Bozeman-based PI Cassie Dewell is hired by a defense attorney to mostly verify the facts turned over during discovery. Dewell, being a former cop, doesn't really care for defense lawyers but takes on the job for a variety of reasons. She still doesn't like it, though. And that that corner of the state is in the midst of its largest wildfire in recent memory.
Blake Kleinsasser, the oldest of 3 sons born into a family that controls a small county up near the Bitterroot mountains. He's accused of abduction and rape of his niece and the evidence against him is formidable. Blake was in a blackout drunk when the alleged rape occurred. The lawyer wants the evidence verified so she can talk Blake into a plea deal. Family issues and the line of succession for the 70,000 acres of the Iron Cross ranch mean that should Blake be convicted, he would be cut out of any passing along of family assets.
When Cassie arrives to essentially dot i's and cross t's, but runs into wall after wall after wall. She's getting fed up with being stonewalled, was even tossed into jail for a night, her Jeep was burned, her motel room bugged, and threatened most every day. Only once she tracks down a former employee of the ranch does this morass of dominoes start to organize and fall into place, which also has a tentacle to her son's interest in a new student in school back in Bozeman.
While CJ Box is well known for his Joe Pickett novels, this, his 4th Cassie Dewell book, is equal to the task. Box is more than just Joe Pickett. It's his stories and how he develops them that sets Box apart from the rest of the numerous pretenders. So go ahead and start reading CJ Box for Joe Pickett, but stick with him as he develops Cassie Dewell. You will not be disappointed.
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