Open Season

A Joe Pickett Novel

By: C. J. Box

Narrated by: David Chandler

Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Joe Pickett is the new game warden in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming, a town where nearly everyone hunts and the game warden—especially one like Joe who won't take bribes or look the other way—is far from popular. When he finds a local hunting outfitter dead, splayed out on the woodpile behind his state-owned home, he takes it personally. There had to be a reason that the outfitter, with whom he's had run-ins before, chose his backyard, his woodpile to die in. Even after the "outfitter murders," as they have been dubbed by the local press after the discovery of the two more bodies, are solved, Joe continues to investigate, uneasy with the easy explanation offered by the local police.

As Joe digs deeper into the murders, he soon discovers that the outfitter brought more than death to his backdoor: he brought Joe an endangered species, thought to be extinct, which is now living in his woodpile. But if word of the existence of this endangered species gets out, it will destroy any chance of InterWest, a multi-national natural gas company, building an oil pipeline that would bring the company billions of dollars across Wyoming, through the mountains and forests of Twelve Sleep. The closer Joe comes to the truth behind the outfitter murders, the endangered species and InterWest, the closer he comes to losing everything he holds dear.

©2001 C.J. Box (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

As refreshing as sunrise in the mountains

STORY (fiction) - This book is a really nice, easy read. There are great characters and a beautiful wintery setting in rural Wyoming. The main character, Joe Pickett, is a game warden. He's a good guy with a loving family. In this book he gets entangled in a mystery involving some murders and a possible endangered species. The story moves at just the right pace with just the perfect amount of detail and suspense. I had things pretty much figured out early, but it was still great to hear things unfold. Think of it as a mystery that's set in the mountains instead of New York or some other busy city. (This series is somewhat similar to the Walter Longmire series, though this is less "westerny," in my opinion, and I like this series much better).

PERFORMANCE - Good job, though he doesn't bother to attempt different voices to distinguish between the characters.

OVERALL - If this were a movie, I'd rate it PG-13. It would be great for family road trips, as men, women, boys and girls would all find things to like about the story. But there is some shooting and death. There is no sex, but there are a couple extremely mild sexual situations. There was probably a tiny bit of cursing. Even though this is the first book in the series, it stands alone.

Murder mystery in Wyoming

This is another “try something new” purchase. I was engaged throughout the book. This really should be a 3.5 star as I can’t put it in my most memorable category, but it is interesting enough to pursue another Pickett story.

The mystery surrounding the motives and method of multiple murders unfolds as the character of Joe Pickett develops. I find it refreshing to have the sleuth a game warden instead of a detective. At times Pickett seems bumbling and at others he is tenacious following his moral compass and his duty to protect the wildlife of Wyoming. He also deserves some sympathy as he is underpaid, his intelligence is underestimated, he is verbally assaulted, and his family is targeted. I suspect that he will become more “real” as the series progresses and look forward to listening to the next episode.

This is not a rush-of-adrenaline adventure. Instead, it is more of an easy listening mystery. David Chandler does a good job of narrating: there is expression to his reading, but excessive emotion or tension would seem out of place here.

Pretty good. It had a hard act to follow.

I enjoyed this book. I just finished listening to the Walt Llongmire series, so it was a hard act to follow, but it did a good job. I think if it had a little more humour in it. It would have been better!

Great story but performance a bit too slow

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

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.

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

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.

Would you be willing to try another one of David Chandler’s performances?

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

Do you think Open Season needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

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.

Any additional comments?

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.

joe pickett series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

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

Who was your favorite character and why?

Joe pickett of course

Have you listened to any of David Chandler’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I rent from the library and its the same narrator

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

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

Any additional comments?

I want the whole series

good story

liked the story. some of the dialogue was simple, but still enjoyable. the made up voices and accents are annoying.

Just okay

I think of myself as someone who relishes a series set in an interesting and well described location. And I did like the location of this series. The books (okay, the first four or five) are very well written - and by that I mean that the author can put words together very well. The main character, Joe Pickett, was likeable, although.... not bright. His wife and children were unbearable. Mrs. Pickett is a shrew. The older daughter... ugh. I did keep trying. I was sure I would like the series. I bought the first five books. I kept trying for weeks.

And then i downloaded Steven Havill's Bill Gastner series and moved back to Posadas, New Mexico, to share a green chile burrito grande and a tall glass of iced tea with my favorite regional mystery hero.

Goodbye, Mrs. Pickett. And good riddance.

And so it begins...

This is my first reading of the Joe Pickett series, obviously, but not my first C.J. Box book. I have enjoyed Box's writings that I have read thus far. This book was a wonderful book, and I look forward to the rest of the series. Great character development, as I found myself really rooting for the protagonist and his family quite early on. Very well thought out plot, and the pacing of the book was fantastic! I never felt a lull or lagging time in the story at all. David Chandler did a great job with the narration, as well. Great book!

Please bring us a narrator

Would you try another book from C. J. Box and/or David Chandler?

I'd try maybe one more but Audible needs a new narrator for these books. Sound slim they are being read to me rather than a story being crafted.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sheridan..she's got spunk

Would you be willing to try another one of David Chandler’s performances?

Maybe one more

Did Open Season inspire you to do anything?

Yes, read the books and not listen to them

Any additional comments?

Please please give these stories another voice. Not everyone can be Will Patton but we need a better choice.

Uninformed

This is what you get if you knowledge of Wyoming and firearms come from bad movies with almost no relation to reality. And even contempt of them.

I would get into the flow and have a dump truck thrown into the cogs when I can not dispel my intimate knowledge of firearms, Wyoming, the people of Wyoming, or of anything almost like reality.

It is like Blade, meets National Geo, with a side dish of Los Angeles politics.