Nowhere to Run

Nowhere to Run
by C.J. Box

Joe's dedication to finding out the truth has caused him problems in his career. So many problems that Governor Spencer Rulon has hidden Joe out of sight as a temporary game warden in Baggs, Wyoming. Joe Pickett's exile from his family in Saddlestring is almost over. Only a few loose ends to tie up before he leaves Baggs and resumes his job as the game warden of Twelve Sleep County. Joe saddles up his horse and rides into the rugged Sierra Madre Mountains to check on reports of camps looted, tents slashed and elk butchered. As Joe explores the area he encounters an oddly dressed man fishing in a cirque. The man is wearing dirty jeans and an old, oversized flannel shirt with large red checks. This struck Joe as odd because it is not the clothing that most fishermen wear today. They prefer lightweight clothing that wicks away the moisture. Joe talks to the man and finds out that he doesn't have a license. He says that it's "back at camp". Joe follows him back to his camp and that's where he meets the man's twin brother. Joe has a bad feeling about the brothers. He toys with the idea of just leaving without giving Caleb Grim a citation. But Joe's innate sense of right and wrong won't let him walk away. This decision leads Joe into a violent confrontation with Caleb and Camish Grim. These characters, the brothers Grim, do not come from Box's imagination but from a true story that Box's game warden friend, Mark Nelson, told him. Nelson and another game warden were on a six-day packhorse trip in the Wind River Mountains checking fishermen for licenses and limits. One morning, far off the beaten path, they saw an oddly dressed man fishing in a small alpine lake. He wore dirty jeans and a red-checked flannel shirt. The man claimed to have a fishing license back at the camp. The game wardens followed him to his camp and met his twin brother. They gave the first brother a citation because he didn't have a fishing license. The other brother pulled a wad of bills out his pocket and immediately paid the fine. Both brothers gave off dangerous vibes and the game wardens were glad to leave. Nelson never heard about the brothers again. This is the tenth book in this engaging series. An environmental issue is woven into each plot. In addition to the human characters, Box also makes nature a character. Nature might take the form of a bone-chilling blizzard in the Big Horn Mountains or, as in this book, a nighttime escape from the Grim brothers down the forested mountainside. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the works of Joseph Heywood, Steve Hamilton or Nevada Barr.] -- recommended by Donna G. - Virtual Services Department

[Also available in Large Print format.]

[ official Nowhere to Run page on the official C.J. Box web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide web site. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.