Open Season: A Joe Pickett Novel

This is where it all starts. If you are a fan of C.J. Box or Joe Pickett this book is the foundation to the series. If you are not yet a fan, start with Open Season and you will find a great outdoor modern west mystery that will hook you for rest of the Joe Pickett series. These are great books to sit and listen to. I have read them all and now I will get a chance to listen to them. I would only hope that Audible will pick up the few missing books to fill the gaps in this series. Listening to them each in order of release is advised, but each one makes for a great stand alone mystery. Enjoy.

I first listened to Below Zero about a year ago. I found it on sale and thought it sounded interesting. Since then I've listened to everything Audible has by C.J. Box. What they didn't have in audio I read.
David Chandler does such an excellent job at narrating the Joe Pickett series I had to have this book in my collection. You won't be disappointed.

Love the book, love Joe Picket and love C.J. Box. This is the first novel in the Joe Picket series and it is simply well written and easy to read and listen to. If your looking for a great story about wildlife, family, Wyoming and mystery then this is the perfect audio book! A+++

I enjoyed listening to this book because it was well written and well narrated. The Joe PIckett novels are easy listening and engaging. The characters are well developed and have a sense of depth to them. I wouldn't call these novels real mysteries or thrillers if that is what you are looking for. Over all, I recommend the series if your not into on the edge of your seat novels. You can sleep at night after listening to these books which is a good change sometimes for me.

Terser plot, less attention to pointless details, less hackneyed characters, a more compelling main character, more thought given to dialog and character development, fewer lengthy scenes in which some everyday activity is described in excruciating detail for no apparent reason. Also a top-notch reader can make me like just about anything.

Oh, so many things.I like "everyman" detectives better than the super-geniuses, but I had the majority of the plot figured out 1/4 of the way through this book, and the characters were dull and unlikable. Joe Pickett is naive, incompetent, and gullible. He is surrounded by straight-up moustache-twirling villains but can't recognize them for what they are. His wife is pretty and rather pointless as a character, her mother is predictably irritating. The children are basically plot devices.I had only the vaguest sense of the appearance of the characters and of the setting, but I got a disproportionate amount of detail at odd moments - for example, an excruciatingly detailed account of every Cheerio fed to a small animal by one of the children. BORING.I also got a bit annoyed right off the bat for what I'll admit is a somewhat superficial reason. As a minor bit of background detail, we learn that the main character's family had a kitten and later a puppy that were both eaten by coyotes. This is described as a family of animal-lovers, and I get that bad stuff happens, but how did both of these animals end up outside, unattended, long enough to get eaten by coyotes? The children were unaware of the fate of their pets so presumably they weren't playing with the critters outside. It was, like I said, a VERY MINOR POINT, but it still colored the way I thought of these people. These are people who were either dumb enough to leave two baby animals outside, alone, where they could be killed by the local wildlife (and the main character is a GAME WARDEN, it isn't like they're ignorant), or they are just so careless that both animals escaped the house and were left to fend for themselves. Obviously, it bothered me, and I found I didn't care for the Picketts.The author does not present information in a way that is interesting or insightful. It was plodding and quotidian. The author also tends to summarize what a character has said instead of revealing the actual dialog, which left me feeling cheated out of meaningful insights into the characters. I mean, the difference between "Joe told her he had a stressful day, and she seemed to understand," and an actual back-and-forth interaction between the couple is huge. I sometimes felt like I was reading case notes instead of a novel. Not fun.Where conversations occur, Pickett doesn't say much, but the other characters go off on improbably long diatribes about their own opinions with a fair amount of regularity. It doesn't ring true, and that's always especially noticeable in audiobooks.

I didn't hate him, and his voice wasn't annoying or anything, he just lacked panache. I've been spoiled by George Guidall, Barbara Rosenblat, Rosalyn Landor, Simon Prebble, etc. Also, a lot of the Southern and Western vernacular just didn't work. Imagine a straightlaced newscaster trying to sell lines like "They was out-of-staters," and you get the idea. The dialog (such as it was) all sounded a bit stilted.

None that I can think of.

I have obviously been spoiled by Craig Johnson's "Longmire" series. I'd recommend "The Cold Dish" to anyone (and I have! To lots of people!), but I'll never mention this one to anybody. However: this book seems to have huge rave reviews from lots of readers and a handful of mystified readers for whom the book just fell flat: maybe download a sample and see which kind of reader you are? I'm definitely in the latter camp.

Joe Picket is a newly minted warden in "small-town, big-game" Wyoming.

He is an incorruptible character with high ideals. (enter dirty-dealing friends and big money temptation). He quickly makes a few enemies who would like nothing better than to see Picket replaced and his reputation destroyed - and if they have their way that's exactly what will happen.

To the author's credit he has left out a lot of unnecessary "sensationalism" that most author's are tempted to junk up their writing with. (eg., there is very little, if any, foul language; no grisly details or gory, deranged murders; lusty scenes are mostly replaced with monogamous relationships). Neither does he preach his values, he just tells a story.

However, to be fair review, the storyline is promising, but rather predictable.

My Mom recommended this author, and I decided to try him out when I needed something different to listen to. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I like the main character and the setting. While this is a quick read read, it doesn't mean it is short on plot or detail. There is a good story here and it does not get bogged down with unnecessary baggage. The narrator does a good job. I am definitely continuing with this series. I think it will provide many good hours of listening between the intense thrillers, weighty tales of morality, and deep thought provoking novels; something to clear the head, engage the mind and keep me entertained.

C. J. Box has started a good series with the Joe Pickett character. I'm interested to see where it goes.
Box is no Clive Cussler, but someday I hope he gets to that level.

The good thing about this book is it keeps your attention and the story is easy to follow. It's perfect for a good road trip.

I'd recommend Open Season for its interesting characters and setting, but I kept wanting to push the reader to speed it up. I think he added an extra half hour just by his laid-back pace.

If you like to be surprised, this one isn't for you, except for the ending, which was quite satisfying for anyone who doesn't mind violence.

Not unless I hear a noticeable uptick in his reading speed.

I'd be happy to spend more time with Joe Pickett and his family, but I don't think there's much more to add to the Open Season story line. I'd certainly enjoy learning a great deal more about the life of a game warden in Wyoming.

I use Audible books to lure me out of the house for a two-mile walk every day. Despite my dissatisfaction with David Chandler's reading speed, he and the interesting story got me outside and walking every day for two weeks, and for that I thank him and C.J. Box.

I got into this series toward the end and I really enjoy his work. Now I'm backing up and reading or listening to the beginning of the series. I recommend it and the way to go is audio

Joe pickett of course

I rent from the library and its the same narrator

yes and I did at work in a 8 hr work day

I want the whole series