Ratings2
Average rating4.5
A gripping read from New York Times bestseller C.J. Box, author of the Joe Pickett and Cassie Dewell series, now adapted into the hit TV shows Joe Pickett and Big Sky. It's an idyllic late-summer day in Saddlestring, Wyoming, and Game Warden Joe Pickett is fly-fishing with his two daughters when he stumbles upon the mutilated body of a moose. Whatever attacked the animal was ruthless: half the animal's face has been sliced away. Shaken by the sight, Joe starts to investigate what he hopes in an isolated incident. Soon, more animals are attacked. Local authorities are quick to label the rash of mutilations as the work of a grizzly bear, but Joe suspects that something far more sinister is afoot. And when the bodies of two men are found disfigured in the same way, his worst fears are confirmed: a modern-day Jack the Ripper is on the loose - and the killings have just begun. Reviews for Trophy Hunt 'Riveting... [a] skillfully crafted page-turner.' Publishers Weekly 'Box vividly evokes life in the West, and the surprises he springs keep you guessing right to the end.' People 'Down-to-earth and commercially appealing, sometimes hard-nosed and sometimes sentimental, with a Western locale that sets it apart.' Philadelphia Inquirer
Reviews with the most likes.
★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Pro tip: don't read C. J. Box describing a moose corpse while eating lunch.
That aside, I had a lot of fun reading this. Joe ends up being the Game and Fish representative on the task force the governor calls for to investigate these mutilations. Sheriff Barnum is also on the task force, giving us more opportunities to be annoyed by him (I'm really looking forward to the upcoming election which should remove him from office).
I have a note to compare Nate Romanowski and his approach to spirituality and nature and Henry Standing Bear's—and I think that could be a fruitful discussion, but I think I need to see Nate wax spiritual a little more in future books. But at least at this point, Nate seems like some white dude getting a little strange, whereas Henry seems genuine (which isn't to say Nate's fake, he's just...new at it?). Regardless, it was good to see Nate again, and I like the way that he's settling into the series (if only so there's someone around who can shoot and is generally on Joe's side).
On the one hand, the constant discussion about the precarious financial situation the Picketts face is a refreshing and bracing bit of realism—but if Box would ease off on it a little bit, that'd be nice, just a bit. I like seeing Marybeth struggling to find her place in the world in a way that helps her family—if nothing else, her bouncing around from employer to employer (as her small business allows) she can be put in all sorts of interesting places to tie into Joe's cases (see these last two books).
Lucy took a bigger role than she usually gets, which sadly took a little bit of space from Sheridan. But she still gets a chance to shine, which makes me happy.
But what brings readers back is Joe Pickett. He's not the smartest, the quickest, the most insightful mystery protagonist around. But he's dogged. He's persistent. He's one of those rare good guys. He gets the job done, eventually, because that's what he needs to do. Easy to like a character like that, he's not really Everyman. He's the kind of guy an Everyman would like to be.
(which does mean that the reader figures things out a lot faster than he does, but oh, well)
This was the first Joe Pickett novel that I read instead of listening to (my library doesn't have the audiobook)—this is the first time I've gone from audio to print. It was interesting, but I think I prefer Chandler's narration to my own (but I liked getting the spelling of a couple of names).
It's a solid mystery, a good time with some characters that I liked. It's a little heavy on the “woo-woo” stuff (Joe's term), but I can live with that. I don't know that this is the best one to come to the series with, but it's a good installment for those that are familiar with the characters.
Featured Series
22 primary books24 released booksJoe Pickett is a 24-book series with 22 primary works first released in 2001 with contributions by C.J. Box and C. J. Box.