First power rotation author: CJ Box’s The Crossroads by CJ Box.
By now, readers of this blog know that the MRB boys are big fans of CJ Box’s 26 (!) Joe Pickett books. Started in 2001 and Box has published a book every year since. You’ll recall that Pickett is a Wyoming game warden whose primary task is ensuring that hunters, fishermen, etc. all have their licenses up to date and aren’t exceeding state mandated hunting limits. But always seems to end up being involved with cases that are (well) outside hit state mandates. And this one is no different. Sort of.
Joe’s been told by a hunter of seeing what appeared to be a drunk elk on a ranch. This falls under his authority so he goes to check it out. The ranch in question is a bit of a drive that takes him out of cell phone coverage. He drives out to where Antler Creek Rd crosses some other back country road. At this crossroads, Joe stops to consult his map. There are three ranches out here. One biggun’ owned by an Atlanta hedge fund manager (code word for ‘loaded’). Another ranch is owned by two borderline crackpot sisters. The third is owned by a long-time couple/resident who just wants to be left alone and aren't afraid to face down trespassers, hunters, lawmen, basically anyone.
So far, basic Joe Pickett plot.
Until he is ambushed. Shot in his own truck, including a head wound. Left for dead. Chapter 1.
This ain’t your ordinary Joe Pickett book now. A guy out hunting comes across the aftermath, calls it in and promptly disappears. Word gets out across the law enforcement community like a runaway wildfire. Wife Mary Beth is yanked from a library board meeting and taken to the crossroads. Daughters are called in. Eldest Sheridan is working as an investigator in the mountain area (works for Cassie Dewell featured in Box’s six ‘The Highway’ books). April helps run Nate Romanowski’s bird abatement business. Both are tough and not to be messed with. Lucy has just returned from a university experience in Europe. Not to mention there is a new sheriff in town and this is his first big case. Box and Mary Beth are airlifted to Bozeman, MT. Before doing anything drastic medically, the brain swelling must be controlled and the medical team puts Joe into a medical induced coma.
Have to admit, when the primary protagonist for 25 books is gunned down in the first chapter, it’s painfully obvious that other typically secondary characters will have to step up. And the three daughters do just that. Each daughter gets one of the three ranches at the end of this road to find out who is behind the attempt on their father.
The Joe Pickett series is legendary for the devotion of its readers and Box certainly knows how to set a hook. When was the last time an author put the lead name out front and then nearly blew the lead into kingdom come? Had I not had a life that demanded attention, the sheer audacity of the plot would’ve kept me glued to my seat to see how Box puts the daughters front and center in the storyline while Joe is attended to by a team of neurosurgeons. The girls are up to the task because they are tough, resourceful, committed, and seriously angry.
Gotta love it. Should be painfully obvious that Box is taking us into the world of the Pickett daughters while daddy recovers (and maybe retires?). Leave it to a great storyteller to leave us breathlessly waiting for episode #27 next year.
And it’s in bookstores so you won’t have to wait.
ECD
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