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If you aren't familiar with the name "C. J. Box" you're missing out on something, and someone, special. Box has written a series of novels featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett; nominally mysteries --- Box has picked up a slew of awards and an additional bunch of nominations from just about every mystery organization you can name --- they also could be classified as modern westerns, or just straight-up drama fiction. While there is something in these novels for fans of James Lee Burke or Tony Hillerman, Box also evokes the spirit, if not the style, of Elmore Leonard and even John Cheever, without sacrificing his own, unique voice.
Pickett is that rare civil servant who actually likes his work, finding a niche that permits him to do a good job with some measure of independence. The lesson that it is easier to obtain forgiveness than permission has not been lost on Pickett, and it works well in his professional life, if not his personal one. So it is that in OUT OF RANGE, Box's latest effort, Pickett finds himself trying to adapt to a new position while making a long distance effort to keep the home fires under control, with mixed results on both fronts.
OUT OF RANGE begins with the suicide of Will Jensen. Jensen, like Pickett, is a Wyoming game warden and Pickett's good friend. When Pickett is asked to temporarily run Jensen's gaming district, he jumps at the chance, hoping that it will result in some long-term job advancement. Pickett soon finds, however, that he is in over his head. Jackson, Wyoming, the location of Pickett's new duty station, is ground zero for the war between developers and environmental extremists, and Pickett is sorely unprepared when he finds himself caught in the middle of the fray.
But Pickett is even more disturbed when he finds himself slowly coming to the conclusion that his old friend may have been driven to take his life by outside forces. As he closes in on the true reason behind Jensen's death, he begins experiencing unpredictable episodes of blackouts and mood swings, similar to what Jensen experienced shortly before he died. To make matters worse, Pickett's wife, already struggling to keep their home together, is beset upon from an unexpected source, which it appears she must face, and resolve, on her own.
Box exhibits a subtle and quiet narrative style that speaks with a voice of experience and somber grace, whether he is describing a sunset on a mountain range or an early morning in a budget hotel. When building suspense, Box slowly, almost casually, assembles his elements, slowly ratcheting things up by degrees so that the reader's pulse is racing long before they're even aware of it. Read OUT OF RANGE, and become a believer.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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