First Sentence: For Wyoming Game Warden Katelyn Hamm, April
really was the cruelest month.
Game Warden Joe Pike has his job back, a
new house, and another new truck. He and neighboring game warden Katelyn Hamm also have a big problem with someone using a large drone to kill herds of
animals. It becomes more complicated
when Joe learns that Lucy, one of his daughters is dating the son of the very
wealthy man named Hill who owns the drone, and when Joe receives orders from above to
leave Hill alone. The drone is the least of
the problems when it is suspected that four killers, known as the Wolf Pack, of the Sinaloa cartel, are in the area, and are after Hill and anyone who gets
in their way.
One always learns new things when reading
Box. It's fascinating to know about the
value of antlers and the horrible damage to a herd of deer caused by unscrupulous
antler collectors. It's an industry with regulations of which we
would not otherwise know.
Box creates such fascinating characters. Certainly, there are the recurring characters
of Joe, his family, falconer Nate Romanowski and his now pregnant fiance Liz, but
it's extra nice to have the female game warder of Katelyn. Joe is such a well-constructed character. That he and his wife Marybeth have such a strong relationship and partnership where she, at times, provides Joe with informational assistance, gives further dimension to both characters. Although Nate may refer to him as
"Dudley-Do-Right," Joe is no one's fool. Underestimating him is a
mistake and things can get "Western" very quickly. On the other side, the head of the Wolf Pack
is as nasty a character as nasty can get.
From the very start, Box creates a sense
of threat. The plot is as one is on a roller-coaster
ride. There are fairly gentle rises and
falls, then huge escalations, heart-stopping drops, flat runs for relief, and
then we're off again. Box knows how to
plot. He's an expert at linking aspects
of the story together in ways one doesn't expect. Even seemingly innocent scenes have an
overlay of danger to them. The
escalation of tension is palpable to the point where one may even mutter
"No, don't go." as if watching a movie. One is definitely never bored.
"Wolf Pack" is a high-energy, edge-of-seat book. There is divine retribution and an ending that is very emotional and somewhat bittersweet. Fair warning that this book is more violent, with more bodies, than some of the past books in the series, but it's an excellent read.
WOLF PACK (LicInv/Game Warder-Joe
Pike-Wyoming-Contemp) - Ex
Box, C.J. – 19th in series
G.P. Putnam's Sons – March 2019Box, C.J. – 19th in series
Posts
The Pickett family is one of the best things about this series, in my opinion. I'm glad that Box includes them in the plots without taking away from the main plot of the stories. And I agree: there's always something to learn in these novels.
ReplyDeleteI agree. And I love that they've been through their ups-and-downs. I love always learning something new.
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