Open Season

CJ Box writes a good mystery. He has a simple story-telling style that I enjoy greatly. He's not going to drown you with fluid, unnecessary descriptions. He's not going to insult your intelligence, either. It's a very fitting writing style for a series of novels centered on a very blue-collar detective, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett.

In the first novel in the Joe Pickett series, a trio of murders lead to Joe getting embroiled in an investigation concerning the unstoppable force of land development running into the unmovable object of the possible discovery of an endangered species. Add into that the difficulties that come with being the new guy in the county, a pregnant wife, a narcissistic mother-in-law, and two precocious daughters, and clearly, Joe has his hands full.

I don't know who came first, CJ Box or Craig Johnson (turns out, it's CJ Box), but both write in similar styles about the same general area of Wyoming. Both are very skilled with sparse prose and solid, interesting characters for whom the reader is instantly compelled to become invested.

Through both of their books, a deep-seated desire to move out to Wyoming has bloomed in me, something I never thought could happen. But, through the beauty of their books, I harbor a great need to relocate to the wide-open countryside of northeastern Wyoming. Maybe someday I'll be able to make that happen. Until then, I will continue to read about it.

I will definitely be checking out more of the Joe Pickett series. The second book in the series is called SAVAGE RUN. It will be worth a look-see, definitely.

www.cjbox.net