The Big Sky Collection: Three Weeks to Say Goodbye / Blue Heaven / Back of Beyond

The Highway #Contains 1

by C.J. Box

Three Weeks to Say Goodbye
After years of trying for a child, Jack and Melissa McGuane adopted a beautiful baby girl. Nine months later, a call from the adoption agency plunges them into every parent's worst nightmare: the father never signed away his parental rights, and now he wants his daughter back. The teenage biological father has no love for his daughter and Jack and Melissa can't understand why he and his father want the girl so badly.
With three weeks until they must legally hand over their baby, just how far outside the law are they prepared to go to find out?

Blue Heaven
If twelve-year-old Annie hadn't been angry with her mother, she would never have taken her younger brother William on a secret fishing trip deep into the North Idaho woods and they would never have witnessed the execution. Now they're running for their lives. There's nowhere for William and Annie to hide. And no one they can trust. Until they meet Jess Rawlins.
Rawlins, an old-school rancher, knows something is wrong with the law in Blue Heaven. But he is only one against four men who will stop at nothing to silence their witnesses...

Back of Beyond
When Detective Cody Hoyt finds the dead body of his AA sponsor in a burned-out mountain cabin, he doesn't know what to believe. Was this the last desperate act of an addict? Or is that exactly what someone wants him to think? Cody's determined to avenge the man who was always there for him and, when evidence incriminates a wilderness guide, Hoyt is ready to track him down. The only problem is the guide has Cody's son, and he's taking him into the back of beyond.

595 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2012

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

[mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never disappoints

Right up there. Usual high standard of superb characterisation and twisting turning plot. For a citybound Brit the settings have a special appeal. Ready for the next offering

[Ashley Hedden · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Big Sky Collection: Three Weeks to Say Goodbye/ Blue Heaven/ Back of Beyond (The Highway Quartet) was a good read by C.J. Box. This set consists of; Three Weeks to Say Goodbye, Blue Heaven, and Back of Beyond. Three Weeks To Say Goodbye was a great read by C.J. Box. Jack and Melissa spent many years trying to have a baby. Their dreams came true when they adopted their daughter Angelina. Unfortunately nine months after bringing her home they found out that her father never actually signed his parental rights away. The teenager now says that he wants her back and his father is a powerful judge that will do anything to make sure it happens. They attempt to meet face to face with the two men and they quickly learn that their motivations aren’t good. Jack and Melissa will stop at nothing to keep their daughter. Blue Heaven was a great read by C.J. Box. A twelve year old girl and her younger brother have to go on the run in the woods of North Idaho. They are being pursued by four men who they just watched commit murder. Unfortunately they know just who William and Annie are, and know just how desperate their mother is to know what happened to them. The killers, retired cops from Los Angeles, easily persuade the sheriff to let them lead the search for the children. An old- school rancher helps the children. But unfortunately he is only one man and Jess Rawlins needs to find allies. But it isn’t easy to find someone to trust. Back of Beyond (The Highway Quartet #1) was another great read by C.J. Box. Cody Hoyt is a brilliant cop that is also an alcoholic struggling with two months of sobriety. His mentor and AA sponsor Hank Winters is found burned to death in a remote mountain cabin. It looked as though it was a suicide of a someone who fell off the wagon. Cody knows that Hank wouldn’t do that after being sober for fourteen years. Cody looked at the scene and knows that there is foul play at hand. Unfortunately he is in no position to investigate the homicide even though he is determined to find his killer. The clues are linked to an outfitter leading tourists on a multi day wilderness horseback trip in Yellowstone National Park. On that trip is Cody’s son Justin. Cody is desperate to find the killer before the group heads into the wild. Gracie Sullivan is only fourteen years old and suspects someone in the group is dangerous. I enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read more by the author.

[alan reeve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Film material

All 3 of these stories would make good films especially the third book. Excellent stories all. Page turner's and well researched.

[Mkrreads1112 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read paperbacks
Blue Heaven
Three Weeks to Say Goodbye

[Joan Hope Hersey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping!

I have loved all of the CJ Box books which I have read, they are vivid in every way......looking forward to reading more :)

[christine royle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spellbound

Very good story, with twists and turns kept me guessing at what was coming next. Just had to keep reading until I had reached the end. Another good read from C.J. Box

[Judi Stroud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn't sure when I first started reading this, but it soon turned out to be a really good storyline and great ending.

[Michael J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

three weeks to say goodbye is a Fun read from C J Box. A few less than believable holes in the plot and by no means a masterwork. Good characters and intrigue. As always a little gruesome, but that is to be expected with C J Box.

[LInda L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful, exciting, great story. If you like mysteries about stuff that could actually happen, you'll love this.

[dmsburns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. Very good and good reader. 4+. Good author

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. The narration was well done too. I will try this author again.

[S. Gardenhour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Exciting from start to finish.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not Joe
Drunk copy. Plane with money.

[Chantz Cravens · Rating 5 out of 5]

C.J. Box is now my favorite author. This is yet another amazing book from the first page to the last!

[Maryjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved all three of these but Back of Beyond was my favorite.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three books in one the first two were good reads with easy to follow plots and not to many characters . The third one (back of beyond) I thought lost its way a bit before drawing to a fairly bloody ending . It could be subtitled Last Man Standing.