In the author’s
fourth Cassie Dewell novel, the protagonist has left her career as a police
officer in North Dakota to open her own private investigation firm in Bozeman,
Montana. She has tired of the
bureaucracy of law enforcement and the misogyny of her co-workers, and needs to work through the PTSD of killing the “Lizard King”, a long-haul trucker and
mass murderer. But starting a new
business in a new location brings challenges of its own. So when a local female attorney wants to hire
her to investigate a rape by a wealthy, over barring man from the adjacent county,
Cassie has little choice but to agree.
The accused,
Blake Keinsasser is the oldest son of a prominent ranching family in Lochsa
County. After three generations, the
family business has prospered but has developed a hold over people and politics
in the county to preserve their interests.
The first day Cassie begins to ask questions about her client, she is
stopped by a deputy and jailed on bogus charges. Not intimidated by the tactics, Cassie pushes
her way into the family only to have her life threatened again. Still not giving up she finds a former
employee of the ranch who fills her in on the family’s history. Now she knows why she’s in danger but how can
she persevere?
C.J. Box does
it again with The Bitterroots. He writes an intriguing story about a
fearless, code bound protagonist that you can’t put down, all the while weaving
in modern day issues… misogyny, climate change, law enforcement behavior. An excellent read.
Thanks to
Netgalley for the advance look.
No comments:
Post a Comment