DARK SKY by C.J. Box

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DARK SKY
C.J. Box

Reviewed by Karen Siddall
Posted April 8, 2021

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

On orders from the governor, Joe Pickett leads a Silicon Valley tech billionaire and creator of the wildly popular social media app, ConFab, up into the Big Horn Mountains to hunt elk. Steven “Steve-2” Price spent the months of the virus pandemic growing all his own vegetables and now means to harvest his own meat using only a bow and arrows. Additionally, he wants to chronicle every step of his journey on ConFab so that his millions of followers worldwide will also connect where their food comes from. But as Joe leads the group from the city up into the mountains, they have some followers who are not on social media. Not everyone is watching Steve-2’s latest whim with admiration, Steve-2 has enemies, and they have guns.

DARK SKY is the latest novel in author C.J. Box’s long-running Joe Pickett series, and it may be one of Joe’s most exciting adventures ever. From the security measures employed as Steve-2 and his entourage are arriving at the Saddlestring Airport in his private jet to the blackmailing pressure that Governor Allen puts on Joe’s shoulders, the tension begins building before even a single horse’s hoof takes a step on the trail up the mountain to their first night camp. Then when things go sideways, the action is at a fever-pitch as Joe and Steve-2 run for lives, and it doesn’t let up until the final words, “The End,” are spoken.

In this, the 21st book in the series, we pick up only a few months after the events in “Long Range.” Joe is recuperating from having taken a bullet in the thigh, and although back on the job, he’s still feeling its effects. Even after having followed Joe’s story from the very beginning, I was surprised to realize he’s 50 years old now, going on 51 at the end of the week of the trip. I thought this understanding added even more pressure to the tension of his mountain escape.

Narrator David Chandler has been with this series on Recorded Books from the very beginning as well. His measured delivery of Joe Pickett’s lean dialogue has established Joe’s voice and personality. He creatively performs a variety of other voices for the rest of the cast of characters, so they are easy to identify and distinguish one from the other.

I highly recommend DARK SKY to mystery readers, especially those that have read Joe Pickett’s adventures before; however, this book could easily be enjoyed on its own. But a heads-up! This book leaves the reader with an unbelievably urgent cliffhanger ending, so this next year, waiting for book #22 is going to be a long one.

SUMMARY

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett must accompany a Silicon Valley CEO on a hunting trip--but soon learns that he himself may be the hunted--in the thrilling new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box.

When the governor of Wyoming gives Joe Pickett the thankless task of taking a tech baron on an elk hunting trip, Joe reluctantly treks into the wilderness with his high-profile charge. But as they venture into the woods, a man-hunter is hot on their heels, driven by a desire for revenge. Finding himself without a weapon, a horse, or a way to communicate, Joe must rely on his wits and his knowledge of the outdoors to protect himself and his companion.

Meanwhile, Joe's closest friend, Nate Romanowski, and his own daughter Sheridan learn of the threat to Joe's life and follow him into the woods. In a stunning final showdown, the three of them come up against the worst that nature--and man--have to offer.