Speaking of Game Wardens.
Recently I have found a new author that I have become obsessed with, his name is C.J. Box and he writes a series of books about a U.S. Game Warden named Joe Pickett who works in and around the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming.
The series begins with Open Season (2001), Savage Run (2002), Winterkill (2003), Trophy Hunt (2004), Dull Knife (2005), Out of Range (2005), In Plain Sight (2006), Free Fire (2007), Blood Trail (2008), Below Zero (2009), Nowhere to Run (2010), Cold Wind (2011), Force of Nature (2012), Breaking Point (2013), Stone Cold (2014), Endangered (2015), Off the Grid (2016), Vicious Circle (2017), The Disappeared (2018), Wolf Pack (2019), Long Range (2020), Dark Sky (2021), Shadows Reel (2022), Storm Watch (2023).
Two others, The Master Falconer (2011) and Shots Fired (2014) would also fit into the series, but on the website were listed out of order with The Master Falconer between Breaking Point and Stone Cold. Shots Fired was listed between The Disappeared and Wolf Pack.
However you read them, that makes 26 in this series that is part detective novel, part murder mystery and part outdoor enthusiast focused, right up my alley.
I began with Cold Wind. It was atop a box of books a friend had given me to read or donate to our church’s rummage sale, or both. I had run out of books that looked interesting in my to-be-read book case, so I thought I’d give it a go.
I was hooked quite easily and quickly because all, or most, of the locations where Box has set his stories are locations I have spent time in. A number of years ago I was part of a large group of young people, mostly from the Twin Cities, that spent about two weeks over New Years in a place named Ten Sleep, Wyoming at a resort high in the mountains. We took over the whole resort. It was breathtaking scenery with deep freshly fallen snow, tall lodge pole evergreen forests, small creeks still running clear and cold, picturesque bridges and walkways. We were on vacation, mostly, with maybe one guest speaker a day for each of the days we were there. Following those sessions, we could do whatever we wanted.
There were excursions on snowmobiles, down-hill skiing, cross country skiiing, ice fishing, ice skating, snow boarding, hiking, sight seeing, photography – everything outdoors you could imagine including snowball fights and making snow men, women and angels. If your thing was reading a book or playing a game (like Jenga or Monopoly) with friends in the lodge, you could do that, too. You could do whatever you wanted in your spare time as long as you signed up with one of the leaders. I think they didn’t want us “city kids” to wander off and get lost in the woods or fall off a cliff in the mountains.
I was given responsibility to keep track of anyone who wanted to take a nice long nap during the day – that was okay, too! I called it “Devotions to Our Lady of the Pillow” – no disrespect intended.
Did I tell you this was BEFORE everyone had a cell phone? Yeah, it was sometime in the 1980s – AND the resort we were staying at – it didn’t have televisions except in the big lodge where we gathered for meals and talks, etc. If I remember correctly we did have movie nights most evenings with popcorn, candy and pop.
Anyway, it was an experience I will never forget and reading these books by C.J. Box brought it all right back to me.
If you are interested in starting to read this series, I would recommend starting at the beginning with Open Season. I started with book 12 and read several after it that I found in the Lake Region Public Library. Then I changed my tactics and read from Cold Wind to the three immediately before it. Then I decided to start at the beginning of the series before I finished all of the ones already on the shelves. Right now I am starting Free Fire.
Box’s stories are unique, although the central character, his family and inner circle pretty much remain the same, there is a changing cast of other characters – good guys and bad guys – throughout the stories. I like that they [the books] are fast paced, not too gory and not overly sexualized. They are easy reads that often I find I cannot put down. The main character, Joe Pickett, is described as “a good man” or “Dudley Do Right,” with a strong sense of right and wrong plus a knack for getting into unusual situations. As a government employee, poor Joe Pickett is known to have the record for the number of pick up trucks he has damaged or destroyed.
If you are looking for something entertaining, with imaginative descriptions of the dramatic landscapes around Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park, give C.J. Box a try. I have about six or seven of them to go, myself.
Enjoy!
Editor, Louise Oleson
