Trophy Hunt

by C.J. Box

Is nature striking back... or is a serial killer on the loose?

It's an idyllic late-summer day in Saddlestring, Wyoming, and Game Warden Joe Pickett is fly-fishing with his two daughters when he stumbles upon the mutilated body of a moose. Whatever attacked the animal was ruthless: half the animal's face has been sliced away. Shaken by the sight, Joe starts to investigate what he hopes in an isolated incident.

Soon, more animals are attacked. Local authorities are quick to label the rash of mutilations as the work of a grizzly bear, but Joe suspects something far more sinister. And when the similarly disfigured bodies of two men are found, his worst fears are confirmed: a modern-day Jack the Ripper is on the loose - and the killings have just begun.

Paperback

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

[Dan (ThatBookIsOnFiyah) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: Trophy Hunt (Joe Pickett 4) by CJ Box

5/5 stars. Another fun Joe Pickett mystery from CJ Box. Animals are suddenly being mutilated in Joe Pickett’s district, then the same mutilations happen to two human murder victims. What is going on? How quickly can Joe figure it out to stop more murders or mutilations from happening? Box always includes wonderfully descriptive details about Joe Pickett’s Wyoming, and his character work is first rate, as we follow the growth and maturity of Joe’s family, in addition to watching him solve unusual crimes. These stories are enjoyable, mostly quick, reads that are perfect as palate cleansers between big fantasy chonkers. Furthermore, I particularly enjoy the Joe Pickett stories on audiobook. David Chandler does outstanding narration for this series, and I look forward to more quality listening experiences.

Highly recommended series, especially if you enjoy good mystery writing and/or modern western stories.

[Jacque Roeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good book by CJ Box. I guess it's number 4 in the Pickett series. I haven't read them in order and, in fact, don't remember the names of the ones I've read. I read through the list of books by him and can't pick it out.

Someone has been mutilating wildlife and cattle, but then two people are murdered the same night and their bodies mutilated. The two murders are fifty miles apart, so a single murderer ins't plausible.

It turns out that a realtor has been depressing prices with these murders. Who wants to buy a house where there is a killer on the loose? He wants to buy back the ranch his parents sold to put his brother through medical school. It turs out that this brother has lost his mind and abandoned a career in the military and gone on a rampage in the west, mutilating animals.

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange things happen when a game warden comes across a dead moose that has missing parts. Other animals seem to be also killed with no evidence of any blood or marks how the bodies get there. Two men are later killed. There seems to be strange feeling around each event. Is it aliens or a serial killer who kills both animals and people. Keeps you guessing as the warden searches for answers. Not one of my regular mysteries but enjoyed it.

[Andy Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic Joe Pickett novel. Once again, I wish there was a little less profanity, it’s not extreme in these novels, but I always wish there was less. I love the stories. I love the writing, they just seem to hold my attention extremely well and that’s what I watch for in a good book.

[Kim Schaefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have to admit, not my favorite Joe Pickett book. Took me a few days to finish it and not sure I ever really got into it. Just kinda rambled on and not sure if I ever quite got the whole murder plot figured out-but then again, maybe because I didn’t care?

[Lincoln Kupchak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling storyline in the Joe Pickett series.. ending is a bit unclear but I guess that is intentional.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent page-turning thriller!

[Cathy Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the teaser in previous book and got sucked in!