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.
#1 New York Times bestseller C.J. Box returns with a new Joe Pickett novel.
The governor of Wyoming has given game warden Joe Pickett the thankless assignment of taking a tech baron on a hunting trip. But unbeknownst to them, as they trek further into the wilderness, a hunter is hot on their heels. Joe must rely on his wits and his knowledge of the outdoors to protect himself and his charge.
Meanwhile, when Joe's closest friend Nate Romanowski and his own daughter Sheridan learn of the threat to his life, they follow him into the woods to rescue him, and all three come together for one final showdown.
Praise for C.J. Box:
'Heart-stoppingly good' Daily Mail 'Solid-gold A-list must-read' Lee Child 'I love Joe Pickett' Michael Connelly 'Exhilarating ... Gung-ho stuff' Sunday Times 'Box is an exemplary writer of crime novels' Financial Times
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