Book 8

Book 8:  Open Season by CJ Box

As a big fan of the Longmire books and the Holmes on the Range series, I was hoping to find another Cowboy Detective series.  I picked up this one, the first in the Joe Pickett series based on recommendations online.   I found the ending a bit predictable in terms of whodunnit.

I am not sure if Joe Pickett is a smart enough detective for me. Joe is a game warden in WY, who has made a couple of dumb mistakes on the job.  I myself have made my share of dumb mistakes, so I tried to give ole Joe the benefit of the doubt.  It was apparent to me in Chapter 1 that he's 2 strikes in.  Needless to say, it's not exactly a career enhancer when a guy picks Joe's lawn as his final resting place.

Joe's clearly married above himself and his wife is a bit flat and martyry for my taste.  As bland as she seemed, her mom was downright annoying.  Joe's daughter, Sheridan is the most believable female in the story.  Also, there are bimbos.  Terribly drawn bimbos.

Joe kind of blunders his way into the cross hairs here and there are casualties as a result that I found tough to swallow.  Joe's internal assertion that his family was stronger at the end seemed completely artificial to me and unbelievable.  I also thought the resolution of events for the first victim's family to be a bit of a stretch.