Nowhere to Run

Missing

In his tenth Joe Pickett novel, C. J. Box continues to deliver the goods. There's an action-oriented plot with plenty of violence. Joe has a super-wife managing three difficult teenagers and an out-of-control mother-in-law. He's in trouble with his law enforcement colleagues and he still can't shoot a pistol straight. Though he's a state game warden, Joe manages to get involved in crimes that go well beyond his job description. In addition to these elements, C. J. Box has inserted an interesting ethical and political discussion into the heart of this novel. It's subversive of the genre in an interesting way, much as the Terminator who was not allowed to kill in James Cameron's T2. Unlike T2, the choices grow more naturally out of the character - - Joe Pickett is an upright law enforcer who has to confront a situation where the law may be unjust. This happens a few times in the Sherlock Holmes stories too, where Conan Doyle has Holmes let the perpetrators go. C. J. Box does not choose this easy route but a richer, probably less satisfying denouement. If you're looking for pure escapism in your fiction, the ending may not satisfy you. But if you don't mind thinking a bit when you put the book down, you'll find that it's Box's best novel yet.

I've never read anything by C.J. Box, so I had an open mind. Despite that, I enjoyed "Nowhere to Run" even more than I expected to! It's modern, yet there's a flavor of the Old West. I found myself really relating to Joe and his eventual predicament, but I really don't think I would've made the same decision he did. What a surprise to find Something Big To Think About in my entertainment! To me, "Nowhere to Run" evokes Nevada Barr's solitary, independent, nature-oriented law enforcement books starring Park Ranger Anna Pigeon before, frankly, they got a little strange. I definitely plan to look up more from this author, and I hope he continues along this line.

This is the tenth Joe Pickett book by C. J. Box and the best of all, I think. The other nine were very good, but the suspense, the slow unraveling of the story, kept me spellbound. Joe, a forest ranger in Wyoming, is finishing an assignment some distance from his home and family. He is prepared to leave, but he first wants to check out the report of an elk, killed by arrows, but butchered before the hunters can reach it. This is one of several unexplained happenings in the mountains of northern Wyoming. This is also the area where a young woman runner training for the Olympics disappeared without a trace the year before. Joe watches for any sign of her while he rides in the largely uncharted region. When he happens upon a gangly taciturn fisherman who apparently has no fishing license, his sense of duty requires him to take the man in. At that point the story leads us to the man's camp and his twin brother. These men become the center of a most absorbing and sometimes scary tale. Even as he leaves the forest and eventually arrives home, he cannot leave behind his experience, nor will a number of interested law enforcement agencies allow him to. The resolution of the mystery and the choices Joe must make create a taut and ultimately satisfying story. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

You can read other reviews if you want a rehash of the plot. What I'll say is that "Nowhere to Run" grips you from the beginning and doesn't let go. I had such a time putting this book down and getting to my daily life. It's been a long time since I was so enamored of a book. This is my first C. J. Box book and I can assure you that I will be reading more. I like his writing. He made me feel like I was there in the beautiful and rugged mountains with Joe Pickett. It started out like a very simple story but turned into a thought-provoking look at the rights of the individual versus the rights of government. It isn't all black and white. I'm enthusiastically passing this one on to my son and daughter to read.