Joe Pickett is in fine form in this excellent entry in the long-running series from C.J. Box. Together with his family and circle of colleagues, and despite various attempts to thwart his investigation, Joe looks into the bizarre death of a university professor whose body he found in a remote area near a mysterious structure. A dangerous storm makes it all but impossible to pursue this safely, and Joe is blocked on various fronts by people who should be helping him. Meanwhile, falconer and one-time outlaw Nate Romanowski is approached by a secessionist group wanting him to join their cause. In short, there’s plenty of danger all around, and the juicy story weaves together various modern-day themes in a compelling manner. It’s a strong installment in a series that doesn’t seem to get old or lose momentum. Wishing for many more adventures from Joe Pickett and company.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group/Putnam for a digital advance review copy.

Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett returns in a highly entertaining story about a secret facility he stumbles upon hidden in a remote part of Wyoming.

A professor from the University of Wyoming is reported missing and while Joe is looking for an elk that is wounded, he discovers the professor's car and subsequently his body. Someone has killed him in a brutal way.

While trying to find out more, he is stymied by the FBI, environmentalists, and Governor Colter Allen. This book is an excellent addition to the series.

This is my 3 sequential Joe Pickett novel I’ve read. I wish I would have discovered this series years ago. Now I’ll have to go back and catch up. I really love Joe and the other reoccurring characters in this series. The Wyoming location and how it’s described makes you feel like you are there. I believe long standing Pickett fans will love this upcoming installment. This author does an excellent job of jumping right into the story and the pace is always quick and moving.

Yet another wonderful Joe Pickett novel, another test of his steadfast commitment to his work, his family and his community. The book starts with Joe encountering a dead man in a remote and unknown high-tech facility. The investigation of that death ultimately involves Joe, his family, some very wealthy ranchers and government officials at the highest levels, both state and federal. The chase to discover the truth is on and no one can dig to the bottom of a mystery more doggedly and more effectively than our man Joe Pickett.

I received an ARC from the Publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Can it really be? #23 in the Joe Pickett series? And we’ve reviewed most of them.

Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett has been called to track down an elk that was injured by a car and has wandered off on its three remaining good legs onto the Double Diamond ranch property. Not a duty Pickett likes because he must put the animal out of its misery.

A serious spring snowstorm has pelted the Big Horn mountains and while the snow makes tracking the elk easy, the knee-thigh deep snow is a challenge. He finds the animal near a heavy pine forest and sees what appears to be a car partially hidden by the snow.

It’s a four-wheeler, well taken care of, with a U Wyoming parking sticker. The trail is still navigable, so Joe follows to see if the owner needs assistance. What he finds is a large windowless, metal shed, and the driver is half in/half out of a ventilation fan, dead from the fan blades. Takes some crime scene photo before a couple shots ring out. Nothing more.

Pickett returns to his truck and phones it into the sheriff. The next day, a crime scene unit finds nothing. No car, no victim. No tracks (more snow). Pickett gets a call from his boss in Cheyenne that Governor Colten Allen wants to see Pickett now, snow be damned. Joe goes and is told in no uncertain terms to cease and desist any further investigation into the death of this university professor.

The death of the prof leads to a series of tentacles that include his mother-in-law, Nate Romanowski (of course) and Geronimo, a fellow falconer from Colorado, daughter Sheridan and her sometime boyfriend (the son of the DD Ranch foreman), a loosely knit clan of conspiracy theorists/secessionists and associated dirtbags, the FBI, former Governor Rulon, and a disabled FBI agent roaming around in an RV.

Yeah, convoluted.

But Box is a seasoned pro and he tells his tale with all the skill and grace we expect from him. His easy way of weaving a story is comfortable for his devotees, including the boys here at MRB.

Box is consistently a winner; another 5-star outing. If you’ve never read him, start anywhere. While there is some order to his books, most any can be a standalone. And if you haven’t been aware, Paramount+ streams a Joe Pickett series, the first season came out in 2021. Nice to watch if so you can put faces to the characters as you read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance reader copy. Available 28 Feb 2023.

And for anyone out there taking notice, this represents our 1500th post to this blog.

Definitely one of the top three Picket novels thus far if not THE best. Storm Watch is absolutely classic Box. Pickett's penchant for poking the bear is at an all-time high. The gang is all here including Marybeth, Sheridan, April, Lucy, Missy, Nate and Liv, Geronimo and Jancinda, and last but not least, Gov. Rulon. What more could you want? We get Washington swamp rats, Teton twitchers, corrupt pols, local militia, arrogant FBI agents, foreign agents, some falconry, and "other" entrepreneurial activity, and a great story. Grab Storm Watch, your beverage of choice, a good winter fire, and settle back for a great read, a few guffaws, some western justice, and maybe the satisfaction that ageless American values are not dead everywhere.

Another interesting Joe Pickett story. Joe and Nate Romanowski always seem to get into some type of trouble. Interesting story that revolves around things that are going on today in the world. Joe and Marybeth’s daughters Sheridan andLucy we’re also involved in this to a smaller degree. The book kept me wanting to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. I would recommend this book to others.

Fans of CJ Box's Joe Pickett series will enjoy the latest installment Storm Watch. Box's familiar cast of characters returns including Joe's nemesis mother-in-law and old friend and former governor Spencer Rulon. Box continues his recent trends of unlikely 'ripped from the headlines' incorporation this time with bitcoin and Chinese spies.

“Storm Watch” is the latest entry in the “Joe Pickett” series of mysteries by the prolific author C.J. Box. Since I have previously read several books in the series it stands to reason that (1) I very much enjoy this series and (2) I will give “Storm Watch” a positive review. “Storm Watch” does not disappoint although it is not my favorite entry in the series. Box continues to stretch both his protagonist Joe Pickett as well as the universe Joe inhabits. This time around Joe the game warden ends up in the middle of big game poachers, legal ( and perhaps not so legal) Bitcoin entrepreneurs, and not one but two Governors of the great state of Wyoming. Of course, there may be some murder and mayhem out there in the mountains. Perhaps we can throw in not one but two epic blizzards!
So this is yet another fun read. And I was very fortunate to read “Storm Watch” by virtue of the great folks at NetGalley.

I and library patrons always look forward to Cj Box books. I especially love the Joe Pickett series.

Another great mystery from Box. Action, a tense mystery all set in the beautiful mountains of Wyoming..

Love, love love CJ Box stories with real, relatable characters like Joe Pickett and of course MaryBeth (she is a librarian who is witty and intelligent, a libarian's librarian) and of course Nate Romanowski, I believe there are a few Nates roaming the country doing good while being cool. Box's stories are fresh, relatable to current events lace with literary references, stunning descriptions of Wyoming winters, wildlife and the lives of characters who are real. Box never disappionts.

Another fantastic Joe Pickett novel. I’m captivated from the first moment and honestly can’t wait to see what shenanigans Joe gets in to and how everything goes wrong for him and he makes out in the end. This one was full of twists and turns and I loved every second!

Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett investigates a mysterious death at a secret remote high-tech facility in this riveting new novel from #1 New York Times bestseller C.J. Box.


From Fantastic Fiction:
When a prominent University of Wyoming professor goes missing, authorities are stumped. That is, until Joe Pickett makes two surprising discoveries while hunting down a wounded elk on his district as an epic spring storm descends upon him. First, he finds the professor’s vehicle parked on a remote mountainside. Then Joe finds the professor’s frozen and mutilated body. When he attempts to learn more, his investigation is obstructed by federal agents, extremists, and Governor Colter Allen.

Nate Romanowski is rebuilding his falconry company—and financing this through crypto mining with the assistance of Geronimo Jones. He’s then approached by a shadowy group of local militant activists that is gaining in power and influence, and demanding that Wyoming join other western states and secede from the union—by force, if necessary. They ask Nate to throw in with them, but he’s wary. Should he trust them, or is he being set up?

As a storm of peril gathers around them, Joe and Nate confront it in different ways—and maybe, for the first time, on opposite sides.
This book was a excellent read, really enjoyed reading compared in a day.

Storm Watch by C. J. Box is another winner in the Joe Pickett series. Joe faces corrupt police/government officials as he races against snow storms to solve mysteries - involving Chinese spies, conspiracy groups, Bitcoin mining and a murder few want investigated. Joe's wife, eldest daughter, friends Nate and Geronimo and that wonderful former Governor Rulon help Joe uncover the plots and conspiracies and set things right. 

Joe is again the moral voice in a world that often ignores the idea of doing what is ethical and just.

Excellent library choice for readers interested in mysteries/suspense novels. I will be recommending this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Penguin Group Putnam and author C. J. Box for the ARC.

Storm Watch

When I was first recommend the Joe Pickett series I was skeptical a series about a game warden would hold my interest. Now a year later having ravagingly consumed the entire series in just a few months I was very excited to have been approved for a review copy of ‘Storm Watch” the 23rd novel in the series. The way C. J. Box world builds astounds me, the world he’s built out in Saddlestring, WY feels lived in and makes me want to visit the state even more than I already did, the only problem is if i were to actually visit the characters I know and love wouldn’t exist to welcome me. In Storm Watch Joe Pickett is tracking down a wounded elk with a snow storm poised to pound the state with a winter storm when he comes across a mysterious metal building on the double D ranch emitting a strange high pitched noise and as Joe gets closer he finds a dead body. Who does it belong to? What is the strange building in the middle of nowhere and why doesn’t the landowner want to discuss it, and who are the mysterious group known only as the keystoners and how do they play into everything? When Joe is told to stand down by governor Colter Allen he can’t help but wonder why. With the help of Nate Romanowski and Geronimo Jones he intends to get to the bottom of everything and in doing so, uncovers a conspiracy that will leave you blind sided at the conclusion! Here, Box delivers what could be considered his best Pickett novel yet. With a series like this under his belt that seems like it would be hard to accomplish time and time again yet, he does it! I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those like me who tend to live in places that resemble Saddlestring in one way or another.

C.J. Box is back at it again with his new Joe Pickett novel. What an adventure we went on with this one. Great read.

Joe is looking for a wounded elk when he stumbles on a dead body. Nate is rebuilding his business when Geronimo shows up with a business proposition. The usual havoc ensues.

Joe is one of the best characters around. He is a good man who loves his family and tries to do the right thing. Not everyone appreciates his efforts including the local sheriff and the current governor. Joe's wife, Marybeth, is his ace in the hole, and she's in fine form here too. Their oldest daughter, Sheridan, is an adult and working with Nate.

This story is complex and uses current topics like crypto currency mining and air space over private land that borders federal land. Wyoming and its weather are characters here as well.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. There is quite a bit of political talk here, but I felt it was consistent with the characters and location.

Another wonderful book by C. J. Box! This Joe Pickett story pulls you in and doesn’t let go. The adventure is set in snowy Wyoming and Box’s writing is so descriptive you feel the chill and impact of the blinding snow storms. Joe’s wife, daughters and opportunistic mother-in-law star in this thriller along with Nate and some intriguing new characters. Even though this is part of an ongoing series, it works easily as a standalone mystery. 

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the opportunity to read this great ARC.

This book is somewhat better than the last.
Nice twists and turns and a great read for persons invested in the series.