaningless given the world's ways, and a western sensibility, where a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do--Joe eventually delivers the line: I just killed the only man in Jackson Hole I really understood. But although Pickett is a laconic western archetype, there's no mythmaking here. He's a family man, likably flawed, and evolving every year. Recommended for practically everybody. --Keir Graff Copyright 2005 Booklist

In Box's taut, suspenseful fifth Joe Picket novel (after 2004's Trophy Hunt), the Wyoming game warden is temporarily transferred from his backwater base, Saddlestring, to Jackson, a sophisticated tourist mecca, to replace warden Will Jensen, who apparently shot himself to death. Joe has his doubts about Will's "suicide," but little time to investigate given other distractions: a vast and remote territory to patrol, questionable practices by a hunting outfitter, pressure to approve an exclusive housing development on a wildlife trail and protests by animal rights activists. At home, Joe's contentious wife, Marybeth, deals with mysterious threats and daughter Sheridan's teenage angst. To complicate matters further, Joe's reputation as a hardheaded law enforcer, unwilling to play politics, precedes him. Unusual for the genre, the skillfully orchestrated climax doesn't include a chase and the conclusion is ambivalent. Adept at setting his scenes, physically and psychologically, Box approaches Nevada Barr in his ability to describe the West's natural beauty. With each book he creates plots of greater complexity, but in contrast to his ever more nuanced male characters, his women remain too often flirtatious or angry. Agent, Ann Rittenberg. Author tour. (May 5) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Saddlestring, WY, game warden Joe Pickett (Trophy Hunt) takes a temporary assignment in upscale Jackson, when friend and coworker Will Jensen dies from an apparent suicide. Joe immediately finds himself embroiled in the community's political games as various factions-animal rights activists, environmental extremists, and old-time hunters-compete for his endorsement. After his pickup truck is set afire, Joe becomes convinced that Will's death was a homicide, probably at the hands of one of these groups. His refusal to sign off on a building permit earns him the community's enmity, but it's not until an unforgettably tense trip into the high country that he realizes just how many people want him dead. Though a subplot involving wife Joe's wife, Marybeth, stretches credibility, Box's depiction of family tensions rings true. This fifth in a series is a Western lover's mystery, relying heavily on guns and honor; clearly, Joe's the real sheriff in town. Changing venue opens up future plot possibilities for the likable hero. Recommended for libraries with other series titles and for Tony Hillerman and Michael McGarrity fans. Box lives near Cheyenne.-Teresa L. Jacobsen, Santa Monica P.L., CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Crime-fighting Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett outdoes himself during a temporary transfer from sleepy Saddlestring to fashionable Jackson Hole. Will Jensen, the Jackson game warden, was a great guy and a model warden, but once his wife left him six months ago, he spiraled into madness and suicide, and now Joe's been called to replace him. The transition is anything but smooth. There's no question of Joe's family coming with him, so he's reduced to hoping he can get a signal for the cell-phone calls he squeezes into his busy schedule. En route to his new posting, Joe has to pursue a marauding grizzly. He arrives to meet a formidable series of challenges. Cantankerous outfitter Smoke Van Horn wants to go on attracting elk with illegal salt licks without the new warden's interference. Animal Liberation Network activist Pi Stevenson wants him to publicize her cause and adopt a vegan diet. Developer Don Ennis wants to open a housing development for millionaires who like their meat free of additives. Ennis's trophy wife Stella simply wants Joe--and he wants her back. As he wrestles with these demands, and with a supervisor riled over Joe's track record of destroying government property in pursuit of bad guys (Trophy Hunt, 2004, etc.), Joe slowly becomes convinced that Will did not kill himself. Joe's fifth case is his best balanced, most deeply felt and most mystifying to date: an absolute must. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

/*Starred Review*/ When a fellow game warden kills himself, Joe Pickett is transferred to Jackson Hole--"Wyoming's very own California"--where the new and old Wests collide head-on. Pickett investigates the suicide, meanwhile angering both a hotheaded developer and an irascible outfitter--and attracting the developer's beautiful wife. (Back home in Saddlestring, Joe's wife, Marybeth, calls family friend Nate Romanowski for help with threatening phone calls and finds herself tempted, too.) Contemporary issues are always integral to Box's books, and here he examines the modern quest for authenticity through something called the "Good Meat Movement." In the fifth installment of any series, even one this good, one might reasonably expect a creeping sense of routine. But, if anything, Box is getting better. Incorporating his own natural curiosity into his characters' opinions, he strides a Teton-sharp line between the hard-boiled ethos, where concepts of right and wrong are almost meaningless given the world's ways, and a western sensibility, where a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do--Joe eventually delivers the line: "I just killed the only man in Jackson Hole I really understood." But although Pickett is a laconic western archetype, there's no mythmaking here. He's a family man, likably flawed, and evolving every year. Recommended for practically everybody. ((Reviewed May 1, 2005)) Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews.

Saddlestring, WY, game warden Joe Pickett (Trophy Hunt) takes a temporary assignment in upscale Jackson, when friend and coworker Will Jensen dies from an apparent suicide. Joe immediately finds himself embroiled in the community's political games as various factions-animal rights activists, environmental extremists, and old-time hunters-compete for his endorsement. After his pickup truck is set afire, Joe becomes convinced that Will's death was a homicide, probably at the hands of one of these groups. His refusal to sign off on a building permit earns him the community's enmity, but it's not until an unforgettably tense trip into the high country that he realizes just how many people want him dead. Though a subplot involving wife Joe's wife, Marybeth, stretches credibility, Box's depiction of family tensions rings true. This fifth in a series is a Western lover's mystery, relying heavily on guns and honor; clearly, Joe's the real sheriff in town. Changing venue opens up future plot possibilities for the likable hero. Recommended for libraries with other series titles and for Tony Hillerman and Michael McGarrity fans. Box lives near Cheyenne.-Teresa L. Jacobsen, Santa Monica P.L., CA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

In Box's taut, suspenseful fifth Joe Picket novel (after 2004's Trophy Hunt), the Wyoming game warden is temporarily transferred from his backwater base, Saddlestring, to Jackson, a sophisticated tourist mecca, to replace warden Will Jensen, who apparently shot himself to death. Joe has his doubts about Will's "suicide," but little time to investigate given other distractions: a vast and remote territory to patrol, questionable practices by a hunting outfitter, pressure to approve an exclusive housing development on a wildlife trail and protests by animal rights activists. At home, Joe's contentious wife, Marybeth, deals with mysterious threats and daughter Sheridan's teenage angst. To complicate matters further, Joe's reputation as a hardheaded law enforcer, unwilling to play politics, precedes him. Unusual for the genre, the skillfully orchestrated climax doesn't include a chase and the conclusion is ambivalent. Adept at setting his scenes, physically and psychologically, Box approaches Nevada Barr in his ability to describe the West's natural beauty. With each book he creates plots of greater complexity, but in contrast to his ever more nuanced male characters, his women remain too often flirtatious or angry. Agent, Ann Rittenberg. Author tour. (May 5) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.