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Joe Pickett #26
The Crossroads
Game warden Joe Pickett fights for his life as his daughters try to uncover who shot him and left him for dead in this riveting new novel from #1 New York Times bestseller C. J. Box.
Marybeth Pickett gets the call she has always her husband Joe is in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.
Joe was found in his pickup at Antler Creek Junction, a crossroads connecting three ranches. Each road leading to a dangerous family. Each family with a different bone to pick with the local game warden. Marybeth and the new sheriff assume that Joe was ambushed by one of the families, but they have no idea which one since Joe didn’t say where he was going or why.
With Joe unconscious and fighting for his life with Marybeth at his side, Sheridan, April, and Lucy split up and investigate each of families to uncover the truth of what happened to their father, before it’s too late.
Marybeth Pickett gets the call she has always her husband Joe is in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.
Joe was found in his pickup at Antler Creek Junction, a crossroads connecting three ranches. Each road leading to a dangerous family. Each family with a different bone to pick with the local game warden. Marybeth and the new sheriff assume that Joe was ambushed by one of the families, but they have no idea which one since Joe didn’t say where he was going or why.
With Joe unconscious and fighting for his life with Marybeth at his side, Sheridan, April, and Lucy split up and investigate each of families to uncover the truth of what happened to their father, before it’s too late.
416 pages, Paperback
Published February 24, 2026
1967 people are currently reading
10591 people want to read
About the author
C.J. Box
124 books7,378 followersC. 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 571 reviews
March 17, 2026
C J Box hits another one out of the park! This is his best as far as I am concerned. Box has written from a perspective that he has not broached before.
From the beginning Joe Pickett is shot in an ambush. All records of what he was doing has disappeared. He is in a coma in the hospital, hanging on to life by a thread. The suspects are the three ranches branching off the Antler Creek Road. Each ranch has it’s own secrets. Enter the three daughters, Sheridan, April and Lucy. They are on a mission to find out who shot their father with or without the new sheriff’s cooperation.
Excellent writing. Believable plot. Interesting character development. Incredible suspense with never a dull moment. I tried savoring this book but it was like having a large bowl of ice cream with all the toppings, I could not resist gobbling it up.
From the beginning Joe Pickett is shot in an ambush. All records of what he was doing has disappeared. He is in a coma in the hospital, hanging on to life by a thread. The suspects are the three ranches branching off the Antler Creek Road. Each ranch has it’s own secrets. Enter the three daughters, Sheridan, April and Lucy. They are on a mission to find out who shot their father with or without the new sheriff’s cooperation.
Excellent writing. Believable plot. Interesting character development. Incredible suspense with never a dull moment. I tried savoring this book but it was like having a large bowl of ice cream with all the toppings, I could not resist gobbling it up.
October 28, 2025
This was another home run by CJ Box and it’s amazing how he can ramp the tension up. This book is very different from his previous installments and while I normally am not a fan of making the “secondary” characters the main POVs this felt earned and continues the excellent world CJ has built with he Pickett family. When Joe is injured and with Marybeth attending him it’s up to Joe’s 3 adult daughters to uncover what happened, why and to apprehend the villain. This story reads as a “who did it” classic style but in the mountains. There are 3 suspects each with their own angle and of course all 3 have issues with Joe and his moral compass. We see a new sheriff taking on a role that many have made a joke or just corrupted the position and it seems like they finally have one that is trying to do the right thing. We do also get some of Joe’s POVs from before the injury and that helps lay some of the foundation of the mystery. I really enjoyed this book and my only “gripe” is it could have been a bit longer but it’s absolutely satisfying and I will be back when the next one is published.
Thank you to Putnam Books for this Advanced Reader Copy
Thank you to Putnam Books for this Advanced Reader Copy
March 6, 2026
Poor, old Joe Pickett. Not only does C.J. Box age him in real time, but the intrepid Wyoming game warden is shot in the head and left for dead in this 26th book of the series. While I expected his deadly and dangerous best friend, Nate Romanowski, to jump into the foray to hunt down the perpetrators, Box assigned this duty to Joe’s three young adult daughters…Sheridan, Lucy, and April. With each of them bringing forth a different set of skills, they investigate three malicious and secretive large landowners; any, of whom, might be responsible for the attempted murder of their father.
Despite my enjoyment of this series, I was initially hesitant to pick up this book, as I still related to Joe and Marybeth’s three daughters as the children and adolescents they once were in the earlier part of the series…..and somehow forgot that they had grown into very capable and independent adults. Thus, in the talented hands of CJ Box, the story moved quickly into high gear. In this regard, with the help of the new, young sheriff, Joe’s three daughters carefully put together the pieces of a complex puzzle to solve the case and identify their father’s attempted killers
While I’m always sad to see a beloved, but aging, protagonist replaced by younger characters…there’s no doubt that Lucy, April, and/or Sheridan could move forward to take a lead role in this incredible series.
Despite my enjoyment of this series, I was initially hesitant to pick up this book, as I still related to Joe and Marybeth’s three daughters as the children and adolescents they once were in the earlier part of the series…..and somehow forgot that they had grown into very capable and independent adults. Thus, in the talented hands of CJ Box, the story moved quickly into high gear. In this regard, with the help of the new, young sheriff, Joe’s three daughters carefully put together the pieces of a complex puzzle to solve the case and identify their father’s attempted killers
While I’m always sad to see a beloved, but aging, protagonist replaced by younger characters…there’s no doubt that Lucy, April, and/or Sheridan could move forward to take a lead role in this incredible series.
March 5, 2026
I've loved most of the books in this series. I really enjoyed how Joe's three daughters took center stage while trying to solve the ambush that put their father in the hospital (in a coma,) along with the flashbacks of the days leading up to the ambush from Joe's perspective. C.J. Box brings Wyoming to life in each and every book, and I really loved how this was structured as a mystery with three suspects, each of them with a strong motive. Very well done.
My only (tiny) complaint -- I have listened to the series on audio, and David Chandler is fantastic as a narrator. To me, he's the voice of Joe Pickett. He's always done Mary Beth's voice well for a man voicing a woman, so it's never bothered me. But because this story was unusually female driven for a Joe Pickett novel, I felt some of the voices were off-putting. It might have been better to read this in print. But that won't change my plan to listen to future books by this narrator.
Listened on 1.25X speed.
My only (tiny) complaint -- I have listened to the series on audio, and David Chandler is fantastic as a narrator. To me, he's the voice of Joe Pickett. He's always done Mary Beth's voice well for a man voicing a woman, so it's never bothered me. But because this story was unusually female driven for a Joe Pickett novel, I felt some of the voices were off-putting. It might have been better to read this in print. But that won't change my plan to listen to future books by this narrator.
Listened on 1.25X speed.
March 28, 2026
Just got my yearly fix of C.J. Box and the Joe Pickett series. This has been one of my favorite mystery/thriller series for several years. I've read everything Box has written and I wait patiently each year for his new books to come out and then reserve them at the library. Although I have been a little disappointed in some of the more recent books because they tended to include too much conservative politics, The Crossroads did not disappoint and was a real page-turner that I read in a couple of days.
The book starts out with Marybeth Pickett getting a call that her game warden husband, Joe, had been shot in the head and is in critical condition. He apparently had been ambushed in his pickup which was parked at the crossroads at Antler Creek Junction. The road connected three ranches each of which were run by families that were not the usual ranchers and could have had it in for Joe for various reasons. Joe's notebook and phone have disappeared so the new sheriff has nothing to indicate which of the three ranches Joe was going to. Joe is in a coma at the hospital in Billings so his three daughters decide to investigate the case along with the new sheriff. But as they visit each of the ranches, it becomes even more murky when all of the owners appear suspect. Can they discover the truth before the killers finish the job to eliminate Joe?
This was definitely written from a different perspective than the other books in the series. Joe is in a coma for most of the book but his story before the shooting and his visits to the three ranches is included. The novel also has a cameo appearance by Cassie Dewell who drove from Bozeman with April, Joe's daughter, who works with Cassie as a private investigator but she doesn't get involved in the investigation. Nate Romanowski also has a role in the story which always makes things interesting. The storyline was compelling and kept me turning the pages. Overall a solid recommendation for this one.
The book starts out with Marybeth Pickett getting a call that her game warden husband, Joe, had been shot in the head and is in critical condition. He apparently had been ambushed in his pickup which was parked at the crossroads at Antler Creek Junction. The road connected three ranches each of which were run by families that were not the usual ranchers and could have had it in for Joe for various reasons. Joe's notebook and phone have disappeared so the new sheriff has nothing to indicate which of the three ranches Joe was going to. Joe is in a coma at the hospital in Billings so his three daughters decide to investigate the case along with the new sheriff. But as they visit each of the ranches, it becomes even more murky when all of the owners appear suspect. Can they discover the truth before the killers finish the job to eliminate Joe?
This was definitely written from a different perspective than the other books in the series. Joe is in a coma for most of the book but his story before the shooting and his visits to the three ranches is included. The novel also has a cameo appearance by Cassie Dewell who drove from Bozeman with April, Joe's daughter, who works with Cassie as a private investigator but she doesn't get involved in the investigation. Nate Romanowski also has a role in the story which always makes things interesting. The storyline was compelling and kept me turning the pages. Overall a solid recommendation for this one.
March 17, 2026
In C.J. Box’s newest Joe Pickett novel - “The Crossroads” – we face one of the most emotional and scary beginnings of any book in this series. Trust me, it grabs the reader from the first sentence – “For Marybeth Pickett, it was the call she’d dreaded for over twenty years.”
Joe’s 26th outing may be his last. He’s been found in his pickup, shot multiple times and barely alive, including a bullet lodged in his head. The EMT’s find a slight pulse, and have him airlifted to the Billings hospital, hoping that he stays alive long enough to get there.
However, Joe’s three daughters refuse to sit around and wait. While their father, Marybeth, is by his side addressing his medical needs and praying for his survival, they decide to take immediate action to find who tried to kill their father. April leaves her boss, private investigator Cassie Dewell with Marybeth providing moral support and returns home to meet with Sheridan and Lucy, who has driven back from college.
The power trio have a lot of challenges in trying to find who shot their dad.
The first is where Joe was found, which was the crossroads at Antler Creek Junction where the public road separates into three separate private roads, each leading to a different ranch ran by dangerous families whose members have had problems and struggles with Joe as the local game warden. It is easy to see that any of the three families had plenty of reasons for wanting to remove Joe, but from where Joe’s truck was located, there’s no way to tell which ranch he was headed to, and Joe didn’t tell anybody where he was going that morning.
The second is the newly elected sheriff Sondergard is brand new on the job and doesn’t have all of the local relationships down yet putting him behind the eight ball in investigating Joe’s shooting. There was an eyewitness who called in the attack, but that individual left no information and has disappeared.
The third is that other than April’s training and tutelage as a private investigator trainee, the three sisters have no experience in conducting an investigation, let alone working together effectively. There is one thing that may benefit them. Sheridan and sheriff Sondergard have had some interactions already and it appears he has a personal interest in her that the sisters can use to their advantage.
While their father remains unconscious in the hospital and Nate not easily available (he’s off the grid again with his daughter), the girls know time is of the essence, so they divide and conquer. Each takes one of the ranches and heads off to discover the truth, putting their lives at risk…
Things will also get worse when the killers discover that Joe is still alive, and are instructed to finish the job no matter what it takes…
Wow! What an absolute blast of a ride this one was. For me, it was easily one my all-time favorite Joe Pickett novels in the entire series, which should really be branded as “Joe Pickett and family” (with the understanding that Nate is part of the Pickett family).
It had suspense, mystery, strong characters, emotion, and payoffs. And there was something elevated in the excellent layered plotting of this one. Box used multiple conflicts to amplify the tension of the plotlines as he peeled them away, one scene at a time. As much as enjoy Joe, it was really cool to see Sheridan, April, and Lucy bond together in crisis mode and respond with a sense of united purpose to protect their family. Each of the girls – let’s be honest, they’ve grown into women – have their moments on the stage, displaying quick-thinking, problem-solving skills, and different levels of unselfishness and growing adulthood. Even April showed some signs of maturity. And Nate still got his moment of violent retribution that we needed to cleanse ourselves in the end.
C.J., Box has done so many wonderful things with these Joe Pickett novels. The plotting, characters, and settings mix together in a masterful recipe in the mystery/thriller genre using a modern western style that delivers a winning formula. In my opinion, this novel displays why his plotting skills are masterful, especially as he weaves storylines, characters, and conflicts over multiple books, setting things up in one that will come back and pay off in later books. There were some things in this book that we know will carry on and show in future books, building them into even more emotional outcomes.
For me, C.J. Box’s strongest skill is his characters, built on the foundation of Joe Picket, his wife, Marybeth, and three daughters, and Joe’s brother from another mother, Nate, who serves as Joe’s physical protector much like Hawk does for Spenser in Robert B. Parker’s classic mystery series. Nate takes care of the things that Joe’s personal code won’t allow him to do. Nate and Hawk are two of my all-time favorite literary characters.
I also want to add that C.J. Box writes some of the strongest female characters. Marybeth is smart, analytical, mentally and emotionally strong. So are her daughters – Sheridan, April, and Lucy – each in their own ways. I am strongly endeared to Sheridan, watching her grow into an independent, headstrong woman and falconer. I love April’s robust spirit after all that she’s been through and suffered from. I would love to see her private investigator role be explored even further in future books. I also look forward to seeing Lucy’s future, which should be bright and full of potential success.
Over 26 books, we’ve experienced firsthand the lives of these characters, their relationships, strengths, weaknesses, challenges, conflicts, and growth, which have connected with us (the readers) on an emotional level that makes them part of us. Their love and sacrifice for each other is the heart of this series. It is C.J. Box’s secret sauce that compels his readers to keep coming back over and over again to find out what happens next to them. Joe’s family is our family. Nate’s battles are our battles. Joe and Marybeth’s daughters are our daughters. What happens to them, happens to us. It is personal. And that is the magic C.J. Box delivers to us. It’s why I keep coming back.
My only struggle with this book was having to force myself to slow down enough to make it last two evenings instead of one. It was so hard not to devour it all in one sitting. It was that good. 5-star good.
Now, I just have to sit back and wait a whole flipping year until the next one comes out… That just feels like a long time from now…
Joe’s 26th outing may be his last. He’s been found in his pickup, shot multiple times and barely alive, including a bullet lodged in his head. The EMT’s find a slight pulse, and have him airlifted to the Billings hospital, hoping that he stays alive long enough to get there.
However, Joe’s three daughters refuse to sit around and wait. While their father, Marybeth, is by his side addressing his medical needs and praying for his survival, they decide to take immediate action to find who tried to kill their father. April leaves her boss, private investigator Cassie Dewell with Marybeth providing moral support and returns home to meet with Sheridan and Lucy, who has driven back from college.
The power trio have a lot of challenges in trying to find who shot their dad.
The first is where Joe was found, which was the crossroads at Antler Creek Junction where the public road separates into three separate private roads, each leading to a different ranch ran by dangerous families whose members have had problems and struggles with Joe as the local game warden. It is easy to see that any of the three families had plenty of reasons for wanting to remove Joe, but from where Joe’s truck was located, there’s no way to tell which ranch he was headed to, and Joe didn’t tell anybody where he was going that morning.
The second is the newly elected sheriff Sondergard is brand new on the job and doesn’t have all of the local relationships down yet putting him behind the eight ball in investigating Joe’s shooting. There was an eyewitness who called in the attack, but that individual left no information and has disappeared.
The third is that other than April’s training and tutelage as a private investigator trainee, the three sisters have no experience in conducting an investigation, let alone working together effectively. There is one thing that may benefit them. Sheridan and sheriff Sondergard have had some interactions already and it appears he has a personal interest in her that the sisters can use to their advantage.
While their father remains unconscious in the hospital and Nate not easily available (he’s off the grid again with his daughter), the girls know time is of the essence, so they divide and conquer. Each takes one of the ranches and heads off to discover the truth, putting their lives at risk…
Things will also get worse when the killers discover that Joe is still alive, and are instructed to finish the job no matter what it takes…
Wow! What an absolute blast of a ride this one was. For me, it was easily one my all-time favorite Joe Pickett novels in the entire series, which should really be branded as “Joe Pickett and family” (with the understanding that Nate is part of the Pickett family).
It had suspense, mystery, strong characters, emotion, and payoffs. And there was something elevated in the excellent layered plotting of this one. Box used multiple conflicts to amplify the tension of the plotlines as he peeled them away, one scene at a time. As much as enjoy Joe, it was really cool to see Sheridan, April, and Lucy bond together in crisis mode and respond with a sense of united purpose to protect their family. Each of the girls – let’s be honest, they’ve grown into women – have their moments on the stage, displaying quick-thinking, problem-solving skills, and different levels of unselfishness and growing adulthood. Even April showed some signs of maturity. And Nate still got his moment of violent retribution that we needed to cleanse ourselves in the end.
C.J., Box has done so many wonderful things with these Joe Pickett novels. The plotting, characters, and settings mix together in a masterful recipe in the mystery/thriller genre using a modern western style that delivers a winning formula. In my opinion, this novel displays why his plotting skills are masterful, especially as he weaves storylines, characters, and conflicts over multiple books, setting things up in one that will come back and pay off in later books. There were some things in this book that we know will carry on and show in future books, building them into even more emotional outcomes.
For me, C.J. Box’s strongest skill is his characters, built on the foundation of Joe Picket, his wife, Marybeth, and three daughters, and Joe’s brother from another mother, Nate, who serves as Joe’s physical protector much like Hawk does for Spenser in Robert B. Parker’s classic mystery series. Nate takes care of the things that Joe’s personal code won’t allow him to do. Nate and Hawk are two of my all-time favorite literary characters.
I also want to add that C.J. Box writes some of the strongest female characters. Marybeth is smart, analytical, mentally and emotionally strong. So are her daughters – Sheridan, April, and Lucy – each in their own ways. I am strongly endeared to Sheridan, watching her grow into an independent, headstrong woman and falconer. I love April’s robust spirit after all that she’s been through and suffered from. I would love to see her private investigator role be explored even further in future books. I also look forward to seeing Lucy’s future, which should be bright and full of potential success.
Over 26 books, we’ve experienced firsthand the lives of these characters, their relationships, strengths, weaknesses, challenges, conflicts, and growth, which have connected with us (the readers) on an emotional level that makes them part of us. Their love and sacrifice for each other is the heart of this series. It is C.J. Box’s secret sauce that compels his readers to keep coming back over and over again to find out what happens next to them. Joe’s family is our family. Nate’s battles are our battles. Joe and Marybeth’s daughters are our daughters. What happens to them, happens to us. It is personal. And that is the magic C.J. Box delivers to us. It’s why I keep coming back.
My only struggle with this book was having to force myself to slow down enough to make it last two evenings instead of one. It was so hard not to devour it all in one sitting. It was that good. 5-star good.
Now, I just have to sit back and wait a whole flipping year until the next one comes out… That just feels like a long time from now…
December 10, 2025
This was an another great addition to the Joe Pickett series. The stakes are at an all time high as Joe is ambushed and in critical condition. His daughters work together to try to solve the mystery behind the shooting.
This was a really cool entry with the daughters being the main focus and it was awesome seeing them work together. It was an intense ride and the last few chapters took this already dramatic book to the next level. I highly recommend this one!
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel for my honest review.
This was a really cool entry with the daughters being the main focus and it was awesome seeing them work together. It was an intense ride and the last few chapters took this already dramatic book to the next level. I highly recommend this one!
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel for my honest review.
March 15, 2026
CJ Box was trying some new ideas out, and I highly approve.
This is the whole propulsion of the plot. It's not a spoiler. Right away in chapter 1, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett is found in his vehicle with a bullet hole through his forehead. What a way to start off the book! In case you're thinking bait-and-switch, nope. It really is Joe, and he's really shot through the head. Mary Beth races to the scene and a Life Flight helicopter zooms them to the nearest major trauma center in Billings, Montana.
In chapter 2, we are introduced to the shooters. Not kidding! We follow these two jerks as they mull over the events of the morning, like whether their target died and if they picked up all the spent cartridges. Maybe this is weird, but with everything Joe's been through as a game warden in the series, I wanted the bad guys to be super professional assassins - I guess it would seem more respectful if they were. Alas, these guys are total amateurs. Sheesh.
The Pickett girls - Sheridan, April and Lucy - come from wherever they were (only Sheridan stayed local) to get to the bottom of who shot their dad because they don't trust the new sheriff. Since Joe was left for dead at the crossroads of 3 major ranches, they decide to split up and interview the landowners individually.
At this point my thoughts are, 1) How are you girls functioning normally with your dad nearly shot to death? I would be lying in a puddle of my own tears. 2) Why the hell aren't you just siccing Nate Romanowski on the situation?? I suppose they don't want him to go scorched earth, but really. Maybe the earth needs scorching sometimes.
There are flashbacks to the last few days before Joe is shot, walking us through the stuff he was poking his nose into. Of course, these memories hold the best information leading to who was behind his attempted murder. Fresh faces include a new sheriff who's sweet on Sheridan, a questionable deputy with a short fuse, and the three landowners (some of them may have appeared in prior novels, but they all kinda run together, don't they? I mean, this is #26 in the series, and I can't keep all the minor characters straight.)
My biggest complaint is that it wraps up too quickly on the last few pages; otherwise, the structure was really fresh and I welcome the differentness. Making Joe grievously injured from the get-go created lasting tension. We don't know if Joe will make it to the hospital, if he'll survive the surgery, or whether the damage to his brain will leave him altered in some way. The Crossroads is the most intense Joe Pickett novel since the one about the raid on the compound when April was a child. The reading experience was interesting and if you're a fan of Box and Joe, this one's a must-read.
This is the whole propulsion of the plot. It's not a spoiler. Right away in chapter 1, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett is found in his vehicle with a bullet hole through his forehead. What a way to start off the book! In case you're thinking bait-and-switch, nope. It really is Joe, and he's really shot through the head. Mary Beth races to the scene and a Life Flight helicopter zooms them to the nearest major trauma center in Billings, Montana.
In chapter 2, we are introduced to the shooters. Not kidding! We follow these two jerks as they mull over the events of the morning, like whether their target died and if they picked up all the spent cartridges. Maybe this is weird, but with everything Joe's been through as a game warden in the series, I wanted the bad guys to be super professional assassins - I guess it would seem more respectful if they were. Alas, these guys are total amateurs. Sheesh.
The Pickett girls - Sheridan, April and Lucy - come from wherever they were (only Sheridan stayed local) to get to the bottom of who shot their dad because they don't trust the new sheriff. Since Joe was left for dead at the crossroads of 3 major ranches, they decide to split up and interview the landowners individually.
At this point my thoughts are, 1) How are you girls functioning normally with your dad nearly shot to death? I would be lying in a puddle of my own tears. 2) Why the hell aren't you just siccing Nate Romanowski on the situation?? I suppose they don't want him to go scorched earth, but really. Maybe the earth needs scorching sometimes.
There are flashbacks to the last few days before Joe is shot, walking us through the stuff he was poking his nose into. Of course, these memories hold the best information leading to who was behind his attempted murder. Fresh faces include a new sheriff who's sweet on Sheridan, a questionable deputy with a short fuse, and the three landowners (some of them may have appeared in prior novels, but they all kinda run together, don't they? I mean, this is #26 in the series, and I can't keep all the minor characters straight.)
My biggest complaint is that it wraps up too quickly on the last few pages; otherwise, the structure was really fresh and I welcome the differentness. Making Joe grievously injured from the get-go created lasting tension. We don't know if Joe will make it to the hospital, if he'll survive the surgery, or whether the damage to his brain will leave him altered in some way. The Crossroads is the most intense Joe Pickett novel since the one about the raid on the compound when April was a child. The reading experience was interesting and if you're a fan of Box and Joe, this one's a must-read.
November 25, 2025
WOW!! The Crossroads nearly gave me a heart attack, and more than once! This book shifted focus to Joe Pickett's family, as he fought for his life after being shot and left for dead. Joe had been found in his pickup at Antler Creek Junction, a crossroads connecting three ranches. Each road led to a dangerous family, with each one having a different bone to pick with the local game warden.
I enjoyed reading about the three daughters, as they each have a different strong suit. Each girl decided to investigate one of the three neighbors, bound and determined to discover which one might have shot Joe, and WHY! If only Joe had told someone where he was going...
I've limited this review to details that are readily available, so that means this review is at its end. You'll have to read the book, my friends, to find out more!
HUGE Thanks to #GPPutnamsSons, for providing this book for review and consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Crossroads has an expected publication date of February 24, 2026.
#CJBox #Crime #Mystery #Series #Thriller
I enjoyed reading about the three daughters, as they each have a different strong suit. Each girl decided to investigate one of the three neighbors, bound and determined to discover which one might have shot Joe, and WHY! If only Joe had told someone where he was going...
I've limited this review to details that are readily available, so that means this review is at its end. You'll have to read the book, my friends, to find out more!
HUGE Thanks to #GPPutnamsSons, for providing this book for review and consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Crossroads has an expected publication date of February 24, 2026.
#CJBox #Crime #Mystery #Series #Thriller
March 1, 2026
not his best work
This book had the regular characters and a bit of an interesting storyline, but to be honest it was not a page turner. It took me about five days to read it. I hope that he returns to a more action packed approach that he had in previous books.
This book had the regular characters and a bit of an interesting storyline, but to be honest it was not a page turner. It took me about five days to read it. I hope that he returns to a more action packed approach that he had in previous books.
January 29, 2026
The Crossroads by C.J. Box is another fantastic mystery thriller that involves the entire family in a thrilling whodunit. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and everyone in the novel seems guilty. The family dynamics are intriguing and enduring. I gained a new perspective on Joe’s life. The book captivated me from the very first chapter, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks, G.P. Putnam’s Sons via NetGalley.
Thanks, G.P. Putnam’s Sons via NetGalley.
March 18, 2026
I always look forward to the next Joe Pickett release, and this one was a doozie.
Pros: a unique and different split storyline, Joe Pickett's girls, and NATE.
Cons: his bad guys are so bad. I felt like I need a shower after reading some of the chapters.
If you're a Joe Pickett fan, you won't be disappointed.
Pros: a unique and different split storyline, Joe Pickett's girls, and NATE.
Cons: his bad guys are so bad. I felt like I need a shower after reading some of the chapters.
If you're a Joe Pickett fan, you won't be disappointed.
March 18, 2026
When Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is found ambushed and shot in the head at the crossroads, his daughters, Yarak Inc, Ceo, Sheridan Pickett, detective April Pickett, and college student Lucy Pickett determine to find out who attacked their dad. The new sheriff has not yet settled into his office. Twelve Sleep County has not had good sheriffs, for the most part, and this one remains to be tested and tried. The girls will not take chances.
As Joe's wife, Marybeth, hovers at his side, the girls investigate the three ranches in question near the crossroads. All have motivations for disliking, and perhaps killing, Joe. One rancher and his wife inherited their ranch amid family turmoil. Something strange is going on in a shack near the house. Joe visited the house of two sisters a couple weeks before the ambush after receiving a complaint that the women had hunters who shot an elk tied in their corral. The third couple are rich. The husband pressured Joe to sign off on a project that would involve Joe's lying about the nesting site of sage grouse. All three possibilities involve big money. If the girls get too close to the truth, they may be the next to die.
C. J. Box leads his readers on a heart-thumping chase. Although most of the story follows MaryBeth and the girls, we get glimpses into Joe's prior two weeks when he dealt with each of the ranchers and into the ambushers. Box does a great job hiding those behind the ambushers. It's a rollicking good modern Western. It has some bad language and Joe's good friend Nate backs the girls with his ear extractions, but it is a fun mystery that keeps Joe's would-be killers well-hidden until the end.
As Joe's wife, Marybeth, hovers at his side, the girls investigate the three ranches in question near the crossroads. All have motivations for disliking, and perhaps killing, Joe. One rancher and his wife inherited their ranch amid family turmoil. Something strange is going on in a shack near the house. Joe visited the house of two sisters a couple weeks before the ambush after receiving a complaint that the women had hunters who shot an elk tied in their corral. The third couple are rich. The husband pressured Joe to sign off on a project that would involve Joe's lying about the nesting site of sage grouse. All three possibilities involve big money. If the girls get too close to the truth, they may be the next to die.
C. J. Box leads his readers on a heart-thumping chase. Although most of the story follows MaryBeth and the girls, we get glimpses into Joe's prior two weeks when he dealt with each of the ranchers and into the ambushers. Box does a great job hiding those behind the ambushers. It's a rollicking good modern Western. It has some bad language and Joe's good friend Nate backs the girls with his ear extractions, but it is a fun mystery that keeps Joe's would-be killers well-hidden until the end.
March 5, 2026
This is probably my favorite book of Joe Pickett. I’m gonna leave it that…….. five stars from me.
February 27, 2026
I have read all of the Joe Pickett books and used to really look forward to them each year. However, I have noticed over the life of the series the violence/gore against wildlife has increased dramatically and as much as it may be a reality, I find it doesn’t add to the mystery or suspense. I realize I am out of the norm from most people who continue to love the books but for me personally I will not continue reading the series.
March 2, 2026
*** MINOR SPOILERS ***
This book is one of the Joe Pickett series and is one of the best.
Joe gets shot and nearly dies and his wife, Marybeth, gets a call telling her that something happened to him. At first, you are not sure if he is even alive, but she finds out that he needs to be airlifted out to a hospital for emergency care. Marybeth watches over him at the hospital. Their three children, Sheridan, April, and Lucy, decide to investigate what happened to find out what happened to their dad.
Joe is a game warden in Wyoming. Joe was shot in his pickup truck at a fork in the road. The fork leads in three different directions. Each one has someone who might be responsible for the shooting. Even if they are not involved in the shooting, they are up to their eyeballs in something.
The county where Joe lives and was shot has a new sheriff and deputy. They are unfamiliar with the history of the people and their relationships in the county: some good, some bad. Sheridan offers the sheriff the help of the Pickett women. Sheridan and the sheriff are interested in each other. April works in Montana for Cassie Dewell, a private investigator, and Cassie appears in the story. Cassie has her own series of books.
I have read most of CJ Box’s books and the Joe Pickett series is great. When Marybeth gets the call that Joe has been shot, I cried right along with her.
The story is told from different points of view, including Joe’s as you see the events that led up to the shooting.
The pace of the story is good and the dialogue is realistic. There were some funny lines particularly with the banter between the sisters.
The author obviously did a lot of research on the medical issue facing Joe.
The landscape and weather of Wyoming is a part of the book which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the descriptions of various animals that live in the area: elk, bear, wolves, and different birds.
CJ Box has won multiple awards for his writing. He deserves another one for this book.
I plan on continuing reading this series.
This book is one of the Joe Pickett series and is one of the best.
Joe gets shot and nearly dies and his wife, Marybeth, gets a call telling her that something happened to him. At first, you are not sure if he is even alive, but she finds out that he needs to be airlifted out to a hospital for emergency care. Marybeth watches over him at the hospital. Their three children, Sheridan, April, and Lucy, decide to investigate what happened to find out what happened to their dad.
Joe is a game warden in Wyoming. Joe was shot in his pickup truck at a fork in the road. The fork leads in three different directions. Each one has someone who might be responsible for the shooting. Even if they are not involved in the shooting, they are up to their eyeballs in something.
The county where Joe lives and was shot has a new sheriff and deputy. They are unfamiliar with the history of the people and their relationships in the county: some good, some bad. Sheridan offers the sheriff the help of the Pickett women. Sheridan and the sheriff are interested in each other. April works in Montana for Cassie Dewell, a private investigator, and Cassie appears in the story. Cassie has her own series of books.
I have read most of CJ Box’s books and the Joe Pickett series is great. When Marybeth gets the call that Joe has been shot, I cried right along with her.
The story is told from different points of view, including Joe’s as you see the events that led up to the shooting.
The pace of the story is good and the dialogue is realistic. There were some funny lines particularly with the banter between the sisters.
The author obviously did a lot of research on the medical issue facing Joe.
The landscape and weather of Wyoming is a part of the book which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the descriptions of various animals that live in the area: elk, bear, wolves, and different birds.
CJ Box has won multiple awards for his writing. He deserves another one for this book.
I plan on continuing reading this series.
February 27, 2026
4.4 stars. Box has done it again. Pickett is shot in an ambush at a crossroad leading to 3 ranches. All 3 of the ranch owners are sketchy and could conceivably have a motive. This all happens in the first chapter.
A new sheriff is just taking over the job, so Joe's daughters are investigating themselves. Great characters and an exciting story.
Nate is basically a cameo, but as always every page involving him is pure gold.
A new sheriff is just taking over the job, so Joe's daughters are investigating themselves. Great characters and an exciting story.
Nate is basically a cameo, but as always every page involving him is pure gold.
March 1, 2026
The Crossroads is the 26th book in the Joe Pickett series from CJ Box.
"Marybeth Pickett gets the call she's been dreading for years. Her husband, Joe, has been shot and critically injured. He was found at Antler Creek Junction, a crossroads that leads to three different ranches - each one a family that many would call dangerous.
Joe's daughters - Sheridan, April and Lucy - decide to find who shot their dad. It's more dangerous thatn they know."
Box keeps you guessing which family is responsible for almost the whole book, even though you know who the shooters are. Box shows them plotting to clean up so the tension stays high, especially when another killer enters the picture. There is a bit of a dual-timeline with Pickett trying to find out what's going on with some of the ranches.
Cassie Dewell makes an appearance (The Bitterroots, Treasure State) The sisters manage to talk to all of the families trying to put the pieces together. It all comes to a head when the killers come after them. Nate even has a cameo. The final scene is explosive. You're surprised at who ends it. And there's a little surprise with Joe Pickett's coma.
A great addition to the series.
"Marybeth Pickett gets the call she's been dreading for years. Her husband, Joe, has been shot and critically injured. He was found at Antler Creek Junction, a crossroads that leads to three different ranches - each one a family that many would call dangerous.
Joe's daughters - Sheridan, April and Lucy - decide to find who shot their dad. It's more dangerous thatn they know."
Box keeps you guessing which family is responsible for almost the whole book, even though you know who the shooters are. Box shows them plotting to clean up so the tension stays high, especially when another killer enters the picture. There is a bit of a dual-timeline with Pickett trying to find out what's going on with some of the ranches.
Cassie Dewell makes an appearance (The Bitterroots, Treasure State) The sisters manage to talk to all of the families trying to put the pieces together. It all comes to a head when the killers come after them. Nate even has a cameo. The final scene is explosive. You're surprised at who ends it. And there's a little surprise with Joe Pickett's coma.
A great addition to the series.
March 12, 2026
Once again, thx to the Author for sending me a great read.
February 28, 2026
Just as gripping as the others, this one takes us away from Joe and focuses more on the three Pickett girls as they try to determine who shot their father in a hail of bullets on a deserted country road. While Joe clings to life in a coma in Billings with MaryBeth at his side, the new sheriff in town investigates a series of criminal acts, including Joe's shooting. Lucy, April, and Sheridan try to isolate Joe's enemies and their possible motives for murder. Nate, of course, hovers in the background, ready to tear ears off to protect the Picketts.
I like Joe as an MC more than the daughters, although they certainly have grown up into three solid, unique women with varied interests, skill sets, and personalities. I missed MaryBeth in this one, since she's mainly with Joe. I liked that we learned a little more about how they met and fell in love. Thankfully, we didn't get much Missy in this one!
The "bad guys" seemed like cheesy caricatures compared to previous books. They were more idiotic than usual. But overall, the book is solid.
I like Joe as an MC more than the daughters, although they certainly have grown up into three solid, unique women with varied interests, skill sets, and personalities. I missed MaryBeth in this one, since she's mainly with Joe. I liked that we learned a little more about how they met and fell in love. Thankfully, we didn't get much Missy in this one!
The "bad guys" seemed like cheesy caricatures compared to previous books. They were more idiotic than usual. But overall, the book is solid.
March 3, 2026
The storytelling was absolutely incredible. I loved how we knew who the gunmen were but didn’t quite know who hired them. The three ranches all were all suspects considering their own circumstances and troubles. It made for a great read.
Sheridan, April, and Lucy looking into the matter was brilliant. We saw their personalities front and center in their interviews of the possible assailants. Joe Pickett is a girl dad through and through. I love it.
Nate had a small role in this book but a powerful one.
Joe once again got himself in trouble without even knowing what the trouble was. The most Joe Pickett thing ever.
One of my favorite Joe Pickett books from my favorite author about my favorite series.
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November 14th - Deputy “Fearless” Frank Carroll called Marybeth. Joe had been shot on Antler Cree Road and there was a lot of blood.
There was a budget meeting being held by the new elected county commissioners over funding for the library; they wanted to defund it entirely.
When Marybeth got to Antler Creek Junction, she was told that Joe was shot twice. One being in the head the other in the left shoulder. He was going to be life-flighted to Billings. Marybeth and Deputy Carroll rode with him.
Antler Creek Road started near Saddlestring as a County Road then split off in three directions of private properties: the road to the north was Double Dimond Ranch, one of the largest in Twelve Sleep River Valley, the middle road led to Bucholz Cattle Company, and the southern road led to the McElwee Land and Cattle Ranch. The Double Dimond was owned by a very rich mogul and his younger wife. The Bucholz was run by a fourth-generation couple who had acquired the ranch in a shady transaction. The McElwee Ranch were sisters, Lisa and Lainie, who were notorious for committing hunting and fishing violations and being involved in several criminal activities with never being charged.
Joe and Martbeter meet in college at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Joe was a random student while Marybeth was popular, beautiful, with a prominent future. After a football game at a party, a boy by the name of Cooter cornered Marybeth in a corner and proceeded to lick her ear. Her boyfriend at the time, Colin Hughes, ignored her need for help, but not Joe. They dated for seven months before Joe proposed. Much to Missy, Marybeth’s mother, distain. She didn’t approve of Joe. Marthbeth and Joe have been together thirty years.
Dorn Peddy and James Dale O’Bryan were the two shooters who shot Joe. They were out-of-towners who were hired guns. Paddy shot at the hunter who came across Joe’s truck and called it in, but missed. They let him be. Dale didn’t like how Dorn treated him and promised vengeance.
Dr. Ralston told Marybeth that Joe’s condition is give-and-go. She wants to put him in a medical coma to help with the healing. Marybeth agreed.
April and Cassie Dewell showed up to the hospital. April declared she and her sisters, Lucy and Sheridan were going to find out what happened to Joe.
The new Sheriff of Twelve Sleep County is a guy named Steve Sondergard.
Four weeks before. It was opening day of general elk hunting season and Joe was out and about. He got a call from Clay Hutmacher Sr., the ranch foreman at the Double Diamond Ranch. Clay’s boss, Michael Thompson, a hedge fund billionaire, a major donor to Governor Rylan a “friend” to several commissioners of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, wanted to speak with Joe.
When Joe eventually arrived. Michael took him down to the bottom of the sagebrush knoll to Antler Creek, three miles from his home. He was annoyed that the sagebrush was deemed ‘prime sage grouse habitat.’
His ranch was home to four to six leeks of sage grouse. They were not endangered yet but the state were worried they would be so if they ended up being so, it would halt development. In order to build anything, Thompson would need Joe to sign off on any future plans. He thought Joe would be a good advocate considering his relationship with Rulon. Joe wasn’t sure about that.
Joe being so observant that he is, noticed the guns in the front seat of Clay’s truck. When he was leaving he called Clay out for shooting every sage grouse he saw. Clay looked guilty and warned Joe of how much of a nuisance Thompson could be if he didn’t get his way. It was a warning from a “friend.” Clay wasn’t the same person since losing his son Clay Jr. to a grizzly attack two years prior.
Joe checking permits and tags came across a hunting party from Pennsylvania that were very standoffish and suspicious. He noted that he would check on the again in a couple days. When he left, his intuition was correct. There were more than five in the group that stayed hidden and were not notified until Joe had left.
November 15th. - Sheridan, April, & Lucy meet at the at their parents house in Saddlestring.
Per Lucy, the bullet that was inserted into Joe’s head, stopped at the meninx. The part of the brain that keeps your brain from sloshing around all day. She also outed that the new Sheriff had a thing for Sheridan, so she was going to follow up with where they were in their investigation.
Per Sheridan,
The McElwees: fourth/fifth generation land owners. Both have been married a few times but none stick. They are mean and are in constant disputes with neighbors over water, fences, and missing cattle. They allow shady hunters to take trophy animals, some of their ex-husbands just vanished, and they employ ex-cons who might deal per rumors.
John and Shelby Bucholz hired Sheridan a year ago to get rid of some starlings. One of their hired hands told Sheridan that the Shelby’s are not who they seem to be. They had a big fight with other family members over ownership of the ranch. She hired shady PI’s to dig up dirt on those relatives. John and Shelby also made Sheridan sign a contract that she would not snoop around and didn’t pay her because she looked at some old cabins in the back of their lot, where Sheridan swore she saw an elderly man look through the window then disappear.
The Thompson are really rich and Sheridan believes rich people get away with everything.
November 16th - Peddy and O’Bryan went searching for the hunter that found Joe’s truck. Peddy was worried that the hunter saw them. He came across a local hunter from Casper, Budd Betts. Budd didn’t sound like he recognized either of them, but he did make fun of their attire and lack of game knowledge.
Peddy shot Budd three times and blew up his trailer.
However, his boss called. Joe was still alive and they wouldn’t get paid until the job was finished.
Sheridan went to go see Sheriff Sondergard. He was very pleasant and open.
She learned that her dad’s truck had been towed to the County garage next door.
When she left, she snuck into the garage to take pictures and check for his notebook. Instead she was arrested by the newest deputy, William Bowkley.
At the same time, Dr. Ralston informed Marybeth that the bullet was indeed stuck in the mininx after it came in through the top of Joe’s right eye brow. In went through the frontal lobe and then upward potentially saving his life if it went downwards. She couldn’t say that Joe would be the same post-injury personality wise-he could be the same or he could be drastically different.
Three weeks before - Joe went to visited John and Shelby Bucholz about a moose that a hunter shot but wondered onto their property and they refused to let the hunter through. Both John and Shelby were acting weird. Shelby had broken her wrist. They apparently don’t know nothing about the helicopter over their land initially but texted Joe to keep the helicopter to themselves or he would be sorry. While Joe was there he saw a person in one of the cabins 300-yards behind the main house. When asked about it, he was met with hostility. The Bucholz once again refused to let the hunter or Joe kill the moose. When Joe was leaving he saw a truck from Texas called, “Global Exploration.”
April and Lucy got Sheridan out of jail. Sheridan got a stern talking to from the Sheriff.
They had agreed to talk to each ranch separately:
April would talk to the McElwee sisters, Lucy would speak with the Thompsons, and Sheridan would visit the Bucholtz.
The Sheriff called Sheridan later that day upset because Joe’s phone and notebook were missing and he assumed it was Sheridan who took it. He also informed her about Budd Betts.
On the way to their parent’s house, Sheridan noticed that they were being followed by two men.
It was Peddy and O’Bryan following the Pickett girls. They were looking for Joe.
After Sheridan and April trapped them, then let them go, they potentially killed the moose that would sometimes hold traffic in the evenings. Sheridan had to put her down after the wreck broke its legs.
Sheriff called to inform Sheridan that the hunter that found Joe came forward. Peddy and O’Bryan killed the wrong guy. Steve offered Sheridan a chance to listen in on the interview.
The hunter that called it in was Earl Wright of Yonder, Wyoming. He is a primitive hunter that’s into zen hunting. He helped identify the shooters enough that Sheridan was able to piece that the shooters were the same guys that followed her and her sister’s home. Wright eventually mentioned that he saw a UFO or UAP and that got him to come forward and end his hunt.
When Sheridan got home, Nate was there. They eventually keyed him into what had happened and what their plan was.
Lucy talked to Marybeth; they were going to do a hemicraniectomy to help with the swelling.
Kestrel is four with a very strong vocabulary.
Two weeks before - Joe had to visit the McElwee Land and Cattle Ranch because an archery hunter had seen a bull elk tied up to a horse corral and saw a man come out and shoot it with a pistol. Joe spoke with both Lisa and Laine. Both denied it even though Joe saw and heard Laine pick-up the shell casings. Joe took some samples of the ground to be tested.
They admitted that they had three ranch hands on the property. Mexicans. Joe wanted to speak with them.
Before he left, he stopped by the trailer hidden in the sagebrush and spin trees. He saw chemicals that formulated into drugs. He felt dizzy as left.
He wanted to speak with the hunter.
November 16th - Peddy and O’Bryan meet with Deputy Bowkley. He is part of the ruse. He killed Peddy for all his screw-ups. Change of plans. Bowkley and O’Bryan were now going to head to Billings to finish the job.
November 17th - Michael Thompson was in deep trouble with the Government over a deal with the Chinese Communist Party and telecommunications firms here in the U.S. he was slated to speak in front of Congress. Then his “Me Too” accusation. Lucy could sense he was stressed. After speaking with him, she believed in one way or another he would end up in prison. As she left, Clay seemed turmoiled. He didn’t confirm or deny that he had called Joe that day of the ambush.
April was getting information out of Lisa until Laine showed up and showed April out. She threatened April too. April felt like they knew more than they were letting on. She certainly put two and two together: the three cartel members, the situation with the salt lick and cows, and the drugs. A lot of guilt there. Not to mention the cops, the politicians, etc…who have all visited the ranch and even laundered stolen drugs through the ranch.
When Sheridan got to the Bucholz Cattle Company, John and Shelby were with the guys from Global Exploration. They were showing the Bucholz something that made them excited.
Sheridan decided to take the back way to the ranch and drive by the cabins she saw and wait for John and Shelby to return.
When she got to the fourth cabin, she noticed that there was an electric sensors along a perimeter. Then she saw the guy she saw in the window- Uncle Hank Bucholz. With a chain wrapped around his waist and a leather collar wrapped around his neck. Apparently it was for his own good. He was on drugs when he arrived and tried to gain his share of the ranch, but now, per law, John and Shelby were his conservators.
Hank didn’t mind because he was working on his masterpiece-a spiritual confluence making up of several of the world’s religions.
After Sheridan read his piece, Unlce Hank placed his hands on Sheridan’s shoulders. Sheridan was startled, wanted Hank to back-off, and then sprayed him with bear spray and got out of there.
Before this, Hank told Sheridan that Shelby told him that they were going to be rich. Whatever they were doing had to do with money.
Joe is out of surgery. It was a success. Dr. Ralston and her team were able to remove the bullet. It was stuck in the dura mater. There were no fragments, it didn’t hit any major blood vessels, and the post-op swelling and bleeding is a minimal. It was lodged inches where it was inserted. It did clip the top of the cerebrum. The frontal lobe. The doctors don’t know what effect that will have on Joe long term.
Bowkley and O’Bryan were headed to Billings. William was familiar with a big-shot drug kingpin that he was assigned to escorting to court everyday. He was rich and connected. The guy tells Williams to get him a hooker, some bourbon, and cigarettes, and he will get him connected-hence, Peddy and O’Bryan.
Along the route, Bowkley disposed of Joe’s cellphone and notebook in a dumpster.
William instructed O’Bryan to use a livestock vaccine-dosing gun filled with ten milligrams of fentanyl and injected into Joe.
To show O’Bryan it worked, he picked-up a Native American who worked as a flag man named Leonard. He surprisingly injected him to show O’Bryan how it worked. Leonard started foaming, his eyes went wide, and his shoulders slumped-he died.
Instead of staying the night as planned, they were instructed to go back to Saddlestring to take-care of the Pickett girls. After they take care of Joe.
Barbara Peters, the supervising night nurse, moved Joe to a different room due to his vital monitor was not working properly. Joe shared a room with a guy named McWilliams. A half a hour later, there was a commotion. McWilliams was dead with foam in his mouth-the medical staff chalked it up to a seizure. Marybeth, however, noticed they hadn’t changed the whiteboard attached next to the room.
O’Bryan killed the wrong guy. Again.
Two days before - There was a blizzard. Meaning it was a snow day for Joe and for Marybeth. Joe decided to catch up on emails and paperwork. He opened the email about the samples from the McElwee Ranch. It said there was elk blood but also an unknown substance. That unknown substance was fentanyl. After speaking with retirees FBI agent Rick Orr, he was informed that due to the border crisis and Cold War with China, they started shipping the makeup for drugs directly to the United States. Usually to remote area with cattle where they could test out the purity. The Bull Elk wasn’t drunk, it was drugged. It seemed that they were using the cattle for the same thing.
After breakfast with Marybeth, he set out to speak with the Coffee Chicks at the Burg-O-Pander about what the gossip over the locals and to George Haggarty. The Saddlestring Airport FBO about the aircraft he saw flying over the Bucholtz place.
Joe was able to see the helicopter and took a picture of the coordinates and information he got from the cockpit. Haggarty informed Joe that the aircraft was used for geophysical surveying for mineral deposits.
After speaking with the Coffee Chicks and Lorne Trumley, he was able to fill in several blanks.
Both Thompson and John Bucholz made offers to buy Trumley’s ranch. For different reasons.
Brandy, Michael’s wife, was having affairs while he was gone. One specifically, was with Clay Hutmacher. They would meet up at the Holiday Inn.
November 18 - Steve Sondergard called Sheridan as she was working on her report. He got the numbers from the service provider. The number was a Pennsylvania number. They called the night before the ambush, then Joe had called the next day. The call lasted 5 seconds.
The coordinates from the picture that Joe had sent to Marybeth that Marybeth sent to Sheridan were from the western boundary of the Crazy Z-Bar Ranch. Then it hit her. The number Steve sent her was from northeastern Pennsylvania. Scranton to be exact.
Then Deputy Bowkley texted her to let know he was on the way and for to kennel the dogs.
At the same time, in Billings, Joe had opened his eyes. He remembered everything.
Joe said that he was headed to the Bucholz Ranch. A guy named Henry said was kidnapped. Except to Joe it sounded like John disguising his voice. When he called the next day, it went to voicemail. It was a setup.
Lucy shot and killed O’Bryan as he snuck upstairs and into April’s room.
Nate broke Deputy Bowkley’s nose then tore off his right ear. He waited until Bowkley and O’Bryan came to him as he thought they would.
It was John and Shelby. They were behind the whole thing.
Five days after - Lucy left back for the University of Wyoming and April left for Montana.
John and Shelby were arrested. Shelby turned on John. Hank was rescued but being detained until further notice.
It was all over the discovery of rare earth minerals.
85% of the rare minerals were on the Crazy Z-Bar Ranch. That’s why John was trying to make friends with Lorne but tipped his hand instead.
Bowkley was singing like a bird and was willing to testify against John.
John had met William when Bowkley arrested him for speeding. John convinced him that he was a big shot about to score big, William wanted in, and here we are. He even told William about the opening at the Sheriff department.
John went after Joe because he thought Joe was going to tell Lorne about the Global Exploration trucks and ruin everything. He couldn’t chance it even though Joe didn’t know anything.
Two days prior, the Feds raided the McElwee sisters. The uncovered a large-scale fentanyl distribution network and arrested three members of the Sinaloa cartel. One of the members admitted that they tested the drugs on the cattle. They used the salt blocks.
Thompson hired Global Exploration to test his land in hope he can make some of that money due to his legal troubles.
Sheridan and Steve Sondergard were dating unofficially.
Sheridan, April, and Lucy looking into the matter was brilliant. We saw their personalities front and center in their interviews of the possible assailants. Joe Pickett is a girl dad through and through. I love it.
Nate had a small role in this book but a powerful one.
Joe once again got himself in trouble without even knowing what the trouble was. The most Joe Pickett thing ever.
One of my favorite Joe Pickett books from my favorite author about my favorite series.
———————————————————————————-
November 14th - Deputy “Fearless” Frank Carroll called Marybeth. Joe had been shot on Antler Cree Road and there was a lot of blood.
There was a budget meeting being held by the new elected county commissioners over funding for the library; they wanted to defund it entirely.
When Marybeth got to Antler Creek Junction, she was told that Joe was shot twice. One being in the head the other in the left shoulder. He was going to be life-flighted to Billings. Marybeth and Deputy Carroll rode with him.
Antler Creek Road started near Saddlestring as a County Road then split off in three directions of private properties: the road to the north was Double Dimond Ranch, one of the largest in Twelve Sleep River Valley, the middle road led to Bucholz Cattle Company, and the southern road led to the McElwee Land and Cattle Ranch. The Double Dimond was owned by a very rich mogul and his younger wife. The Bucholz was run by a fourth-generation couple who had acquired the ranch in a shady transaction. The McElwee Ranch were sisters, Lisa and Lainie, who were notorious for committing hunting and fishing violations and being involved in several criminal activities with never being charged.
Joe and Martbeter meet in college at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Joe was a random student while Marybeth was popular, beautiful, with a prominent future. After a football game at a party, a boy by the name of Cooter cornered Marybeth in a corner and proceeded to lick her ear. Her boyfriend at the time, Colin Hughes, ignored her need for help, but not Joe. They dated for seven months before Joe proposed. Much to Missy, Marybeth’s mother, distain. She didn’t approve of Joe. Marthbeth and Joe have been together thirty years.
Dorn Peddy and James Dale O’Bryan were the two shooters who shot Joe. They were out-of-towners who were hired guns. Paddy shot at the hunter who came across Joe’s truck and called it in, but missed. They let him be. Dale didn’t like how Dorn treated him and promised vengeance.
Dr. Ralston told Marybeth that Joe’s condition is give-and-go. She wants to put him in a medical coma to help with the healing. Marybeth agreed.
April and Cassie Dewell showed up to the hospital. April declared she and her sisters, Lucy and Sheridan were going to find out what happened to Joe.
The new Sheriff of Twelve Sleep County is a guy named Steve Sondergard.
Four weeks before. It was opening day of general elk hunting season and Joe was out and about. He got a call from Clay Hutmacher Sr., the ranch foreman at the Double Diamond Ranch. Clay’s boss, Michael Thompson, a hedge fund billionaire, a major donor to Governor Rylan a “friend” to several commissioners of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, wanted to speak with Joe.
When Joe eventually arrived. Michael took him down to the bottom of the sagebrush knoll to Antler Creek, three miles from his home. He was annoyed that the sagebrush was deemed ‘prime sage grouse habitat.’
His ranch was home to four to six leeks of sage grouse. They were not endangered yet but the state were worried they would be so if they ended up being so, it would halt development. In order to build anything, Thompson would need Joe to sign off on any future plans. He thought Joe would be a good advocate considering his relationship with Rulon. Joe wasn’t sure about that.
Joe being so observant that he is, noticed the guns in the front seat of Clay’s truck. When he was leaving he called Clay out for shooting every sage grouse he saw. Clay looked guilty and warned Joe of how much of a nuisance Thompson could be if he didn’t get his way. It was a warning from a “friend.” Clay wasn’t the same person since losing his son Clay Jr. to a grizzly attack two years prior.
Joe checking permits and tags came across a hunting party from Pennsylvania that were very standoffish and suspicious. He noted that he would check on the again in a couple days. When he left, his intuition was correct. There were more than five in the group that stayed hidden and were not notified until Joe had left.
November 15th. - Sheridan, April, & Lucy meet at the at their parents house in Saddlestring.
Per Lucy, the bullet that was inserted into Joe’s head, stopped at the meninx. The part of the brain that keeps your brain from sloshing around all day. She also outed that the new Sheriff had a thing for Sheridan, so she was going to follow up with where they were in their investigation.
Per Sheridan,
The McElwees: fourth/fifth generation land owners. Both have been married a few times but none stick. They are mean and are in constant disputes with neighbors over water, fences, and missing cattle. They allow shady hunters to take trophy animals, some of their ex-husbands just vanished, and they employ ex-cons who might deal per rumors.
John and Shelby Bucholz hired Sheridan a year ago to get rid of some starlings. One of their hired hands told Sheridan that the Shelby’s are not who they seem to be. They had a big fight with other family members over ownership of the ranch. She hired shady PI’s to dig up dirt on those relatives. John and Shelby also made Sheridan sign a contract that she would not snoop around and didn’t pay her because she looked at some old cabins in the back of their lot, where Sheridan swore she saw an elderly man look through the window then disappear.
The Thompson are really rich and Sheridan believes rich people get away with everything.
November 16th - Peddy and O’Bryan went searching for the hunter that found Joe’s truck. Peddy was worried that the hunter saw them. He came across a local hunter from Casper, Budd Betts. Budd didn’t sound like he recognized either of them, but he did make fun of their attire and lack of game knowledge.
Peddy shot Budd three times and blew up his trailer.
However, his boss called. Joe was still alive and they wouldn’t get paid until the job was finished.
Sheridan went to go see Sheriff Sondergard. He was very pleasant and open.
She learned that her dad’s truck had been towed to the County garage next door.
When she left, she snuck into the garage to take pictures and check for his notebook. Instead she was arrested by the newest deputy, William Bowkley.
At the same time, Dr. Ralston informed Marybeth that the bullet was indeed stuck in the mininx after it came in through the top of Joe’s right eye brow. In went through the frontal lobe and then upward potentially saving his life if it went downwards. She couldn’t say that Joe would be the same post-injury personality wise-he could be the same or he could be drastically different.
Three weeks before - Joe went to visited John and Shelby Bucholz about a moose that a hunter shot but wondered onto their property and they refused to let the hunter through. Both John and Shelby were acting weird. Shelby had broken her wrist. They apparently don’t know nothing about the helicopter over their land initially but texted Joe to keep the helicopter to themselves or he would be sorry. While Joe was there he saw a person in one of the cabins 300-yards behind the main house. When asked about it, he was met with hostility. The Bucholz once again refused to let the hunter or Joe kill the moose. When Joe was leaving he saw a truck from Texas called, “Global Exploration.”
April and Lucy got Sheridan out of jail. Sheridan got a stern talking to from the Sheriff.
They had agreed to talk to each ranch separately:
April would talk to the McElwee sisters, Lucy would speak with the Thompsons, and Sheridan would visit the Bucholtz.
The Sheriff called Sheridan later that day upset because Joe’s phone and notebook were missing and he assumed it was Sheridan who took it. He also informed her about Budd Betts.
On the way to their parent’s house, Sheridan noticed that they were being followed by two men.
It was Peddy and O’Bryan following the Pickett girls. They were looking for Joe.
After Sheridan and April trapped them, then let them go, they potentially killed the moose that would sometimes hold traffic in the evenings. Sheridan had to put her down after the wreck broke its legs.
Sheriff called to inform Sheridan that the hunter that found Joe came forward. Peddy and O’Bryan killed the wrong guy. Steve offered Sheridan a chance to listen in on the interview.
The hunter that called it in was Earl Wright of Yonder, Wyoming. He is a primitive hunter that’s into zen hunting. He helped identify the shooters enough that Sheridan was able to piece that the shooters were the same guys that followed her and her sister’s home. Wright eventually mentioned that he saw a UFO or UAP and that got him to come forward and end his hunt.
When Sheridan got home, Nate was there. They eventually keyed him into what had happened and what their plan was.
Lucy talked to Marybeth; they were going to do a hemicraniectomy to help with the swelling.
Kestrel is four with a very strong vocabulary.
Two weeks before - Joe had to visit the McElwee Land and Cattle Ranch because an archery hunter had seen a bull elk tied up to a horse corral and saw a man come out and shoot it with a pistol. Joe spoke with both Lisa and Laine. Both denied it even though Joe saw and heard Laine pick-up the shell casings. Joe took some samples of the ground to be tested.
They admitted that they had three ranch hands on the property. Mexicans. Joe wanted to speak with them.
Before he left, he stopped by the trailer hidden in the sagebrush and spin trees. He saw chemicals that formulated into drugs. He felt dizzy as left.
He wanted to speak with the hunter.
November 16th - Peddy and O’Bryan meet with Deputy Bowkley. He is part of the ruse. He killed Peddy for all his screw-ups. Change of plans. Bowkley and O’Bryan were now going to head to Billings to finish the job.
November 17th - Michael Thompson was in deep trouble with the Government over a deal with the Chinese Communist Party and telecommunications firms here in the U.S. he was slated to speak in front of Congress. Then his “Me Too” accusation. Lucy could sense he was stressed. After speaking with him, she believed in one way or another he would end up in prison. As she left, Clay seemed turmoiled. He didn’t confirm or deny that he had called Joe that day of the ambush.
April was getting information out of Lisa until Laine showed up and showed April out. She threatened April too. April felt like they knew more than they were letting on. She certainly put two and two together: the three cartel members, the situation with the salt lick and cows, and the drugs. A lot of guilt there. Not to mention the cops, the politicians, etc…who have all visited the ranch and even laundered stolen drugs through the ranch.
When Sheridan got to the Bucholz Cattle Company, John and Shelby were with the guys from Global Exploration. They were showing the Bucholz something that made them excited.
Sheridan decided to take the back way to the ranch and drive by the cabins she saw and wait for John and Shelby to return.
When she got to the fourth cabin, she noticed that there was an electric sensors along a perimeter. Then she saw the guy she saw in the window- Uncle Hank Bucholz. With a chain wrapped around his waist and a leather collar wrapped around his neck. Apparently it was for his own good. He was on drugs when he arrived and tried to gain his share of the ranch, but now, per law, John and Shelby were his conservators.
Hank didn’t mind because he was working on his masterpiece-a spiritual confluence making up of several of the world’s religions.
After Sheridan read his piece, Unlce Hank placed his hands on Sheridan’s shoulders. Sheridan was startled, wanted Hank to back-off, and then sprayed him with bear spray and got out of there.
Before this, Hank told Sheridan that Shelby told him that they were going to be rich. Whatever they were doing had to do with money.
Joe is out of surgery. It was a success. Dr. Ralston and her team were able to remove the bullet. It was stuck in the dura mater. There were no fragments, it didn’t hit any major blood vessels, and the post-op swelling and bleeding is a minimal. It was lodged inches where it was inserted. It did clip the top of the cerebrum. The frontal lobe. The doctors don’t know what effect that will have on Joe long term.
Bowkley and O’Bryan were headed to Billings. William was familiar with a big-shot drug kingpin that he was assigned to escorting to court everyday. He was rich and connected. The guy tells Williams to get him a hooker, some bourbon, and cigarettes, and he will get him connected-hence, Peddy and O’Bryan.
Along the route, Bowkley disposed of Joe’s cellphone and notebook in a dumpster.
William instructed O’Bryan to use a livestock vaccine-dosing gun filled with ten milligrams of fentanyl and injected into Joe.
To show O’Bryan it worked, he picked-up a Native American who worked as a flag man named Leonard. He surprisingly injected him to show O’Bryan how it worked. Leonard started foaming, his eyes went wide, and his shoulders slumped-he died.
Instead of staying the night as planned, they were instructed to go back to Saddlestring to take-care of the Pickett girls. After they take care of Joe.
Barbara Peters, the supervising night nurse, moved Joe to a different room due to his vital monitor was not working properly. Joe shared a room with a guy named McWilliams. A half a hour later, there was a commotion. McWilliams was dead with foam in his mouth-the medical staff chalked it up to a seizure. Marybeth, however, noticed they hadn’t changed the whiteboard attached next to the room.
O’Bryan killed the wrong guy. Again.
Two days before - There was a blizzard. Meaning it was a snow day for Joe and for Marybeth. Joe decided to catch up on emails and paperwork. He opened the email about the samples from the McElwee Ranch. It said there was elk blood but also an unknown substance. That unknown substance was fentanyl. After speaking with retirees FBI agent Rick Orr, he was informed that due to the border crisis and Cold War with China, they started shipping the makeup for drugs directly to the United States. Usually to remote area with cattle where they could test out the purity. The Bull Elk wasn’t drunk, it was drugged. It seemed that they were using the cattle for the same thing.
After breakfast with Marybeth, he set out to speak with the Coffee Chicks at the Burg-O-Pander about what the gossip over the locals and to George Haggarty. The Saddlestring Airport FBO about the aircraft he saw flying over the Bucholtz place.
Joe was able to see the helicopter and took a picture of the coordinates and information he got from the cockpit. Haggarty informed Joe that the aircraft was used for geophysical surveying for mineral deposits.
After speaking with the Coffee Chicks and Lorne Trumley, he was able to fill in several blanks.
Both Thompson and John Bucholz made offers to buy Trumley’s ranch. For different reasons.
Brandy, Michael’s wife, was having affairs while he was gone. One specifically, was with Clay Hutmacher. They would meet up at the Holiday Inn.
November 18 - Steve Sondergard called Sheridan as she was working on her report. He got the numbers from the service provider. The number was a Pennsylvania number. They called the night before the ambush, then Joe had called the next day. The call lasted 5 seconds.
The coordinates from the picture that Joe had sent to Marybeth that Marybeth sent to Sheridan were from the western boundary of the Crazy Z-Bar Ranch. Then it hit her. The number Steve sent her was from northeastern Pennsylvania. Scranton to be exact.
Then Deputy Bowkley texted her to let know he was on the way and for to kennel the dogs.
At the same time, in Billings, Joe had opened his eyes. He remembered everything.
Joe said that he was headed to the Bucholz Ranch. A guy named Henry said was kidnapped. Except to Joe it sounded like John disguising his voice. When he called the next day, it went to voicemail. It was a setup.
Lucy shot and killed O’Bryan as he snuck upstairs and into April’s room.
Nate broke Deputy Bowkley’s nose then tore off his right ear. He waited until Bowkley and O’Bryan came to him as he thought they would.
It was John and Shelby. They were behind the whole thing.
Five days after - Lucy left back for the University of Wyoming and April left for Montana.
John and Shelby were arrested. Shelby turned on John. Hank was rescued but being detained until further notice.
It was all over the discovery of rare earth minerals.
85% of the rare minerals were on the Crazy Z-Bar Ranch. That’s why John was trying to make friends with Lorne but tipped his hand instead.
Bowkley was singing like a bird and was willing to testify against John.
John had met William when Bowkley arrested him for speeding. John convinced him that he was a big shot about to score big, William wanted in, and here we are. He even told William about the opening at the Sheriff department.
John went after Joe because he thought Joe was going to tell Lorne about the Global Exploration trucks and ruin everything. He couldn’t chance it even though Joe didn’t know anything.
Two days prior, the Feds raided the McElwee sisters. The uncovered a large-scale fentanyl distribution network and arrested three members of the Sinaloa cartel. One of the members admitted that they tested the drugs on the cattle. They used the salt blocks.
Thompson hired Global Exploration to test his land in hope he can make some of that money due to his legal troubles.
Sheridan and Steve Sondergard were dating unofficially.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2026
Don't Do That Kind Of Thing Anymore
What does it take to get Joe Pickett to rest? Why should he? Ranchers, Criminals, and his family want to know. You'll wonder too once you get to the Crossroads.
What does it take to get Joe Pickett to rest? Why should he? Ranchers, Criminals, and his family want to know. You'll wonder too once you get to the Crossroads.
February 28, 2026
4 1/2 Stars
THE CROSSROADS marks the 26th entry in the extremely popular Joe Pickett series from C.J. Box. What sets this novel apart from all the others is that it is the first time our favorite game warden is out of commission and fighting for his life as his wife and daughters take the reins on a story involving finding justice for him while praying for his recovery.
On November 15th Marybeth Pickett receives the phone call that she has dreaded for over twenty years. Her husband Joe, the local Game Warden, was found in his pickup truck at Anter Creek Junction parked just before a crossroads connecting to one of three different ranches he may have been heading to. His vehicle was shot multiple times, and he took bullets to the head and body. An anonymous phone call tipped off the authorities about this and when the nearest Deputy arrived it looked like Joe was a goner.
Deputy Carroll calls it into emergency services and Joe is flown to the best hospital with a chance to save his life located in Billings, Montana. It is now where the mystery lies. Marybeth contacts their three daughters --- Sheridan, April, and Lucy --- who are supposed to hold down the fort at their home base while Marybeth flies with Joe to Billings. However, these three daughters are filled with the same spunk and stubbornness as their father and refuse to sit by idly. They meet with the new Sheriff named Sondergard who agrees to use the girls assistance as long as they do not cross the line.
It turns out that Lucy worked with a private investigator and was well-skilled in various cases while Sheridan and April were no shrinking violets.
C.J. Box does a masterful job of keeping all these storylines in the air as well as stepping back into time to see what cases Joe was working that may have put him in danger. We also see things from the perspective of the two hired thugs who were supposed to finish him off and failed to do so. Since his vehicle was stopped at a point where it was impossible to know which turn Joe was planning to make at the upcoming crossroads, his three daughters decide to split up visits to the three nearby ranches, each of which is owned by wealthy and unfriendly landowners that all had their own problems with the law and specifically Joe Pickett. The question is, which one of them hated Joe enough to hire someone to kill him?
One ranch was owned by Michael Thompson, who was planning some type of top-secret development on his property that he was keeping very close the vest. The second was the property owned by John and Shelby Bucholz who had a cattle company that appeared to be a front for something far more sinister. The third and final ranch was owned by two sisters, Lainie and Lisa McElwee, who have been rumored in the area of running an illegal drug trade from their place. We see Joe, and later one of his three daughters, visit these three locations and it is a true toss-up as to which landowner was the one to put the hit on him. It creates a brilliant murder mystery where the victim was somehow still alive but unable to assist in his own due to the emergency surgery and possible self-induced coma he may be facing to save his life.
No one can be trusted in this story and once the hitmen learn that Joe Pickett was still alive, they plan to head off to the hospital where he was recovering to finish the job. CROSSROADS is yet another example of the stellar work C.J. Box has done with the Joe Pickett series which remains must-read status on my bookshelf.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
THE CROSSROADS marks the 26th entry in the extremely popular Joe Pickett series from C.J. Box. What sets this novel apart from all the others is that it is the first time our favorite game warden is out of commission and fighting for his life as his wife and daughters take the reins on a story involving finding justice for him while praying for his recovery.
On November 15th Marybeth Pickett receives the phone call that she has dreaded for over twenty years. Her husband Joe, the local Game Warden, was found in his pickup truck at Anter Creek Junction parked just before a crossroads connecting to one of three different ranches he may have been heading to. His vehicle was shot multiple times, and he took bullets to the head and body. An anonymous phone call tipped off the authorities about this and when the nearest Deputy arrived it looked like Joe was a goner.
Deputy Carroll calls it into emergency services and Joe is flown to the best hospital with a chance to save his life located in Billings, Montana. It is now where the mystery lies. Marybeth contacts their three daughters --- Sheridan, April, and Lucy --- who are supposed to hold down the fort at their home base while Marybeth flies with Joe to Billings. However, these three daughters are filled with the same spunk and stubbornness as their father and refuse to sit by idly. They meet with the new Sheriff named Sondergard who agrees to use the girls assistance as long as they do not cross the line.
It turns out that Lucy worked with a private investigator and was well-skilled in various cases while Sheridan and April were no shrinking violets.
C.J. Box does a masterful job of keeping all these storylines in the air as well as stepping back into time to see what cases Joe was working that may have put him in danger. We also see things from the perspective of the two hired thugs who were supposed to finish him off and failed to do so. Since his vehicle was stopped at a point where it was impossible to know which turn Joe was planning to make at the upcoming crossroads, his three daughters decide to split up visits to the three nearby ranches, each of which is owned by wealthy and unfriendly landowners that all had their own problems with the law and specifically Joe Pickett. The question is, which one of them hated Joe enough to hire someone to kill him?
One ranch was owned by Michael Thompson, who was planning some type of top-secret development on his property that he was keeping very close the vest. The second was the property owned by John and Shelby Bucholz who had a cattle company that appeared to be a front for something far more sinister. The third and final ranch was owned by two sisters, Lainie and Lisa McElwee, who have been rumored in the area of running an illegal drug trade from their place. We see Joe, and later one of his three daughters, visit these three locations and it is a true toss-up as to which landowner was the one to put the hit on him. It creates a brilliant murder mystery where the victim was somehow still alive but unable to assist in his own due to the emergency surgery and possible self-induced coma he may be facing to save his life.
No one can be trusted in this story and once the hitmen learn that Joe Pickett was still alive, they plan to head off to the hospital where he was recovering to finish the job. CROSSROADS is yet another example of the stellar work C.J. Box has done with the Joe Pickett series which remains must-read status on my bookshelf.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
March 4, 2026
Every year I patiently wait for the new Joe Pickett book, and they never disappoint! I'm a HUGE fan of this series, and I hope it never ends! This is book 26, and they just keep getting more exciting!
Marybeth Pickett gets the call she's been dreading all these years being married to Joe. He's been shot in the head and is barely hanging on. He was found in his truck on Antler Creek Junction, a crossroads connecting three ranches. Each ranch is owned by a shady family that has a bone to pick with Joe. The new sheriff is almost certain one of them set up the ambush to eliminate Joe. But which one was it? With Joe in critical condition in the hospital and Marybeth by his side, his three daughters, Sheridan, April, and Lucy, are determined to figure it out. Which family had the most to lose with Joe doing his job? Can they uncover the truth before it's too late?
This book, told in dual timelines of before and after the shooting, was a fast-paced, action-packed, and engaging read! I seriously couldn't put it down! I loved that Sheridan, April, and Lucy had bigger roles in this book and came together to do the investigating. The new sheriff, who may have a thing with Sheridan, had an understanding with them, and of course, they even had a bit of help from my favorite book character, Nate Romanowski. This book is set in one of my favorite states, WY, which makes it even better, and the author's descriptive writing always makes me feel like I'm there. A gritty modern-day western full of edge-of-your-seat suspense, twists, and great characters. I REALLY enjoyed this one and HIGHLY recommend it.🩷
Marybeth Pickett gets the call she's been dreading all these years being married to Joe. He's been shot in the head and is barely hanging on. He was found in his truck on Antler Creek Junction, a crossroads connecting three ranches. Each ranch is owned by a shady family that has a bone to pick with Joe. The new sheriff is almost certain one of them set up the ambush to eliminate Joe. But which one was it? With Joe in critical condition in the hospital and Marybeth by his side, his three daughters, Sheridan, April, and Lucy, are determined to figure it out. Which family had the most to lose with Joe doing his job? Can they uncover the truth before it's too late?
This book, told in dual timelines of before and after the shooting, was a fast-paced, action-packed, and engaging read! I seriously couldn't put it down! I loved that Sheridan, April, and Lucy had bigger roles in this book and came together to do the investigating. The new sheriff, who may have a thing with Sheridan, had an understanding with them, and of course, they even had a bit of help from my favorite book character, Nate Romanowski. This book is set in one of my favorite states, WY, which makes it even better, and the author's descriptive writing always makes me feel like I'm there. A gritty modern-day western full of edge-of-your-seat suspense, twists, and great characters. I REALLY enjoyed this one and HIGHLY recommend it.🩷
January 15, 2026
Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕣𝕠𝕤𝕤𝕣𝕠𝕒𝕕𝕤
𝐂𝐉 𝐁𝐨𝐱
Pub Date: February 24, 2026
Another fantastic Joe Pickett story, and he wasn’t involved in the investigation like usual. I wasn’t sure if I’d like that, but lo and behold, I did!
The mystery is on point as Joe’s family takes on the search for a criminal. I’ve enjoyed watching his girls grow up into amazing young women throughout this series. Having the focus on them was such a great spin from the typical Joe Pickett story.
The investigation centers on three specific families, all with odd occurrences happening that could’ve led to the incident that occurred near their land. Learning about all of them is fascinating, to say the least!
This story is fast-paced and full of intense detail as the mystery unfolds. I’ve read everything CJ Box has written, and this is one of my favorites.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me this ebook to read and review.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕣𝕠𝕤𝕤𝕣𝕠𝕒𝕕𝕤
𝐂𝐉 𝐁𝐨𝐱
Pub Date: February 24, 2026
Another fantastic Joe Pickett story, and he wasn’t involved in the investigation like usual. I wasn’t sure if I’d like that, but lo and behold, I did!
The mystery is on point as Joe’s family takes on the search for a criminal. I’ve enjoyed watching his girls grow up into amazing young women throughout this series. Having the focus on them was such a great spin from the typical Joe Pickett story.
The investigation centers on three specific families, all with odd occurrences happening that could’ve led to the incident that occurred near their land. Learning about all of them is fascinating, to say the least!
This story is fast-paced and full of intense detail as the mystery unfolds. I’ve read everything CJ Box has written, and this is one of my favorites.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me this ebook to read and review.
March 24, 2026
A good Joe Pickett story, and just what I needed. No YGBSM mechanical grizzly bears mauling people from the beds of pickup trucks; no mystical communion with real ones. The Crossroads is a straightforward story with realistic limits.
The Crossroads brings the three Pickett daughters back together in Saddlestring, acting as main characters no less. A long-foreshadowed crossover with Box's Hoyt/Dewell series finally materializes.
I particularly liked the depiction of potential and actual villains in this novel ... Box's bad guys are all too often the blackest of black hats; the collection of suspicious ranchers here are more developed and believable. Also good: the intrusive MAGA messaging Box sometimes inserts into characters' words and thoughts is absent from this novel.
This is up there with the best Joe Pickett novels, and yes, I've read them all.
The Crossroads brings the three Pickett daughters back together in Saddlestring, acting as main characters no less. A long-foreshadowed crossover with Box's Hoyt/Dewell series finally materializes.
I particularly liked the depiction of potential and actual villains in this novel ... Box's bad guys are all too often the blackest of black hats; the collection of suspicious ranchers here are more developed and believable. Also good: the intrusive MAGA messaging Box sometimes inserts into characters' words and thoughts is absent from this novel.
This is up there with the best Joe Pickett novels, and yes, I've read them all.
March 19, 2026
When I read the blurb that Joe is fighting for his life with a gunshot wound to the head, I was instantly disappointed that there wouldn't be any Joe in the story. Fortunately, there's plenty of Joe as the story is told of the daughters investigating, interspersed with flashbacks of Joe's investigation before the shooting. So plenty of Joe, but not enough of Nate. Ah, well, he does appear twice. This book does give us an opportunity to delve more into the girls' characters, which is fun. Great story, as always, with elements drawn straight from the headlines.
warning to gentle readers: language warning
warning to gentle readers: language warning
March 22, 2026
I was surprised it took almost until the middle of the book for Nate to show up. It was even more surprising and interesting that Joe & Marybeth’s three daughters banded together to form the main investigative team for the story. C.J. box never disappoints when it comes to Joe “landing in trouble” once again. If you haven’t read the series and are looking for good, fast reads, start this series today! I’ve not been dissatisfied with any of the books!!
March 2, 2026
Joe Pickett is ambushed at the crossroads to three different ranches. All three are not game warden fans but which one shot Joe and put him in a coma? The females of Joe’s family rally together to find out (Mary Beth at the hospital and Sheridan, April, and Lucy playing detective). Love the fact that Nate shows up (always watching over this family). Bonus: Nate rips off another ear!
March 19, 2026
I love it when the girls get involved. My one problem with this book is the going back-and-forth, which can at times be confusing. For the most part I like books to follow a chronological order with maybe an occasional backstory here and there. This book bounces between the recent past and the present. Even so, it was well done and enjoyable.
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