Winterkill

Joe Pickett #3

by C.J. Box

It's an hour away from darkness, a bitter winter storm is raging, and Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett is deep in the forest near Battle Mountain: shotgun in his left hand, his truck's steering wheel handcuffed to his right – and Lamar Gardiner's arrow-riddled corpse splayed against the tree in front of him.

Joe knows that Lamar's murder and the sudden onslaught of the snowstorm mean he should get off the mountain. But he also knows this episode is far from over. Somewhere in the dense timber, a killer is drawing his bowstring – with Joe as his prey...

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Westerns, Audiobook, Suspense

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

C. J. Box is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 24 novels including the Joe Pickett series. He won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel (Blue Heaven, 2009) as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, two Barry Awards, and the 2010 Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Award for fiction. He was recently awarded the 2016 Western Heritage Award for Literature by the National Cowboy Museum as well as the Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel by the Western Writers of America in 2017. The novels have been translated into 27 languages.

Box is a Wyoming native and has worked as a ranch hand, surveyor, fishing guide, a small town newspaper reporter and editor, and he co-owns an international tourism marketing firm with his wife Laurie. They have three daughters. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He served on the Board of Directors for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. Box lives in Wyoming.

--from the author's website

Series:
* Joe Pickett

http://us.macmillan.com/author/cjbox

Reviews

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to go meet the author at a Thursday evening event at the Highlands Ranch Library in Douglas County, so I checked out Winterkill on Monday. I only had time to read about half of it before his presentation, but I was hooked. And when I met CJ Box, it was like he just stepped out of his own book - I could tell that he writes his characters and his plots out of what he knows and loves. Box lives in Cheyenne, and his mysteries are set in Wyoming.

Main character Joe Pickett is a game warden with a 5000 square mile territory. In Winterkill, the third in the series, the book opens with a bang (literally!). Joe hears gun shots and traces them to their source - a man who has opened fire on the last day of elk huntin season and kills more than half a dozen elk. To make matters worse, Joe knows the shooter. I could go on, but, trust me, just read the book - and the whole series - particularly if you live in the west and have traveled to Wyoming. Box gets it right.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A storm is brewing

Joe Pickett is a Wyoming game warden with a large territory to cover and is usually by himself. He also often finds himself in unusual and embarrassing situations. This story opens with Joe parked in his truck watching a herd of elk in a meadow below. It is late in the hunting season and there is a storm warning for heavy snow later in the day. Suddenly shots ring out and several elk go down. It appears to be a single hunter. Joe goes to investigate and discovers that the shooter is a Forest Service Supervisor for the area, Lamar Gardiner. Drunk. Joe makes the arrest but then finds himself handcuffed to his steering wheel. He doesn't have keys to these handcuffs but he does have a Leatherman tool which he uses to detach the steering wheel. Hand cuffed to the steering wheel he sets off in pursuit. Embarrassing. All he wants to do is recapture the drunken fool and get back to town before the snow. But when he finds Lamar he has been murdered. Impaled to a tree with arrows and his throat slit.

At the same time a group of anti-government radicals has moved in and taken over a Forest Service campground. Lamar Gardiner worked for the federal government and the Forest Service and FBI move in to take over the investigation into his death. They are convinced that the anti-government radicals are responsible and Saddlestring, Wyoming finds itself possibly being another Waco or Ruby Ridge. There are those in the Forrest Service and FBI who are more radical than the anti-government radicals. Psycho. And at least one anti-government radical who seems like a decent person. Caught in the middle are the innocent citizens of Saddlestring. Including Joe's foster daughter, April.

Lots of messages in this story. What happens when the good guys are in actuality the bad guys? What lengths would you go to in order to protect your family? We meet Nate Romanowski who I believe will be in future stories. C.J. Box reminds us that sometimes we need someone like Nate. Looking forward to reading the next installment in this series.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy five stars on this one. My favorite of the series so far.
I like how Joe Pickett is portrayed as an average guy who loves his family and tries to do the right thing. Sometimes things work out the way Joe wants them to sometimes not. But that's the way life works isn't it?
Nate Romanowski, who doesn't believe in the legal system but believes in bringing about his own form of justice is an interesting character who I look forward to reading more of as I continue with the series.
And then there's April. What can I say other than she should have been allowed to stay with the Pickett's. But after peeking ahead in the series just a bit all hope may not be lost where April is concerned.
Now on to the next in the series which I highly recommend.

[Scott A. Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Pickett book so far and it looks like he got his sidekick. The story overall was a sad one, drawing from real life tragedies that we all remember. Box did well shining a light on them with this book.

I love a great snowstorm and this book had two. The effect they had on the stories outcome was tragic, overshadowing mistakes Joe made that will haunt him and his family going forward. Box is not afraid to torture his hero and his heroes family. I’m sure that these losses will be seen throughout the rest of the series.

Here in the third Pickett book, the series became truly special. I’m late to the party but ready to go after this series like I did with Reacher. Like Lee Child, I cant believe I missed out on C. J. Box for so long.

[CD {Boulder Blvd} · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had hoped this series improved with each new book, but Winterkill was a bust for me. Joe, who seemed like the Barney Fife of game wardens, continues to behave rather stupidly. We kept getting told what a great guy he is but I'd rather be shown. But what we are shown keeps him looking rather pathetic.

In the first two books I liked the plots but this book's plot didn't work. The balance of good and bad people was skewed so much to overly cliche bad characters that it was frustrating. It was also a very depressing books. But it does seem like this author likes the bad guys to win and the good guys to suffer. Maybe the title should have been Overkill.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that April is dead. I was sure they were going to find her after she ran out of the back of the camper or was even taken out of the back. But I was very wrong! Nate is a quiet, contemplative, bad ass! Of course everyone loves him! And I do too. There were some very evil characters in this book, mostly in the side of the good. That just frustrates the hell out of me! A very good book. I think this will stick with me for a while.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continues as a strong series with well-liked characters. "Winterkill", lots of downs... was there ever an up moment?

State and Fed officials were out to start another "Waco" against Sovereign citizens moving through small-town Wyoming. The situation was hellish with 3 feet of snow as Joe tried to solve crime in the area. Things went from bad to worse. Huge change. A new falconer character is introduced. Thank you CJ Box for giving Joe a kick-ass sidekick.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I've read a few of these Joe Pickett books and while I find them likable and leaving me a bit nostalgic for parts of my home state of Wyoming, they also leave me with a bit of eye rolling and frustration. For one, each book starts out interesting and plausible, but inevitably "jumps the shark" into the realm of unbelievable. I wouldn't mind this too much, if it weren't for the other thing that has started to irk me a bit. The female characters. I've read four of the books and have yet to be introduced to a strong female character that doesn't end up disappointing me in some way. I had high hopes for Joe's wife, Marybeth, who seemed to be the only female in all of Wyoming who is strong (physically), smart, and good-looking according to Joe. But even she devolved into a petty, catty, immature stereotypical jealous wife the minute another attractive woman came anywhere near her husband. Why couldn't she have been confident enough, and trusting enough of her oh-so-wholesome, ne'er do wrong husband, to not immediately start putting this other woman down, and getting mad at her husband for even speaking her (how dare he?). So I might be done with this series, unless someone tells me that this gets better? That at least one book has a genuine, good strong female character (I am not asking for flawless, but could the flaws be a little less stereotyped?). *end rant*

[Corey Woodcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wowee. This book ended up being way better than I expected. I nearly gave it 4.5 stars. Honestly, I think I’ve sold CJ Box a little bit short here. Preconceived ideas of what this was going to be perhaps…either way, it’s my fault. I’m going to go 4.4 though, because it was very close, and an even 4 feels too low.

I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to continue on with this series before I read this one. A good Winter book that takes place out West. Even after the first couple chapters…it was decent, but wasn’t knocking my socks off.

Well it took a few turns that I didn’t even remotely see coming. This book consists of 2, or perhaps 2 1/2 storylines. You spend the first third-half of the book thinking the “main” story is one thing, and then it turns out you were completely wrong. I really want to say more, because I think some people who may not look twice at this book would become interested very quickly, but this would involve giving away a large plot turn around the halfway point, and I just don’t want to do that. But I’m going to say this: this is more than just a murder mystery. Joe Pickett, his family, and a few of the side characters end up kicking quite a bit of ass all through the snowy, ice-cold Rocky Mountains here, and I wanted more. This book also had a lot more heart than I expected.

Complaints? The main one is that some of the dialogue felt a little overcooked and maybe a bit unrealistic. Not distractingly so, and sometimes I didn’t notice this at all. But unfortunately, sometimes I did. Not even close to taking away from how excellent the novel was, but it was there.

So, I’m definitely going to continue this series. There are characters here I hope return, and some I hope to never see again. Also, I found myself with a strange interest in falconry after reading this book.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars for Winterkill: Joe Pickett Series, Book 3 (audiobook) by C. J. Box read by David Chandler. This series keeps getting more and more intense. This story was packed full of action and drama.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This was like a fast moving run away train with all the accompanying intense anxiety and anticipation of an epic ending. I had to suspend my disbelief at certain points. Overall, a very exciting entry in the Joe Pickett series.

Quote: "They take a woman who hates people and put her in charge of a task force to go after rednecks who hate the government," Nate said, "This is what I love about the Feds."

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I feel like I might be sliding into a reading slump, I have a couple authors whose books are reliable for a great story. C. J. Box is one of my go-to authors. Winterkill is another great book in the Joe Pickett series (3rd book). The audiobook narration is well done and it was easy to slip into the story.

Joe Pickett is a Wyoming game warden assigned to the Bighorn Mountains in the northern part of the state. Joe and his family live in the small town of Saddlestring. This part of Wyoming is sort of remote and seems to attract a few characters that have a past they just as soon forget. The story opens with Joe perched on a high altitude mountain ridge watching a herd of elk in the meadow below. It's late fall and the last few days of hunting season. Joe's place on the mountain gives him a good vantage point to spot any hunters in the area. There's a storm warning for heavy snow for later in the day. Suddenly, gunshots ring out in the quiet and numerous elk go down. There appears to be one hunter doing the shooting so Joe drives down to investigate as heavy snow engulfs the mountain. A few things happen and the hunter ends up getting murdered. The hunter in question turns out to be the Forest Service Supervisor for the area.

The story expands beyond a murder mystery into dialogs about U.S. government managed land use since Wyoming has large tracts of "public" land managed by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service. A group of anti-government radicals move in and take over a Forest Service campground the same time the Forest Service official is killed. The government officials called in to handle the situation and local law enforcement are just as radical on the opposite side besides being grossly incompetent. Joe is caught up in the middle of this mess hoping it doesn't get out of hand.

The story set up makes for an exciting and interesting story populated with some eccentric over-the-top characters. One of things I like about Box's books is the way he weaves the natural elements of terrain and weather into his stories. Deep snow and below zero temps puts a chill down my back as the characters must deal with these conditions as they move about the landscape.

Again, C. J. Box delivers a tense and entertaining story in this contemporary western of murder, goverment radicalism and poetic justice.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Pickett is watching an elk herd, when some fool goes crazy and opens fire on them. It turns out the perp is an employee with The Forest Service. While taking him in, the fool escapes, and winds up skewered by arrows and getting his throat slit.

Meanwhile, a psychopathic bureaucrat comes into the area, at the exact same time as a bunch of anti-government zealots fleeing persecution. With them comes the mother of a girl Joe and his wife are trying to adopt, who wants her daughter back.

It all comes to a violent head.

I'm not sure this would get published today.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Box is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Poor Joe Pickett, for being a game warden in the middle of nowhere Wyoming you’d think he would have a very boring job. But no, he manages to become mixed up in some of the most bizarre and violent occurrences. No matter what is happening Box keeps the character well grounded and it feels like Pickett is just a normal person trying to cope and do what he feels is right for his family and the community he serves.

[Marty Fried · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this series from number 1, and have liked every one so far. This one had a lot of suspense, a lot of bad people, and several interesting characters that I hope will return. Some of the best and worst of them worked for the government.

My only complaint is that everyone did not live happily ever after, both good and bad. Some good people died, and some bad people were made into heroes, and as usual, Joe Picket didn't get the credit he deserves, at least not by most. But perhaps to the people he cares about, he did.

[Erth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just keeps getting better and better. I am so attached to Joe Pickett that I have to force myself to read other things; when I finish one, I often just want to move right into the next. It is, however, annoying that there is always a couple of chapters for the next installment in the series immediately following the book I'm reading on my Kindle. I always skip these because I hate to start something that I'm not going to continue right away. Also, I'd rather the book I'm reading be longer instead of using multiple pages (that I paid for, incidentally!) to show chapters of a book I haven't bought or planned to read yet. Note to Kindle: Don't do that!

This outing takes place in Twelve Sleep during a particularly hard Wyoming winter. It reminded me of one of my favorites: Winter Prey, an old Lucas Davenport outing by John Sandford (Aside: you should read it!!), which took place in Wisconsin, I think. Anyway, our hero here, Game Warden Joe Pickett, always too honest for his own good, ends up making a pretty good friend this time, which I really liked. There are references to Waco and other Federal screw-ups, which made the issues this time feel even more real. The enemies, however, are plentiful and very evil. The local politics in this series is true to life, hateful, and so depressing. A tragedy at the end had me in horrified tears. C.J. Box pulls no punches. I can't stop thinking about it! Again, if you decide to read this series, be sure to start with #1, Open Season.

[Genine Franklin-Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Our Hero, the Game Warden, has as his enemies: (1) A crazy (literally) Fed woman who has a
hand-held cocker spaniel, (2) an FBI man, as crazy as the woman, and (3) the local sheriff, who has a bone to pick with Our Hero. These three plan to take down the killers of government employees
(although they're the killers only in the minds of the Evil Three.) The woman had a Yorkie which she got to keep her cocker spaniel company, but then decided she didn't like the Yorkie, and refused to let it into a sno-cat, thus causing it to be run over by a snowmobile (yes, killed.) Did Our Hero say anything? No, but, well, he looked at her real hard.

The woman says "ya know" and "awesome" a lot, the FBI agent is out to get the (peacefully camping) Sovereigners, and the sheriff just plain hates everyone, apparently. Things come to a head and bad things happen.

The Game Warden apologizes to his wife (I hate this when he hasn't done anything wrong), AND his wife wishes she "would have" done something (a pet peeve of mine) AND did the guy who was killed have to kill SEVEN moose? AND did Our Hero have to take so long before putting the wounded moose (meese? Eddie?)out of their misery?

There was a lot of good, interesting reading in this book, though. Sorry about the rant. I probably won't read #4 in the series; the hero is just too, I don't know, wimpy? And the bad guys are too bad to be believable. I did try to believe. I did.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Pickett is a good man. He loves his family, is a true friend, has integrity and s straight arrow sense of right and wrong which his moral code will not allow him to break no matter what. Bend it, maybe, but not break it. Loved this book and it made me look at certain events in a whole new light.

Joe is put to the test when he finds the Forest Service supervisor for Twelve Sleep shooting up a herd of Elk right before a major storm. When his prisoner escapes and ends up murdered, Joe is determined to find the killer and won't stop especially when the wrong person is arrested.

April Keeley has been with the Pickett family since her mother abandoned her three years ago. Now, Jeannie Keely is back with a court order returning custody of April to her. Joe and Marybeth are devastated but determined to fight it. Jeannie has taken April to a campground which serves as a compound for the Sovereign Citizens and with a raid in the works, April is in danger.

Power mad bureaucrats, police and FBI along with circumstances conspire to turn a serious situation deadly and as Joe fights to bring the right man to justice and save his daughter the deck is stacked against him.

[Rex Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

You might tend to think the villainess (Strickland) is over-the-top, until you actually think about it. She embodies what we see every day: narcissism, arrogance, deceit, and...well, anyone can fill in the rest. Nate Romanowski is about the best side-kick anyone could hope for. And Joe Pickett reminds us we can't get along very well at all without people like him.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series is hitting it's stride for me. I finally met Nate (one of my husband's fav in the series) and glad he will be in future books. The villains were truly despicable and get their just reward. The book also had a HUGE HUGE DAMMIT ANYWAY that made me cry. Great story for the area that is not far fetched.

[Robin Tobin (On the back porch reading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you find yourself laughing out loud while reading a Wyoming mystery, you know you’ve found a great author... suspense and laughter what a great combo....

[Steve F · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this series - love the natural settings and his descriptions. BUT the author takes artistic license way too far considering these books take place in the real world. The first 30 pages of this volume are almost a cartoon farce as such: Joe catches an armed, raving lunatic in the forest and DOESN’T HANDCUFF HIM. Then, Joe’s mental and physical reflexes are so slow that the lunatic HANDCUFFS HIM to the steering wheel. Note to Joe - stay alert around lunatics and don't forget to use your lunatic restraint devices. Then, Joe removes the steering wheel from his modern vehicle with A G.D. POCKET TOOL pardon my French. Then he forgets he has an ACTUAL TOOLBOX with him, not to mention that he has BOLT CUTTERS in the toolbox! Joe Pickett is an absolute moron and a danger to himself and the public – he is way too stupid for this job, or to be married and have a family. How he hasn’t shot himself or burned his house down by Volume 3 is beyond me. Also, a dead body isn’t going to “stiffen with cold and death” in a few minutes since it wasn’t 30 below and rigor mortis takes hours. To sum up - what's really a shame is that with a few minor changes he could be a realistic, likable average Joe, not an unbelievable, pathetic moron Joe.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Joe Pickett series by Box is becoming one of my favorites along with the Longmire series by Craig Johnson. Both series take place in Wyoming and involve local ranchers, cowboys, hunters, etc. Joe Pickett is the local game warden and gets in the middle of some perplexing situations. In Winterkill, he stumbles upon a U.S. Forest Service supervisor who is wantonly killing a herd of Elk. The FS officer winds up dead and pinned to a tree by some high-powered arrows. In trying to solve the murder, Pickett gets involved in a confrontation between the Feds (FS and FBI) and a group of anti-government sovereigns who end up also putting Pickett's foster daughter in danger. Overall, another great entry in the series. This is the third novel in the Pickett series after Open Season and Savage Run both of which I also enjoyed. Another high recommendation and I'll be looking forward to more in the series.

[Suzzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

Good installation in the Joe Pickett series. Good plot that will tug on the heartstrings. Took me awhile to write the review because wasn’t sure what star rating to give. On to another book in the series next.

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in this series doesn’t disappoint, it’s even better than the last. This is one of those books that has characters you will despise so much that it drives your reading hoping that they get what’s coming to them. I’ve grown quite attached to Joe and his family, each one playing their roles in the dynamics. My favorite character in this one was mysterious falconer Nate Romanowski. I sure do hope to see him in future books! My only problem with this book is that I wish that I had read it during a warmer season. With a cold wind and snow storms measuring in the feet, I certainly could feel a chill!

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm in a reread mode here because I'm enthralled by the Joe Pickett series by C.J. Box and want to get back to their beginnings...Just wonderful characters abound, including the introduction of the Nate Romanowski in this one..."Winterkill" deals with developments involving a clash between the federal government and antigovernment militia types...Some real interesting asides on the role of unelected deep-state bureaucrats in our lives and their lack of accountability for their actions...captivating as always!!!

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series is great and this installment did not disappoint.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid third instalment of the Joe Picket series. The series is fun neo-western crime drama.

I did not enjoy this third instalment as much as the previous two as I felt like a few of the story arcs were a tad dark and bleak in their outcomes but outside of that what we got was another engaging enough crime story.

Joe Pickett is a likeable enough character and definitely more Regular Joe than Sherlock Holmes but that is actually a strength of this series as it makes his character more relatable.


Rating: 3.5 stars.

Audio Note: David Chandler did OK with the audio version. Struggled a bit with the female voices but was fine with everything else.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic! Best one of the series so far.

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly absorbing! I literally could not put this third Joe Picket novel down. CJ Box is a master.