Trophy Hunt (A Joe Pickett Novel)

Trophy Hunt (A Joe Pickett Novel)

From Publishers WeeklyBox's riveting fourth Joe Pickett adventure (after 2003's Winterkill) opens on a disturbing note, with the Wyoming game warden's chance discovery of the oddly mutilated body of a moose near his favorite fishing hole. When several mangled cows and two grisly human corpses are added to the macabre menagerie, Joe reluctantly joins a task force to investigate. Bud Barnum, the corrupt sheriff of Twelve Sleep County, attributes the mutilations to birds or a notorious grizzly bear from Joe's jurisdiction, but Joe isn't convinced. Enter paranormal expert Cleve Garrett, who zealously follows mutilation and alien sightings in his recreational vehicle laboratory. Despite ridicule from the task force, Joe interviews Garrett, who supplies little fresh information but gives off creepy vibes. The clues that the quietly heroic Joe gathers from many disparate witnesses, including his own young daughters and a mentally incapacitated fisherman, may point to the otherworldly, but readers will be well satisfied with the all-too-earthly solution to the bizarre crimes. With its credible and sensitively drawn characters, loads of interesting tidbits about the natural world and timely plot, this skillfully crafted page-turner should have wide appeal.Copyright ? Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Shaken by the brutal killing of a wild moose, game warden Joe Pickett becomes increasingly alarmed when a herd of cattle and then two people are murdered by the same perpetrator. By the author of Open Season. 35,000 first printing.From BooklistBox, whose superb Joe Pickett series has nailed some great western issues (ecoterrorism, endangered species, survivalists), here draws a bead on one out in left field: cattle mutilations. When the Wyoming game warden finds a mysteriously mangled moose, he is unnerved. When cows and even humans turn up the same, he finds himself a reluctant member of a special task force. County residents think aliens are responsible and start wearing aluminum-foil hats and finding crop circles in their backyards; Pickett calls the theory "woo-woo crap." This has all the elements that made the first three Picketts so pleasurable: Pickett himself, a bad shot but a good man; a strong supporting cast, especially his family; an inventive plot; and Box's own well-reasoned grasp of the issues. If this one works a hair less well, it may be because of the woo-woo crap itself. Although there's a believable motive behind some of it, there's also a touch of the supernatural that doesn't quite fit. Still, there's nothing wrong with being merely excellent instead of state-of-the-art once in a while. Keir GraffCopyright ? American Library Association. All rights reservedReviewBox vividly evokes life in the West, and the surprises he springs keep you guessing right to the end... -- People, 3 out of 4 stars, July 19, 2004Box...continues his run of excellence in Trophy Hunt. -- Rocky Mountain News, July 2, 2004I can think of no other book that so captures the experience of being young just as Reaganism dawned. -- Claire Dederer, Newsday, June 20, 2004[Box's] style is down-to-earth and commercially appealing, sometimes hard-nosed and sometimes sentimental, with a Western locale that sets it apart. -- Philadelphia Inquirer, June 27, 2004About the AuthorC. J. Box is the author of thirteen Joe Pickett novels and three stand-alones, and has won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Barry Awards, as well as the French Prix Calibre .38. His most recent Joe Pickett novel, Force of Nature, debuted at #3 on the New York Times bestseller list. He lives outside Cheyenne, Wyoming, with his family.