Kerry Hammond is here today to report on the Crime &
Beyond book club’s recent read.
This month’s Crime & Beyond Book Club pick was Stone Cold, the 14th
Joe Pickett novel by author C. J. Box. Joe Pickett is a favorite for us at
Crime & Beyond. We’ve read several C. J. Box mysteries and they always get
great reviews by our members. This book was no different.
In this latest installment, Wyoming game warden, Joe
Pickett, is asked by the governor to go poke his nose in the goings on in a
town located in a remote area of Wyoming. There have been reports of a very
wealthy resident who has a private airstrip, several businesses, and is the
benefactor for the entire town. Additional rumors lead the governor to believe
that the man is making money by carrying out murders for hire.
Joe is sent to see what he can find out, while trying not to
appear conspicuous (although he doesn’t quite pull this part off). The local
game warden resents his presence, the townspeople won’t say one negative thing
about their benefactor, and he learns that his old friend Nate Romanowski may
have some connection to the mysterious man. The remote location of the town is
made even more treacherous by the fact that Joe is there when a snow storm
hits. He has to try to conduct his investigation as he deals with weather
conditions that make things even more difficult.
Everyone really enjoyed the book. We found the story very
intriguing, and had a great time trying to figure out what the mysterious man was
really up to. We loved that Joe was his typical by-the-book game warden. Always
doing the right thing, even if it’s not the easiest way to go. Nate is also a
favorite for us, so we enjoyed that he played a part in the novel, and were
able to have a great discussion of the differences between Joe and Nate’s moral
compass, and the fact that they are such unlikely, but close friends. This book
was definitely a hit.
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