The Highway

A Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell Novel

By: C.J. Box

Narrated by: Holter Graham

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The inspiration for the new ABC series Big Sky. Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel, the New York Times best-selling author of Back of Beyond and Breaking Point and the creator of the Joe Pickett series is back.

"If CJ Box isn't already on your list, put him there." (USA Today)

When two sisters set out across a remote stretch of Montana road to visit their friend, little do they know it will be the last time anyone might ever hear from them again. The girls - and their car - simply vanish. Former police investigator Cody Hoyt has just lost his job and has fallen off the wagon after a long stretch of sobriety. Convinced by his son and his former rookie partner, Cassie Dewell, he begins the drive south to the girls' last known location.

As Cody makes his way to the lonely stretch of Montana highway where they went missing, Cassie discovers that Gracie and Danielle Sullivan aren't the first girls who have disappeared in this area. This majestic landscape is the hunting ground for a killer whose viciousness is outmatched only by his intelligence. And he might not be working alone.

Time is running out for Gracie and Danielle...Can Cassie overcome her doubts and lack of experience and use her innate skill? Can Cody Hoyt battle his own demons and find this killer before another victim vanishes on the highway?

©2013 C.J. Box (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Well Written but Disturbing!

Held my attention, well written, but disturbing subject matter, Mr. Box is a great writer, one of my favorites, can't wait to see what happens to Highway Lizard Trucker...

A bit too real for me

I’m sure the facts of the story are accurate, but it’s not upside of life that I want to immerse myself in. I love all of CJ boxes other books.

Very good read

a bit slow on the start but it gained momentum and ended well.
to be continued

Good twist of plot

Good crime tale with more than the 'usual' storyline. C.J. Box always seems to come up with something worth listening too.

Perfect Sequel to Cody Hoyt book 1 Back Of Beyond

A great follow up to the first Cody Hoyt novel. I’m excited to see where Cassie takes us.

The hideousness of the crimes being committed

This is a Box book that I very nearly returned. Just way too dark for me and uncharacteristically morbid and hard to listen to despite Holter Graham’s excellent narration.

So Much Inttigue

As usual, the author writes with authority. He knows what he writes about. I’d never be able to come up. with the details and background he has at his finger tips. He writes; I can only read.

Messing with my expectations

I've listened to nearly all the C.J. Box on Audible, skipping only the one that appears from the plot summary and reviews to lean a little too Tea Party for me, but my respect for his story-telling is high. This time out, some of the reviews that are negative appear to be disappointed in a plot development: A heroine moves to the forefront after a shocking development. One reviewer claimed she is dull as mud.

I like mud and those animals who dwell there, but this woman doesn't and isn't. She's female. Not a female who's the next best thing to a guy, but a woman, acting like an adult, making mistakes and reaching beyond them. She steps up.

The bad guys are wicked, but not cartoons. They ring true. They're worse than the bad cops in Box's "Blue Heaven," but in that vein.

Few novelists working today have as rich a sense of the contemporary American West as Box. Despite some gruesome plot elements, not lingered over, thank God, listening was a pleasure. Box loves the land and everybody trying to make a go of it on the land in an honorable way, even if they break a few rules now and then. By the time the heroine is ready to break a major one, I was with her all the way.

Box never overwrites. His sentences don't call attention to themselves, preening like peacocks. They're often beautiful, always crisp and frequently worth writing down. I believe in his characters. Excellent narrator.

Slightly different

I enjoy C.J. Box for his characters and vivid descriptions of Wyoming and Montana. This book has much less of those qualities. It is a horrifying story, well done, but leaves me with the confirmed feeling that "people are just no damn good."

What a writer!

What did you love best about The Highway?

Have always been a Box fan. Although a departure from prior books, it's almost as though he has recreated himself. I have known bimbos as depicted here. Thank God I have never encountered the evil portrayed within. I sense that C. J. is a devout man and abhors it with his whole soul.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Highway?

A father doing what a father should do. An individual gathering unknown strength and courage from within to conquer ultimate evil.

Which scene was your favorite?

Gracies unshakeable resolve and determination.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Devil. You don't have a chance even in your own hell.