Cold Wind (A Joe Pickett Novel)

Another Joe Pickett hit by C.J. Box. Earl Alden's murder spurs so many plot twists that you will never guess what us coming next. There is also an intriguing side story that gets Nate involved. Between the characters, plot, and the setting/descriptions of nature....what's not to love? The ending was unreal....Joe Pickett and this series are amazing!

I’ve made no secret that the Joe Pickett series of novels by C.J. Box are not my favorite works by this author and that his “Highwayman” novels are far better in my opinion. Nonetheless my wife really likes them and makes me buy new ones for her so I keep them around to read when I need a break from the other stuff on my book shelf. That being said, “Cold Wind” was actually pretty good and one of the best in this ongoing saga compared to the previous tales. This time out Joe’s latest father-in-law, Earl Alden, a wealthy rancher is discovered by Joe dead on his property. ‘The Earl’ has recently gotten into the wind energy business and besides being shot the body is suspended by a chain on one of the wind turbine blades left literally ‘twisting in the wind’. Things get interesting when the chief suspect turns out to be Joe’s conniving, gold digging mother-in-law Missy who is promptly arrested. Things don’t look good for Missy due to a ton of physical evidence and motive (supposedly her late husband was filing for divorce). Naturally, game warden Joe doesn’t stay in his lane (as usual) and starts nosing around continuing his tradition of irritating every other law enforcement agency in the state. The good news is we don’t get as much family drama with the kids and his wife Marybeth’s chronic complaining to deal with but the bad news is that the major subplot is all about the Ninja-like Nate Romanowski who remains a fugitive from justice. Nate fans will rejoice to discover he gets a new, even bigger revolver (Freedom Arms .500 Wyoming Express) in this story replacing his beloved Casull .454 that is destroyed. Nate must be a tough hombre if he can shoot these pistols; I need two hands just to fire my Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum and the .454 produces 75% more recoil energy than the .44 Mag…yikes! Joe is a little less the hapless bumbler in “Cold Wind” and the pace is brisker than other Pickett stories. Even though this paperback is ten years old the issues with wind power and the impact on the land are just as relevant today. In my part of Texas wind energy companies are moving in and leasing land causing division in ranching communities over the past year or two. With a surprise ending fans of Box and Joe Pickett will definitely enjoy this novel.

Waiting on book 23. If you enjoy book 1, keep reading. My husband kept saying this is the best one yet. We love the family insight and the exposure to both sides of many environmental and social issues. If you start in the middle, which I don’t recommend, he has a way of catching you up in a paragraph without boring the readers who know. Character and plot development are perfect for us.

C.J. Box's latest in the Joe Pickett series features some familiar characters, touches on some new political issues and includes a good amount of action. "Cold Wind" finds Fish and Game Warden Pickett's much detested mother-in-law, Missy, accused of murdering her wealthy fifth husband, Earl Alden. Everyone in the Wyoming town of Saddlestring, where the crime occurs, is ready to believe the worst of Missy Alden. The sheriff and local district attorney believe that they have more than enough evidence to convict her. Urged on by his distraught wife, Pickett jumps into the case along its margins to try and prove that his mother-in-law, while guilty of countless ethical and moral infractions, did not kill her husband. His informal investigation gradually turns up more and more evidence that the murder victim had a long line of enemies who hated him enough to do him in.Moving at a pretty good clip, the plot also includes a long look at the wind energy industry, the ins and outs of the construction of wind farms, and the possible fleecing of the national government as unscrupulous operators take advantage of federal subsidies for new energy sources--this being the trademark airing of local vs. federal issues that author Box works into most of his Wyoming-based novels. .Also a big part of the action in "Cold Wind" is renegade super hero, Nate Romanowski, who narrowly avoids an assassination attempt that kills his girlfriend and sets him on the road to bloody revenge. His place in the story eventually connects at the end of Joe Pickett's slow piecing together of a solution to the murder case.C.J. Box fans will not be disappointed with this clever and rapidly moving story that hits familiar touchstones and provides a satisfying conclusion. While you may not always agree with the political and social issues that Box drops into his novels, they reasonably represent the environment that the author writes about and are rarely uninteresting.This is a satisfying read that is hard to put down once started. Highly recommended.

This story has more twists than a Montana prairie rattlesnake. You won't guess where this is going. But it will cast doubts on where wind power is headed.

I like the descriptions of the area. I feel like I am there, although never having been to that area. I feel as though I know it as well as the author.

Once again a riveting tale . C J Box just gets better and better with each book . Must read rest of series - keep them coming CJ !!!

love all c j box books wish he could write 20 books a year

I really enjoyed this series .I hope there is another book on the wa