C.J. Box Is Red Hot, Says Booklist!

While BLUE HEAVEN continues to shine on the New York Times best seller list, BLOOD TRAIL, C.J. Box's latest Joe Pickett book, has already gotten its first starred review from Booklist:

In January, Box branched out from his popular Joe Pickett series with a stand-alone thriller, Blue Heaven (2008). His publisher for that book seems to be pushing him toward a broader audience—even ditching his familiar black Stetson in the author photo. Longtime fans might have wondered whether Pickett would soon be an also-ran. But there’s no need to worry just yet. Although Blood Trail is a mite slimmer than its predecessors (two books a year will do that to a writer), Box is clearly still comfortable in the saddle. And his game warden—now a special agent reporting directly to the governor—is still as dogged on the trail as he is hard on government-issued vehicles. There’s a little less family time for Joe, but there are some interesting developments in his friendship with the enigmatic Nate Romanowski. Joe needs Nate’s help and some luck besides, because it’s elk season, and someone is hunting elk hunters. And with a flamboyant anti-hunting activist coming to town with his supporters, it’s looking like another classic standoff: implacable ideologues on both sides and a pondering Pickett caught in the middle. Box always addresses a New West issue, but there’s something great about the way he’s waited until the eighth installment to tackle the one that would seem most obvious, given his hero’s occupation. We prefer Box with the cowboy hat, but whether hatted or bareheaded, he continues to be red hot—and now there’s twice as much of him to go around.