Two thriller/suspense novels set in The Great Outdoors. By two different authors. One’s set in the Cowboy State. The other, Big Sky Country. One is by an outdoor/Western author we know well. The author is by someone we’ve heard of before. Both pack a wallop. Here’s why:
Tag Archives: C.J. Box
6 Titles to Curl Up With if You Love Whodunits
You’re kidding, right?
I say this to Mom a lot. Especially when she gets The Look. You know. That Look. It usually precedes a mile-long description of her new favorite book. Of course I listen. Because, ya know. That’s my job. Well, that and being beautiful and brilliant. (It’s a tough job. But I’m up for it!)
So when Mom came up with yet another harebrained idea for Fine Wine Fridays – where do these things come from? – I just smiled and listened.
Mom’s latest brainstorm? A list of really cool murder mysteries/whodunits.
Being the brains in this dynamic duo, I reminded Mom that she doesn’t typically gravitate toward either genre. But you know Mom!
So here, in no particular order, are Mom’s version of Fine Wine Friday murder mysteries/whodunits. (See more Fine Wine Friday picks here.)
The Best ‘Box’ Novel Yet?
Kimber: Hey Mom! You know that author guy we stumbled upon a while back? The box-y dude who writes crime thrillers set in Wyoming?
Mom: “You mean C.J. Box?”
Kimber: Yeppers! Didya know he has a new book out?
… And that’s how Her Momness and I flew over to the library faster than Captain Kirk aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. Here’s what we found:
The Setting
It’s early spring in Wyoming. State Game Warden Joe Pickett is facing the mother of all storms in C.J. Box’s latest crime thriller western, Storm Watch. And we don’t mean just the blizzard kind, either. No siree, Lassie! Although there’s enough snow and ice and freezing temps in this taut and tightly written novel to make you want to toss another log on the fire. Maybe two.
Well. The Cowboy State is about to get hit by an “apocalyptic blizzard” in more ways than one.
Kimber: The title has a double meaning, if you get my drift. As in snow drift. Also deep doo-doo of the political type “drift.”
High Octane Powers C.J. Box Mystery-Thrillers
We discovered C.J. Box a year or two ago at The Book Place. By accident. Mom was reaching for another title when she accidentally bumped a C.J. Box book. It plopped onto the floor. Mom picked it up. Read the synopsis. Checked it out. We really liked the American west/great outdoors settings. Read our first Box book, The Bitterroots, cover to cover in one sitting. (See our full review of that first C.J. Box novel here.)
Pro Tip!
Same thing with a couple subsequent Box mystery-thrillers, Paradise Valley and Wolf Pack. Only this time mom made the mistake of starting the former in the evening. Pro tip: Don’t do that unless you can stay up all night reading. Cuz it’s a barn burner from the get-go.
Rugged outdoor settings and strong female leads make Paradise Valley a dual stand-out in the genre. Like investigator and Montana native Cassie Dewell. Now in Bakken County, North Dakota, she’s been trailing a serial killer for years. He haunts highways and truck stops. Anyone he picks up or grabs vanishes.
Ties That Bind Can Burn in “The Bitterroots”
The Bitterroots, by C.J. Box
St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 2019
Ever been unsure of an author or a title but decided to dive in anyway, and discover a pleasant surprise in the process?
That’s how I felt after reading C.J. Box’s new crime thriller, The Bitterroots. True confession: I nabbed it off the library’s New shelf cuz of the cover. I mean, hey! Rugged mountains. Jet-puffed clouds. Fiery Montana meadows. And a tall, lanky cowboy.
What’s not to love?
Pages & Paws 