Dark Sky by C.J. Box

 

Wyoming game warden, Joe Pickett is given a task that he detests by the Wyoming governor whom he doesn’t trust.  The task is to escort Steve Price, a Silicon Valley billionaire, on an elk hunt to help him converse with nature and brag about it on his social networking platform.  The governor is hopeful that a successful hunting experience will encourage Price to bring expansions of his company’s infrastructure to Wyoming.  So the pressure is on Joe to make it happen.

Joe packs up his winter gear and hires a local cowboy with plenty of horses and hunting equipment. He picks up Price’s entourage from a corporate jet at the local airport and heads for the mountains.  But a local hunting guide with a grudge against Price lies in wait with his two sociopathic sons to hunt the hunters.  Joe and Price are soon separated from camp, unarmed, without radios and on foot in the mountains.  Joe must use his cunning and knowledge of the terrain to avoid the hunters until help can get organized and come looking for them.  Of course his pal Nate Romanowski as well as wife Mary Beth and daughter Sheridan are involved in the search...major danger and excitement for all.

I’ve read all of C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett books and never tire of the character or the story lines.  In our world of liars and conspiracy theories it’s so refreshing to read about a character who is just what he appears to be with no hidden motives.  Thanks C.J. Box for the hope even if it is rooted in fiction.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance look.