Long Range, by C.J. Box

This is the 20th novel in Box’s series featuring Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden. This series is reliably good, but as with other series, there have been a few books recently that veered off of Box’s successful formula and as a result weren’t quite as satisfying. Happily, Long Range is very good, and could easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.

In Long Range, Pickett is caught up in several different mysteries: a bear attack outside of Jackson Hole, the murder by sniper of a local judge’s wife, and threats made against his friend Nate Romanoski. Most of the series’ usual, favorite characters appear in this novel, and the Wyoming locations are well-done and interesting.

This series is one of my favorites, in part because of the Wyoming setting but also because the game warden angle is different and interesting. Joe Pickett is a likable protagonist, who seems like a pretty regular guy. Box does such a good job with this series. He’s a good writer, but he also really knows Wyoming, and it shows. As always, I recommend that you start with book #1 in a series and move forward — BUT this series is very accessible so I think you could start with this book without too much trouble.

Recommended!