STORM WATCH by C.J. Box

In Saddlestring, Wyoming, in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, Game Warden Joe Pickett is dressing warmly for winter storm weather. A severe weather event is on its way and although tired, Joe now has to go look for an injured elk cow that has been hit by a car.

Joe gets permission to go on land managed by Clay Hutmacher to trail the injured elk deep into the snow-covered hills. After much trudging through the heavy snow, Joe eventually finds the wounded elk and puts it out of its misery. But close to where the elk falls, he discovers a new SUV, parked in the snow.

Because of the approaching storm, Joe decides to find the owner of the SUV. He eventually finds an unexpected metal shed in the hills emitting a whining sound and discovers a dead body with injuries from a high-powered fan. Joe contacts Clay Hutmacher about the steel shed and the body. Joe also notices there are additional footprints leading away from the shed. Suddenly, Joe gets shot at from the hills, but makes his escape in the snowy blizzard. All strange!

Joe identifies the dead person from the wallet that he took as Zhang Wei, a Professor at the University of Wyoming. Joe talks to Sheriff Scott Tibbs who will investigate the crime scene. What was a Chinese professor doing there?

From there, what seems to be the start of a normal investigation just seem to go south. When the police go to collect the body, it is missing and then strange FBI agents show up. Just what the hell is going on?

STORM WATCH is the 23rd book in the Joe Pickett series by best-selling and award-winning western author C.J. Box. Box definitely knows how to best express his home territory both in its wild and breathtaking beauty as well as with its fierce and powerful snowstorms. Having worked and lived in Wyoming, Box also knows the people who live there, and his characters are very realistic in actions and attitudes.

One of the main characters in OFF THE GRID is featured in STORM WATCH. Nate Romanowski now owns a falconer business where falcons clear problem birds away from facilities, such as parks, golf courses, airports, and the like. Other characters, such as Joe’s wife, MaryBeth, an intelligent and helpful Library Director, get involved, along with their college-aged daughter, Sheridan, who works for Nate and is further developing her skills with falcons. Some intriguing conflicts arise after Jason Demo arrives and wants to link Nate into a militant group with a secretive leader known only as the "Big Fish."

STORM WATCH certainly contains all the events ongoing in the United States right now. It is almost like reading the newspaper or watching TV News, but with an expanded and enthralling mystery format. STORM WATCH covers Chinese influence, illegal FBI operations, Critical Race Theory, Bitcoin mining, Keystone pipeline cancellation, CCP Spying, oil, coal, timber, gun-owning, truck-loving patriots, and especially CCP-influenced politicians! All current events (except Chinese balloons) are melded into this suspenseful and captivating story!

If you are already a CJ BOX fan or crave a high-impact and current western novel, then look no further than STORM WATCH! This latest Joe Pickett novel can easily be read as a stand-alone novel; yet, fans will recommend reading a few of the earlier ones in the series to give you a greater and richer sense of what makes Joe Pickett, the Game Warden, tick! Joe may be getting on in years and now feels the hikes more in his bones, but he still has lots of vim, vigor, and surprises in store for those that want to stop him. Enjoy!

Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett investigates a mysterious death at a secret remote high-tech facility in this riveting new novel from #1 New York Times bestseller C.J. Box.

When a prominent University of Wyoming professor goes missing, authorities are stumped. That is, until Joe Pickett makes two surprising discoveries while hunting down a wounded elk on his district as an epic spring storm descends upon him. First, he finds the professor’s vehicle parked on a remote mountainside. Then Joe finds the professor’s frozen and mutilated body. When he attempts to learn more, his investigation is obstructed by federal agents, extremists, and Governor Colter Allen.

Nate Romanowski is rebuilding his falconry company—and financing this through crypto mining with the assistance of Geronimo Jones. He’s then approached by a shadowy group of local militant activists that is gaining in power and influence, and demanding that Wyoming join other western states and secede from the union—by force, if necessary. They ask Nate to throw in with them, but he’s wary. Should he trust them, or is he being set up?

As a storm of peril gathers around them, Joe and Nate confront it in different ways—and maybe, for the first time, on opposite sides.