It's an idyllic late-summer day in Saddlestring, Wyoming, and game warden Joe Pickett is fly-fishing with his two daughters when he stumbles upon the mutilated body of a moose. Whatever - or whoever - attacked the animal was ruthless: half the animal's face has been sliced away, the skin peeled back from the flesh. Shaken by the sight, Joe starts to investigate what he hopes in an isolated incident.
Days later, after the discovery of a small herd of mutilated cattle, Joe realizes this is something much more terrifying than he could have imagined. Local authorities are quick to label the attacks the work of a grizzly bear, but Joe knows otherwise. The cuts on the moose and the cattle were too clean, too precise, to have been made by jagged teeth. Are the animals only practice for a killer about to move on to another, more challenging prey?
Soon afterward, Joe's worst fears are confirmed. The bodies of two men are found within hours of each other, in separate locations, their wounds eerily similar to those found on the moose and cattle. There's a vicious killer, a modern-day Jack the Ripper, on the loose in Saddlestring - and it appears his rampage is just beginning.
He's game: solve another mystery with Joe Pickett.
©2004 C. J. Box (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC
"another good one"
I like Box's work, and Chandler's narration goes well with the prose. The situations are unusual enough and complex enough to be interesting, the characters deep enough to be engaging, the settings strong and the prose eloquent, even moving. The bad guys tend to be over-the-top bad, but at least Box has some surprise villains here. The family dramas wear on me after a while, but some might find them the best part.
"very good"
got a little scary at times...
Joe Pickett - i just love the voice of David Chandler, my favorite reader....
Joe Pickett
listened to it at night, but it kept me awake loon after I should have fallen asleep. tood about 3 nights to finish listening to book.
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Noah writes and daydreams for the pure joy of transposing his thoughts to the written word. His adventures & dog Dusty are his escape!
"Joe Pickett Novels never disappoint"
If you are looking for a fast paced action novel with plot twists at every turn, well, this isn't it. But what you will have is a a really good steady suspense novel taking place in the great outdoors, with a slew of interesting characters. C.J. Box does his usual good job of bringing in new and interesting characters to interact with those we've seen in previous Joe Pickett novels. They are always fun and thought provoking but at times can be a bit slow. The narrater does an excellent job of bringing these characters to life.
"Love C.J. Box"
Good book, look forward to his next book. I would recommend this to book.