Another hit from C. J. Box. Once again the suspense builds and builds to a very satisfying conclusion. The end surprised me some because I wasn't expecting it, but still a great read. ( )

I think this is the best one of all I've read so far. There was a mystery and it was not solved too quickly. ( )

Continues as a strong series with well liked characters.

Winterkill, lots of downs... was there ever an up moment?
State and Fed officials were out to start another Waco against Sovereign citizen moving through small town Wyoming. Situation was hellish with 3 feet snow as Joe tried to solve crime in the area. Things went from bad to worst and caused a major development in the Pickett family. A new falconer character was introduced. Thank you CJ Box for giving Joe a kick ass sidekick. ( )

JOE PICKETT is the best.

I literally could not love this series any more than I do. It isn't possible.

Joe Pickett is a Wyoming game warden. He has a reputation for doing things by the book, which means that sometimes he doesn't fit in with other federal and law enforcement officers in the area. The best thing about Joe is that what you see is what you get, he doesn't have baggage, he loves his family, he loves the job and the land. He is so doggone awesome.

When a line of vehicles, all from different states, with some very interesting folks, drives thru the middle of Saddlestring and then settles high up in the mountains of Twelve Sleep County, the community takes notice. In particular, Joe and his family are on high alert because some of these people have the potential to hurt their family and way of life. Joe starts digging into exactly who these people are and what he finds out is astounding. He can't believe a group like this one ended up in his jurisdiction.

Every one of C.J. Box's books takes on big issues while delivering an immensely entertaining story. This time, Joe Pickett has to contend with federal government agencies and officers vs. anti-government groups, resisters, and their sympathizers. I have loved the way Joe has dealt with the big game hunters and extreme environmental groups in the past books, but HOLY BATMAN, I wasn't expecting this story.

Winterkill takes place about a year after the events of Savage Run. Joe and his wife Marybeth are doing well with their three daughters. Sheridan (my favorite Pickett daughter) is now eleven years old and just as fiery and free-spirited as she was in the previous books. As usual, Sheridan features pretty heavily in this book, but one of Joe's other daughters that has a more prominent role in this particular story.

I'm forever in awe of the way CJ Box writes the setting, as if the nature and the landscape are their own major character. In Winterkill, the weather adds more depth to the setting in the form of blustery, super-snowy storm conditions throughout the most of the story. I actually felt like I had low visibility at times during the story, like snow was stinging my own face while I was reading. I felt like I was there. Joe Pickett finds himself in the most intense, crazy situations, but he does it in order to save other people or to bring the bad guys to justice.

I just can barely believe someone can make a story so damn good. Winterkill was completely riveting and thrilling. I felt all sorts of things while the story was taking place, especially for Joe and Marybeth. Joe had to step it up in this story for reasons that I don't want to spoil, and it was interesting to see another side of Joe. More Joe. And I love Nate Romanowski in this story, the loner from up on the mountain, the falconer, the guy that doesn't really trust the government. I hope we see him again in future installments.

These are the very best modern westerns. This series is so awesome. Emotional, intense, thrilling, fast-paced. I didn't want to put the book down (or turn the audiobook off) to sleep at night and couldn't wait until I could pick it up again the next day. There is nothing about this book that I did not like. Not one thing at all.

Audiobook Notes: I'm SOLD on David Chandler's narration of this series, so I'll for sure be buying the audiobooks to go along with each book and I plan to relisten in the future. David Chandler IS Joe Pickett, and I always forget that it isn't Joe himself telling me the story instead of a narrator. Chandler has these great voices that he gives to secondary characters. My favorites are his more gravelly voices. This time Nate Romanowski got the gravelly voice, and I loved it so much because he's this sort of longer guy that lives on the fringes, not afraid to bend the law for justice, and also he is a falconer. Like Stewie the environmentalist from the previous book Savage Run, I'll definitely remember Nate's voice. I love that.

Title: Winterkill by C.J. Box
Series: Joe Pickett #3
Narrated by: David Chandler
Publisher: Recorded Books
Length: 11 hours, 25 minutes, Unabridged ( )

This is the third Joe Pickett mystery from C.J. Box and it has several subplots.

Wyoming game warden and devoted family man, Joe Pickett, finds the local U.S. Forest Service manager drunk, shooting into a herd of elk, and then trying to reload his gun with cigarettes.. Joe arrests him, but the man escapes and by the time Joe catches up with him, he's been murdered. A team is sent from Washington DC to head up the search for the killer.

A storm sets in and ruins their plans. By the time things are clear enough for them to go back to the murder site, Melinda Strickland, a high ranking Forest Service official and two vicious FBI agents, have made Joe's life a living hell. Strickland is the kind of sociopathic bureaucrat that makes everyone hate the government.

Back at home, the Pickett’s have been in the process of adopting April, the little girl abandoned by her mother in a prior book. She's finally starting to feel secure with Joe and Marybeth when her mother returns, along with a group of anti-government Sovereign Citizens, demanding her daughter back.

We are also introduced to Nate Romanowski, a mysterious man with a proclivity for bows and arrows, large-calibre handguns, and falconry. Where does he fit into the mix? Is he a killer or an ally?

I've recently become addicted to this series. The author excels at creating suspense as well as memorable characters. I love the atmospheric Wyoming setting. Winterkill is an intense and very emotional story. I can't wait to read the next one. ( )