C.J. Box's series might be named after Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, but Battle Mountain is the Nate Romanowski show. Just as the good Lord intended. And Nate Romanowski is one of the last people I'd want hunting me. While Nate is scorching the earth, the governor asks Joe to find his idiot son-in-law and will run headfirst into Nate's path.
For me, C.J. Box is the ultimate 'don't judge a book by its cover' author. Cowboys, hunting and fishing, horses, and the dusty range aren't my jam. However, I quickly learned the not my-jams were very much indeed my-jams. The outdoors stuff is a vehicle into the real essence of the Joe Pickett series: family, friendship, personal growth, loyalty, courage, doing what's right no matter what.
Thanks to G.P. Putnam's & Sons for the advanced copy of Battle Mountain via NetGalley.

After a while, successful series authors face the challenge of maintaining the interest of readers who have become very familiar with the characters and settings. Some authors try to continually top their previous efforts by providing more and more of what readers enjoy. That’s a perilous decision because the series could easily collapse into overblown ridiculousness. Author C. J. Box avoids that trap in “Battle Mountain,” the 25th and latest novel featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett. The novel features a deadly plot against an assembly of the country’s most powerful leaders. Pickett and his friends Nate Romanowski and Geronimo Jones are the only people standing in the villains’ way. The result is an explosive and highly entertaining confrontation.

“Battle Mountain” begins shortly after the events in the previous Pickett novel, “Three Inch Teeth.” The earlier book’s villain, Axel Soledad, killed Nate’s wife and then vanished. Nate vowed revenge and teamed up with Geronimo, whose house was destroyed in a fire set by Soledad. They eventually trace Soledad to Battle Mountain, which sits high above the lavish B-Lazy-U ranch in remote southern Wyoming. That hunting lodge is the location for the annual meeting of the Centurions, a small group of the nation’s most powerful political and business leaders. They get together for a week of partying, networking, and rituals resembling what you’d find at a college fraternity. Unfortunately for them, Soledad intends to fatally crash their party. He has recruited a collection of disgruntled young activists and highly trained ex-military veterans with grudges against the “establishment.” Soledad has used his charisma to radicalize these disparate types into a deadly fighting unit.

While Soledad plots, and Nate and Geronimo pursue, Joe Pickett is also on Soledad’s trail, although he is entirely unaware of what Soledad is doing. Instead, the governor of Wyoming asked Joe to find Mark Eisele, his missing son-in-law. Eisele is a novice elk-hunting guide who has been taken captive by Soledad’s followers when he and his boss get too close to Soledad’s lair. Soledad is holed up in an abandoned mining town on Battle Mountain, as Joe, Nate, and Geronimo close in on his location. (Bad guys in Joe Pickett novels always seem to find remote ghost towns to hide out in.)

The author shifts his point of view from chapter to chapter among Joe, Soledad, Nate, and Geronimo, building suspense en route to an explosive finale. The villains here are deranged but plausible. Soledad is able to play on the veterans’ legitimate grievances over their combat experiences and subsequent treatment and twist that into a blanket condemnation of the “establishment,” as exemplified by the gathering of the Centurions. A little of that sort of rhetoric goes a long way, and the author overdoes it a bit. Still, he humanizes some of the vets who fall under Soledad’s sway. That makes the final showdown more suspenseful and morally complex.

“Battle Mountain” also shows readers the more routine side of Joe Pickett’s duties. Joe is as adept at preventing trouble as he is at stopping it, and his regular duties are entertaining to observe for those unfamiliar with his job. In one of the book’s more entertaining sequences, Joe encounters the hunters that Eisele and his boss were supposed to meet. They think they’ve been stood up and are furious, but Joe talks them down. The author makes the book’s mundane scenes almost as interesting as the action sequences. Similarly, as often happens in the Pickett novels, the author provides some insight into falconry. Nate and Geronimo turn their birds loose on some chukars, a tasty game bird known as the “devil bird” for its ability to avoid pursuers. Despite the chukars’ reputation, Nate, Geronimo, and their falcons soon bag dinner for the evening, while readers learn more about the region’s fascinating wildlife.

Long-time readers of the Pickett novels know that Joe’s family often plays a key role in the action. His wife Marybeth and daughter Sheridan show up and provide some background research, but their role is somewhat limited. They get involved in one confrontation with one of Soledad’s armed followers, but the situation gets resolved a bit too easily. The novel’s structure, which has much of the action taking place in and around Battle Mountain, limits their involvement in the storyline, but the author could have let their scenes play out a bit more.

“Battle Mountain” is an entertaining action novel that should please C. J. Box’s fans. It has all the requisite elements: a dangerous villain, good detective work by Joe, Nate, and Geronimo, some unexpected plot twists, and a great, explosive final showdown. There’s a little too much political grandstanding by Soledad, and not enough of Marybeth and Sheridan, but overall, the excitement and suspense levels remain high throughout the story. This book could easily be adapted into a terrific action film. Joe Pickett and friends are still as entertaining as ever.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝔹𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕄𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟
𝗖𝗝 𝗕𝗼𝘅

Joe Pickett and Nate Romanowski find themselves in a pickle as they each search for someone in Wyoming’s wilderness.

The setting is a big part of why I love this series. The deeper into the backwoods the story takes me, the more imagery I picture. Battle Mountain is exactly what it sounds like, and Joe and Nate unexpectedly meet there.

The pacing easily held my attention, forcing me to continue reading when I should have been sleeping.

The characters kept me on my toes. You never know what kind of messes Joe and Nate will get themselves in. Each person is unique and brings such originality to the story.

I’ve read all of CJ Box’s novels. I love the Joe Pickett series. I’m invested in the characters and can’t wait to see what happens next.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with this ebook to read and review.

Nate Romanowski has lost everything… his wife, his business, his self-respect, his belief in government. While Joe and Mary Beth Pickett agree to foster Nate’s young daughter and Sheridan Pickett takes over his falconry business, Nate goes off the grid to recharge and plan revenge against his nemesis Axel Soledad. Soledad and his anarchist buddies are planning an attack on a group of power brokers and high ranking politicians who meet each year at a lodge in Wyoming called Battle Mountain. (Apparently something similar to this really happens.) Nate tracks Soledad to this meeting point. Meanwhile, much to Joe’s apprehension, Wyoming Governor Rulon has a special assignment for Joe. Seems the governor’s son in law, an up and coming IT wizard and therefore, a soft, desk jokey has taken the governor’s challenge to shadow a well-known elk hunting guide in an effort to toughen up. The governor panics when his son in law and the hunting guide disappear in the wilderness. Joe is assigned to quietly find them. Coincidently (a little too so) and unknowingly, Joe and Nate are separately headed to the same destination, Battle Mountain where things are sure to ‘get western.’
Great book. Great story telling. Great suspense.
I was fortunate to attend C.J.’s book tour session at the St. Louis County Library where Box visits annually to promote his latest completed work. I think he said this was the sixteen time. I’m always amazed how loyal and intense his fans are. They call him out on every minute detail and encourage him to include more Nate Romanowski involvement. Decked out in his black cowboy hat and shiny boots, he takes it all in stride with his calm cowboy demeanor.

The campaign of destruction that Axel Soledad and Dallas Cates wreaked on Nate Romanowski and Joe Pickett left both men in tatters, especially Nate, who lost almost everything so Nate dropped off the grid with his falcons in tow to prepare for vengeance. When Joe gets a call from the governor asking for help finding his son-in-law, who has gone missing in the Sierra Madre mountain range, he enlists the help of a local, a rookie game warden named Susan Kany. As Nate and fellow falconer Geronimo Jones circle closer to their prey, Joe and Susan follow the nearly cold trail to Warm Springs. Little do Nate and Joe know that their separate journeys are about to converge . . . at Battle Mountain.

C. J. Box is a master at presenting the part of the country he covers in his books. This one starts out a little differently, focusing more on Nate and his quest for revenge along with Geronimo Jones who also seeks to get revenge against Axel Soledad before Joe Pickett is brought into the story. Then all the plot lines converge in an ending that had me reading late as I had to see how it ended! I had the pleasure of hearing C.J. Box at a local
bookstore and have been a fan ever since. It is better to read his books in order as one story does build on the last, but he gives enough backstory to know what is going on. I have had the opportunity by NetGalley to read a lot of the later ones and need to go back and read the ones I have missed. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for offering this book on NetGalley and granting my request to read it.

Another solid Joe Pickett novel from C.J. Box. This is a long-running series, and I jumped in somewhere in the middle of the run (but started with book 1). I binged most of the series during a hard stretch of my life in 2018-2019. So, because of that, these characters feel close to me. It's always a pleasure to revisit these characters every year to see how they're doing. But that's the thing about Box and his writing -- even the check-ins feel important. Some long-running series feel like they've run out of gas. They go through the same motions and you can feel the beats coming even before they happen because you've read and consumed so many of the stories before. There's a little of that here too, but the stories still feel as vital as they did in the beginning. Box isn't afraid to make hard choices (see the end of the last book), and I appreciate that we've grown along with Joe, and he doesn't seem to run in place. I'm with Joe until the end. I just hope the end isn't for a very very long time.

The Joe Pickett series NEVER gets old. Battle Mountain is number 25 and it just keeps getting better. Joe and Nate traveling separately through the Wyoming mountains find themselves deep in a life threatening quest. The beautiful Wyoming setting captures the imagination and paints a vivid background. The characters are so beautifully developed that they seem like old friends. Battle Mountain is captivating. I found myself holding my breath as Joe and Nate engaged in this gripping adventure.
I want to send my appreciation for this amazing series, to C.J. Box for creating such pleasurable reading experiences. Please keep them coming.
Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the ARC of Battle Mountain.

Joe is recruited by again Govener Rulon to quietly find his missing son-in-law. Meanwhile, Nate and his friend Geronimo are on the search for Axel Solidad - the man who killed Nate's wife. Their quests ultimately cross and their missions intersect. Things get a little western back in Saddlestring with Mary Beth and Sheridan taking care of things, This is very much a sequel to Three Inch Teeth, picks up right where it left off. A non stop read. Episode 25 shines like silver. The chapter quotes are from the book The Peregrine by J,A, Baker - reading that now, It will be interesting to see where Nate goes from here- something has changed,

Thank you @putnambooks & @netgalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is number 25 in the Joe Pickett series, and honestly, this series just keeps getting better!

After the shocking murder of his wife, Nate Romanowski has been living off the grid for the past year. Now he’s ready for revenge, and he is joined by fellow falconer Geronimo Jones, who also bears a grudge against murderer Axel Soledad.

Meanwhile, Joe Pickett is searching for some missing men in the Sierra Madre mountains. As Nate and Geronimo move closer to their target, Joe is tracking a trail to Warm Springs, unaware that his journey will soon collide with Nate’s at Battle Mountain where Axel Soledad is planning a mass murder.

MY THOUGHTS: This expertly crafted series centers on Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett and features a cast of well-developed characters, each with captivating storylines and interconnected histories. The plots are intricate and thoughtfully constructed, often culminating in explosive conclusions. Although each book can be enjoyed as a standalone, I highly recommend starting with the first installment to fully appreciate the depth of the storylines and characters.

The Joe Pickett novels are a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. Joe's friend Nate operates under his own set of rules at the best of times, and these aren't the best of times. Nate is seeking righteous revenge and nobody better stand in his way. As usual, we get to enjoy some time with Joe's family and there's a lot of action. This series has been going for a long time and it's still good. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I began reading CJ Box's Joe Pickett novels when he first started many years ago, the golden era for the series. For those who are more recently introduced to this series, this book is another high adrenaline, high octane thriller and you will not be disappointed in that regard.

I love the game warden slant that Joe Pickett gives and he is far and away my favorite character. I was happy to see Governor Rulon back, as I love the back and forth between him and Joe. Nate Romanowski I have mixed feelings about. I far prefer the books that center on Joe, and this one had way too little of Joe.

The last couple of books have become increasingly violent, and when at the big shootout at the end, each weapon was lovingly described in detail I had to roll my eyes. A bit too Tom Clancyesque for me. I'm sure there is an audience for this, but I'm sad to see one of my favorite series going this way.

Another thing, I don't mind hearing viewpoints different than my own, but this book felt like I was being hit over the head with the characters justification of why it was ok to kill people in the government. Very heavy handed. Box used to be more subtle. I don't read to be lectured.

Nevertheless, I mostly enjoyed the read and sped through it. I keep hoping we'll deviate a bit more to how the books used to be. If you haven't read the series I wouldn't start here. I'd go back to the beginning. The love I developed for the characters back then is what keeps me reading today. I can't dispute that Box writes a very readable, unputdownable series.

Thank you to NetGalley, CJ Box, and Putnam books for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC!

CJ Box never lets me down! Battle Mountain was full of all the things I love in a Joe Pickett novel- action, suspense, political intrigue, captivating characters and writing that brings you right into the story. Box writes so beautifully the scenery that you feel like you’re standing right there next to Joe and Nate. Battle Mountain was a great fast paced and fun adventure. I can’t wait for the next Box book!

These books are kind of the antidote to a beach book for me. They are the only Western thrillers I read, but they are consistent. This was entertaining and fast-paced. I appreciated how it all came together at the end. For me, this series is always hard to put down. Once I start reading, I always get so drawn into the story.

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of this book.

I always thought that working in the great outdoors would be peaceful and serene. C J Box’s Joe Pickett series has changed my mind completely. Although Battle Mountain focuses more on Joe’s friend Nate Romanowski, it maintains the flavor of the series bringing in the wonderful characters found in the other titles. Battle Mountain brings Joe, Nate, and Geronimo together seeking Axel Soledad who has been a threatening force in all of their lives. With a well-orchestrated plot, lots of action, political implications, and great characterization, the story takes on an old west atmosphere with revenge, ambushes, and gun battles. Will the good guys be able to come out on top in this one?

Another wonder Joe adventure by CJ. Lovely descriptions of the mountain scenery that put you right there in Wyoming. The author has a unique ability to bridge the new and old. Highly recommended.

Battle Mountain by CJ Box is a fast-paced, interesting thriller featuring our favorites, Joe Picket and Nate Romanowski. Joe is a Game Warden and Nate is a man always on the side of right, but not always on the side of the law. This time Governor Rulon has engaged Joe to find his son-in-law before his wife and daughter find out he’s missing. Mark Eisle had been bullied by his father-in-law to joining a elk-hunting guide as his assistant. Eisle worked with computers but that wasn’t good enough for the governor. Now he appeared to be missing, hopefully just out of touch. The story got very involved as we approach the climax from several different directions. It seems there is a group of radicals (or criminals depending on one’s perspective) planning an assault on a group of high-level defense people, both employed by the government and contractors. The leader was Alex Soledad who had killed Nate’s wife. Hence his involvement.

Eisle and Spike Rankin were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Soledad’s crew didn’t take kindly to that and shot first, before asking questions. There was also a random FRI agent wandering through the entire story. Seemed he was investigating subversive groups like Soledad’s. Lots of violence, lots of being in the woods and hunting. Joe and Nate are getting older and sometimes their age shows. It is harder and harder sleeping on the ground and chasing these fools. It was a satisfying story. Oh, and it was nice to have a book not filled with “woke” nonsense. Thanks CJ Box!

I was invited to read Battle Mountain by Penguin Group Putnam. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #PenguinGroupPutnam #CJBox #BattleMountain

BATTLE MOUNTAIN is the twenty-fifth installment of Wyoming game warden Joe Picket and his master falconer friend Nate Romanowski. Nate, still reeling from a previous vicious attack on his family by Alex Soledad, is determined to hunt him down near Battle Mountain. At the same time, Joe heads out to track two hunters who have gone missing in the same area, a special mission for Governor Rulon.

Battle Mountain is less about Joe Pickett and more about Nate Romanowski and his vet friend Geronimo Jones. The search for Soledad is a rollercoaster of suspense, with mounting tension, and leading to a gratifying conclusion. It's an exhilarating read. CJ Box's immersive writing style transports readers into the towering mountains with panoramic views. The book is an outstanding and enriched read, especially after delving into the action-packed thrillers of the previous books, making the series a must-read for all outdoor thriller enthusiasts.

My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the digital advance review copy. I want to give a special shoutout to CJ Box for crafting such an immersive series. As I eagerly await the next book in the series, I'm sure you'll be just as excited after reading this one. The anticipation for the next installment is part of what makes this series so engaging.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for a free digital copy of “Battle Mountain”.
When you begin reading “ Battle Mountain” prepare yourself for wild ride into a story of a fiendish ( yes, I think the word “ fiendish” is appropriate) villain. Alex Soledad is his name , and he is a stone-cold killer, a maniacally focused hater of anyone in his way to disrupt and destroy American society. He is also a superb manipulator of people with legitimate anti- inside DC politicians
Battle Mountain is a mountain resort venue for a Davos - like gathering of the rich and powerful. It is Soledad’s target. But Soledad is being hunted by Nate Romanowski, whose wife Soledad murdered. As for Joe Picket, he has tasked to find the son of Wyoming governor, some where around , guess where-Battle Mountain. It is an exciting novel that winds itself into all out gun fight finish.
C.J. box is one of the few authors writing these days who turns out one great book after another. Years ago while on vacation in Canada, I picked up a pb copy of his first novel. Now, some 35 books later, the next one is on my list.
Cautions: not for anyone who is adverse to blood being shed.

Another gripping novel from C.J. Box! While Battle Mountain might be part of the Joe Pickett series, this book was all about Nate Romanowski. If you read Three-Inch Teeth, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise, because Nate Romanowski is out for vengeance for the killing of his wife. In this story, Nate did what does best - hunted his prey. The bodies kept falling and I was on the edge of my seat to find out what would happen next.

Meanwhile, Joe Pickett is helping the governor with a personal favor. A mystery that had me turning the pages and trying to figure out how and when Nate and Joe’s stories would come together. When it finally happened, I was not disappointed. Joe and Nate work so well together.

If you’re a fan of this series, you won’t be disappointed with this one!

This book, the 25th book in the Joe Pickett series, was very well written and shows what a good author can do. All the scenes and characters are well depicted and the reader never has to wonder what actually happened. The book starts out mostly about Nate Romanaski but then transitions into being about Joe Pickett and his trip to southern Wyoming to help the governor with a special task. There are lots of things going on in this book but it was easy to keep up with all of it. This is a series that shouldn’t be missed by mystery/thriller lovers but I think it would be best to start the series with book #. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily