Savage Run

Taking place a couple of years after, "Open Season", "Savage Run" is the second story about the too-honest-for-his-own-good man-of-few-words, devoted husband and father, Wyoming gamekeeper, Joe Pickett.

The book opens with a high profile eco-warrior falling prey to assassination by exploding cow. The blast takes place in a National Park Forest that is leased to cattle ranchers and Joe is called in to assist in the investigation before it is clear that either cattle or humans are involved.

What follows is a small range war in which two assassins target various prominent eco-campaigners. Despite the fact that these deaths are vicious, cold-blooded and designed to be humiliating, this remains a fairly low-key book. Perhaps this is a show more reflection of the character of Joe Pickett. He's a principled man who believes in doing his job honestly and competently and holding everyone equally to account, regardless of their wealth and influence but he is neither a campaigner nor an avenger. He just does what he needs to do.

What I liked most about this book was the irrepressible personality of the constantly-monologuing-but-still-dryly-amusing death-by-cow eco-warrior. His stamina stretched belief a little but his charisma compensated for that.

I also liked the way Joe's wife, Marybeth, who suffered such trauma in "Open Season" comes into her own and drives the plot along.

This series is turning into a slow-cook, gentle delight, with the plot being subordinate to an understanding of a way of life and the values that support it. show less

In Book 2 of the Joe Pickett series, famous environmental activist Stewie Woods and his wife are blown up by a cow. Since Joe is the local Game Warden, he's called to clean up and investigate. He's often reminded that he once gave the Governor of Wyoming a ticket for fishing without a license, and that his gun was taken from him by a poacher during a confrontation. Joe thinks that Stewie Woods and his wife were not the victims of an accident but were murdered.

In alternate chapters we meet the killers that are responsible for a string of brutal environmentalist murders that follow Stewie's murder. This has the makings of an old-fashioned range war and locals are reminded of stories about famous stock agent, Tom Horn.

C. J. Box creates a show more hero who is both believable and slightly inept but is always the right man for the job. He is full of self-doubt except for the love of his wife and family. Like in Open Season he stays true to his beliefs and his moral compass.

The action takes place in the rugged land of the Bighorn Mountains and the setting becomes a major character in the book. As one of the assassins pursues him and two companions through the wilderness toward Savage Run, a gorge with no crossing except in a Native American legend, the suspense becomes intense. I was turning the pages so quickly I had to force myself to slow down so I wouldn't miss anything. What a great story and an enjoyable series.

TBR 1518 show less

Book # 2 in the Joe Pickett series starts with the death of an infamous environmentalist. A fire-spotter has noted the explosion, and the Sheriff, expecting some sort of poaching of elk, calls on the Wyoming Game Warden to join him in investigating. The bloody scene of destruction is not what they were expecting and the Sheriff seems particularly angry that Pickett is involved. “But,” Pickett reminds him, “YOU called me to join you.” The case is closed fairly quickly, but Joe isn’t satisfied, and several other deaths among environmentalists increase his suspicions.

I love the Joe Pickett character. He’s an honest-to-God “good guy” – highly principled, and deliberating carefully before acting. However, he does have a show more tendency to overreach and not consider the political ramifications of his black-and-white thinking. I guess I’d have to say that he is naïve and hasn’t matured into the kind of warden he certainly is capable of becoming – yet. Those missteps are what make the plots of these books so interesting, and make Joe such a likeable character.

Box also is skilled at crafting a fast-paced page-turner. In this novel he moves back and forth between Joe, the killers, and Joe’s wife, Marybeth, giving the reader short vignettes that slowly reveal the big picture. This kind of structure also helps build suspense.

And this book has one of the best opening lines – ever: On the third day of their honeymoon, infamous environmental activist Stewie Woods and his new bride, Annabel Bellotti, were spiking trees in the forest when a cow exploded and blew them up. Until then, their marriage had been happy.

I’ll definitely keep reading this series. show less

The second novel about Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett not only meets the standard of the first, Open Season, but exceeds it. This series is shaping up to be highly readable. Savage Run has a simpler, leaner plot, without an element of "whodunnit" suspense, and without Joe's children taking centre stage. The theme is (again) environmentalists versus ranchers/landowners, this time the environmentalists concerned are those who create a lot of publicity for their cause by breaking the law or protesting volubly. One of them, for example, attempts to fly a plane full of wolves from Canada to Wyoming, in order to reintroduce these animals into their "natural environment".

The author does not take sides, though his evident love for the land and show more its natural resources are very clear, and represented by his simple, direct hero Joe. Joe is perpetually torn between his instinctive sympathy for those in his community who are increasingly struggling to make ends meet as the land is bought out by rich corporations or magnates, and his strong disapproval of those who break the law he is employed to enforce, for example by hunting or fishing out of season. show less

JOE PICKETT, YES YES YES.

I'm so excited that I'm still early in this series because I know that I still have a ton of these books to look forward to. I'm such a Pickett fangirl, even after only two books. I hope he stays as cool as he is now.

Joe Pickett is a Wyoming game warden, not super experienced, with a slowly growing reputation in his area. He's known for being inaccurate with his gun and for being a stickler for the rules. He doesn't do drama, he doesn't have baggage, he loves his family, he loves the job and the land.

When ten cows and two people end up dead under suspicious and weirdly violent circumstances, Joe ends up caught between a group of environmentalists and ranchers - or, more accurately: between hardcore show more ecoterrorist-type environmentalists and big-time, super-wealthy ranchers, the kind that have politicians and law enforcement in their back pocket. Joe's integrity and desire for the truth puts his life at risk and gets him into quite a bit of trouble, and he finds himself on the run through the mountain wilderness with two people he never imagined he would keep in his company.

Savage Run takes place about two years after Open Season. Joe's wife is doing well after what happened to her at the end of the first book (not gonna spoil what happened, but oh my gosh it was crazy), and his daughter Sheridan is too. Sheridan is now ten years old and is every bit as spunky in this book as she was in the first.

I've NEVER read any author that has a command over landscape and setting like CJ Box. He places Joe Pickett into crazy situations out on the land either on foot or on horseback that make me hold my breath out of fear for his life or in awe over his descriptions of the land. When I'm reading, I feel desperate to see the wilderness where Joe is climbing, hiking, hiding out, or catching the bad guys that might be shooting at him from the next mountain over.

This book was a neat chance to look at two different types of extremism with both the environmentalists and the ranchers. These Pickett books are really insightful for someone like me, an east-coaster, someone that doesn't live around huge expanses of land that need protecting like there are out west. I love the way the author includes the issues facing the environment and how people feel on either side, but he remains true to his thriller/modern western story. I feel like I'm learning just a little bit about life in the western US but I'm also super, super entertained.

This series is awesome. Gritty, intense, thrilling, fast-paced, unputdownable. I can't think of anything about it that I don't like. At all.

Audiobook Notes: I decided that I would continue this series on audio after I loved the first book so much. David Chandler IS Joe Pickett, and I can't imagine hearing him any other way. Not super-macho sounding, but just a regular guy, and I love that. He also did this really great, gravelly voice for the environmentalist Stewie Woods. It was so different than any of the other voices that he used, and I just loved it when it was one of Stewie's scenes. Not necessarily that Stewie was particularly pleasing to listen to, but because I knew immediately who was talking and because it stood-out to me so well. Long after I'm done with the audio, I can still remember what he sounded like. Well done!

I still have plans to continue listening to this series via audiobook.

Title: Savage Run by C.J. Box
Series: Joe Pickett #2
Narrated by: David Chandler
Publisher: Recorded Books
Length: 8 hours, 48 minutes, Unabridged show less

Well, that's one way to make ground chuck! Seriously though, I really enjoyed this book. The character development was very well done. Our villains are deeply disturbing individuals with an evil plan. Charlie Tibbs ranks up there with my "Best Worse Villains Ever" and the last person I'd want to tick off. On the upside, I'm really becoming fond of Joe Pickett, who is once again the underdog. He's not the alpha male that is so popular in fiction today, just an average "Joe" who loves his family and has a deep sense of commitment to his job. You really can't help but like the guy, especially after this book. For Joe, right is right and wrong is wrong. Period. It doesn't matter if he's arresting the Governor for fishing without a license, show more or in this case, up against a crazed killer who is carrying out a politically motivated agenda. It was nice to get to know more about Marybeth, too. They are a great couple and it's obvious that they gain strength from each other.

The last half of this book was incredibly fast paced. I'm a real sucker for underdogs and suspense, so I was glued to the pages and enjoying the dialogue! The descriptions of Wyoming and the wildlife pulled me right into each scene, like I was a ghostly observer. Love it when a book can do that. The plot wove together nicely, wrapping up enough of the loose strings to make me wonder about Joe's future. I recommend this to any Crime Thriller fan, but just beware that some of the violence is a bit graphic and cringe worthy. If you like the occasional goosebump and shudder in your reading, this is for you! show less

The second in the new-to-me series featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett. As Joe promised, this one was an improvement on the debut, with Joe showing some initiative and not just serving as a comedic foil for the bad guys. I especially enjoy the depiction of his family life; his relationship with his wife Marybeth and his daughters is nuanced and warm. In this book, Joe stumbles across a conspiracy to assassinate leading environmental activists — a situation that creates some awkwardness at home, since one of the first eco-warriors to be killed is a former flame of Marybeth's. The villains are suitably villainous and their comeuppance is a particular satisfaction this time around. Once again, Wyoming's wild beauty is as much a show more character as anyone else in the book. Recommended. show less