Blood Trail

By: C. J. Box

Narrated by: David Chandler

Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

Critically acclaimed, award-winning author C. J. Box's Joe Pickett mysteries are a mainstay on the best seller lists.

Former game warden Pickett is now a special agent reporting directly to the governor. With someone targeting elk hunters, Pickett must head off a potentially deadly showdown when a flamboyant anti-hunting activist rolls in to town.

©2008 C. J. Box (P)2008 Recorded Books

Each book better than the one before

I'm making my way theough the series, listening on audible narration. Each book is better than the one before; the narrator, David Chandler is a superb narrator, and I'm hoping he performs the entire series.
The author had created believably human characters that, as in life, grow and change as time progresses.
His descriptions of the west are amazingly crafted and transports me back home where I smell the sage and make my heart ache for the magnificent beauty of the area.
What a gift of storytelling Mr Box has, and what skill he had honed as a gift to listeners.

CJ Box is like Fedex, he always delivers

I have listened to eight Joe Pickett novels and they are consistently entertaining. Box's strength is that he knows how to move a story along. Other than the occasional chapter spent with Pickett's daughters, the plot is like the arrow of time and always moves forward. Plus Joe is not a flawed hero. I hate listening to stories about one time alcoholics and how they ruined their lives or protagonists with complicated pasts. There are enough complications in real life without having to be confronted with it in my escape fiction. My only concern is what happens when I get to novel number fifteen?

This Review Needs A Title...So, I Gave it One

Someone is killing off hunters in Wyoming. 8 books into this series and I'm still really enjoying it. He now has to deal with leaking roofs and nosy neighbors. Reporting directly to the governor he has become a troubleshooter and fills in where needed at the whim of the governor. All the characters are there: Nate, wife and kids and some others new to the story line.Those are the bad guys. Some familiar ones get bumped off. At the end, there are a pile of bodies. The story is clean and firm.

Box and Chandler -- another hit!

Would you consider the audio edition of Blood Trail to be better than the print version?

Yes. I love the combo of Box and Chandler. His narration is top notch - portraying Picektt and his friend Nate so well that you will wish you had listened instead of read it yourself once you give it a try.

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

The plot was fairly intense with a unique perspective into the thoughts of the bad guy. This is a new style of storytelling to the Pickett novels and it works for this story.

Oh the web we weave in order to deceive

The governor continuer to surround himself with people with questionable character and agendas, and joe is the house cleaner.
So far in this story line the dirt hasn't fallen directly on the governor but the clock continues to tick.
I have joes friend Nate is really getting ready to slip way into the background, and only show up in dire circumstances .

Joe and Nate come out on top again.

This series is becoming one of my favorites. Both Mr. Box and Mr. Chandler are gifted artists, and we see them in their prime. I, too, hope that they go on doing this for a very long time.
Blood Trail is a little gory. If you are squeamish, you might get upset by several of the episodes. I won't be too specific. The bad guys are vicious, particularly the self-aggrandizing rabble rouser who gets his jollies by intimidating and humiliating classes of high school kids. The truly awful bad guy, who speaks in his own voice in his chapters, is actually killing hunters and treating them as if they were animal carcasses. We just love to hate bad guys like this, and Box has a remarkable ability to create some of the worst. Joe is again working surreptitiously for Governor Rulon, who will deny any involvement in the investigative work that he has Joe do for him. These assignments have Joe leapfrogging over Randy Pope, who is the director of the department of Fish and Game. He, of course, is infuriated by this situation; plus, we find out near the end of the book that Pope has another important reason to be terrifically upset and frightened. So he takes out his rage on Joe. Once again Nate proves to be the ideal partner for Joe. Nate does things that Joe is way too straight-laced to even think about doing. These two guys are perfectly complementary to each other. The fact that Sheridan has become a junior falconer, with Nate's tutelage, serves to complicate the relationship between the men further. And, just to tantalize us a little more, Marybeth has a twinkle in her eye for Nate. Oh my my my.
A reader who says that he or she can predict the ending of this book is a true seer of the future, IMHO. There is no way I could ever have guessed who is stalking the hunters. Ever.
Having grown up a city boy, I have never been a hunter. However, Mr. Box is so articulate in his description of the philosophy of hunting that I almost (almost) find myself leaning toward their point of view. I do know a hunter, who tells me that if I were sitting in a duck blind in the very early morning, and a bunch of ducks (bevy? school? flock?) flew overhead, I would pull the trigger. I think he is right about that.
Blood Trail is one of the best books in the series, if you are not put off by the infrequent but detailed gore. I recommend it to you highly.

Good continuous listen

Storyline makes listener stay with it till the end....hard to put down....enjoy authentic references to Wyoming geography.

This is insane!

Would you listen to Blood Trail again? Why?

Having started the Joe Pickett series, I can't seem to stop. I buy books to listen to while I'm driving. I also choose stories that don't require a lot of thought so I'm not driving distracted. This series fits the bill. Usually I can figure out what has happened if I need to focus on something else while listening. The trouble with this series is that I can't turn it off and leave it when I arrive home. I have to keep listing to find out what happens next. It is like a good TV series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I'm addicted to this series but it is not because of Joe Pickett. Frankly I find Joe a little irritating. It is certainly not Sheridan or Lucy. I raised 3 teenage daughters and Sheridan's attitude towards her mother pushes all my buttons. I am smitten with Joe's friend Nate. I will continue to get the next book to make sure Nate is ok. If they ever kill Nate off, I'll probably stop listening. Why? Why do you think? He is the knight that awaits in the shadows protecting the family he loves. He is one with nature. He is. . .

So Glad There Is More In The Series.

The story went fast. As usual it took a while to put it all together. nice mixture with the family. Glad Nate is back. Stella adds an interesting sidebar. The morgue overflows and not by the same hand. In fact there are a lot of different hands. Very smooth and enjoyable.

Another great book in this series

I’ve been working my way through all the Joe Pickett books. It has given me an appreciation for Wyoming. I enjoy the characters and narrator. It’s been one of the best series I have listened to. I love the contrast of Joe and Nate. Their friendship is always one of my favorite parts
It has also broadened my understanding of both sides of hunting and gun ownership.
Sadly it mirrors my poor opinion of the bureaucracy of the agencies in charge of the federal land and the animals that live on it.