Blue Heaven

By: C. J. Box

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Blue Heaven is the break-out novel from C. J. Box, the award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Joe Pickett series.

A twelve-year-old girl and her younger brother are on the run in the Idaho woods, pursued by four men they have just watched commit murder—four men who know exactly who William and Annie are. And where their mother lives.

Retired policemen from Los Angeles, the killers easily persuade the local sheriff to let them lead the search for the missing children. Now there's nowhere left for William and Annie to hide…and no one they can trust. Until they meet Jess Rawlins.

Rawlins, an old-school rancher, knows trouble when he sees it. He is only one against four men who will stop at nothing to silence their witnesses. But in this thrilling mystery novel from C.J. Box, these ex-cops don't know just how far Rawlins will go to protect William and Annie…and see that justice is done.

Blue Heaven is the winner of the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Novel.

©2007 C.J. Box (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“John Bedford Lloyd's rich, distinctive voice brings a strong sense of power to his reading of Box's first stand-alone thriller…Lloyd's crisp, laconic delivery easily handles a multitude of characters, accents and shifting points of view, creating just the right tone for the material and drawing the listener deep into the action of the story. He portrays his villains (a band of dirty ex-cops) with just the right amount of ruthless menace without going overboard, and he perfectly captures the essence of the aging rancher, imbuing him with the quiet strength and dignity of an iconic western hero.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Blue Heaven is a non-stop thrill ride--a provocative suspense novel that has you rooting for the characters every step of the way.” —Harlan Coben, author of The Woods

“Blue Heaven is a relentless thriller. C.J. Box sucked me in with good cops, bad cops, and missing money, then blind-sided me with unexpected twists and surprises in this novel of clashing cultures and dark secrets. Box delivers the goods!” —Robert Crais, author of The Watchman: A Joe Pike Novel

Blue Heaven

good story. Interesting characters. Narration was also good

Solid Entry By Box

Rich and interesting characters are brought to life with a good narrator. The plot is propelled along with just enough action. I’m a new fan of this author. He really gets you to care about the characters and understand them....even the villains. It makes the reading go by quick...maybe too quick.

This story follows two siblings that witnessed a murder and the complications that arise. Even though you know the culprits, the fun is getting to know these great characters. The suspense is trying to figure out how it’s going to play out. Some of it you can probably guess, but some of it will surprise you.

Real storytelling

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Something I really like about C.J. Box is the way he (she?) uses language to tell a story. It's very listenable and I find my attention does not waver so much as it does with other authors.

What about John Bedford Lloyd’s performance did you like?

I thought the narrator was the perfect choice for this story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I was pleased not to have too many interruptions to my listening.

Jess

Loved it. Narrator was excellent ,heart beating thru out this story. Hero shouldn't die.

My Favorite CJ Box Novel

"Blue Heaven" was my first Audible listen in 2011. Fortunately, it was a great experience for me, and I have read almost all of CJ Box's novels since that time.

I came back to write this review now, because of all of his novels, this one was my favorite. Box is a fantastic writer, and I have liked all of his books. But this one is the most down to earth, and I believe the one that best captures that natural surroundings of the American West.

John Bedford Lloyd, who is in my top 3 narrator list, deserves a large part of the credit. His narration nails the "cowboy" and "rancher" roles.

If you passsed this one by, go back and listen. It will be worth your time.

Good story, satisfying ending

For me, it started slow as some of the characters were developed. It took hold by mid way, and held me tuned right through to the end. I enjoyed it, and would recommend.

Good for a one time read

This contains too many bad and half bad guys. Wanted a different end. Kids were well done.

Excellent

loved it,, Box writes great books and this is another good one. enjoyed every minute 😁

One Trick Pony?

I'm a big fan of the Joe Pickett series, and chose this audiobook largely to see whether C. J. Box was a one trick pony. Turns out, he pretty much is. As compelling as I find the characters in the Joe Pickett series, I was expecting the characters in Blue Heaven to be the same. Nope. The plot was certainly as good as any Joe Pickett novel, but the characters were nowhere close to that. I think what was most disappointing to me however, was the lack of any poignant emotional payoffs when all was said and done. I won't be listening to any more C. J. Box offerings outside of the Joe Pickett universe anytime soon.

Not my favorite

I really don't like books where the heroes just do dumb things over and over again. I like CJ Box's other titles, but this one I'd skip...