Did you ever feel like you were being watched? Is that not the most scary feeling? Well I can tell you that not only are some hunters being watched, but they are being hunted. That's right, hunted.
Imagine you go out think that you are going to bag that next big deer and you are the receiving end. We aren't just talking shot. We are talking everything that a hunter does to his prey. When a hunter goes out for a hunt, he is dedicated and focused on the kill. When he does kill his elk, deer, whatever it is he is hunting, it is in the best interest to gut and bleed the animal out. By doing this, they string the deer up in a tree as to have all the blood run out and to make it easier. Now imagine if you will, you are with your buddies hunting and in different locations, you hear a shot thinking that one of them just killed a deer. Time goes by and you don't hear from them. So you go out in search of them and find them gutted and hung from the tree in the same fashion that a hunter would his prey. Then fear runs through your veins in hopes you can make it out alive.
That is when Joe Pickett gets his call. He is still working on a need to be basis and hopes that he will one day be a game warden. In the mean time he goes on the call to find out the worst of his fears has come true. Now how in the world do you track a serial killer who has killed several hunters and leaves virtually no trail? Well all except a poker chip. Being the status of this case, the governor and several other big wigs get involved not to mention a hunting activist who thinks it is absolutely barbaric to hunt. They decide to bring in a master guide and tracker with his dogs. Not only does the investigation get off to a rocky start, shortly into the search for the killer, 3 people are killed.
I have never been so engrossed in one of C.J. Box's story lines until this book. I must say thus far it has been a book that I have not been able to put down.
I cannot wait to see what the story line has in store with the main tracker killed as well as two other individuals involved in the investigation.
.......to be continued.......
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Part Four - Free Fire
As usual Joe has gotten way over his head with his investigation. His partner Ranger Demming was shot while pulling over another vehicle. A black SUV to be exact fitting the same description as the one that was seen leaving the area where her former colleague Ranger Cutler was killed. She radioed for back up and in doing so was nice to notice another ranger car coming for back up. As she is getting out of the vehicle so are the guys from the SUV. She was still a little apprehensive, but knowing there was back up she was able to hold it together. Until she was shot and left to die. She was sent to the local hospital but knowing this was no fluke with Culter being killed, Joe had her sent to another hospital with better security to help protect her.
Further into his investigation things just aren't adding up. People are finding out information that he just isn't sure how it is getting around since he was only working with Cutler who is now dead and Ranger Demming who was in a coma at another hospital. He calls in his old buddy Nate Romanowski to help assist in his investigation.
Meanwhile, his wife Marybeth and kids come out for a visit, which is just what Joe needed to help keep his mind off of everything that is going on. In sitting down with Nate and Marybeth, they do some thinking on what all this is about and why so many people are getting murdered. Well, they come to the conclusion that it is all about microbes that are being naturally produced in the park by one of the natural geysers. Apparently, there is a gas that is released and when lit, they are what they call "flamers." Some big wigs for an environmental agency are trying to get their hands on this and see what they can do. Well, environmentalists are getting in their way, which is resulting people getting killed, such as the first five in the beginning of the book, Cutler who was also a scientist and figured it all out and who all was involved. The shooting of Ranger Demming was just an accident.
With all that said, Joe and Nate figure out who all is involved, how, and why, makes a few phone calls, sets up a sting and manages to arrest all the guys that were involved, except for two, McCann, the lawyer who killed the five at the beginning of the story and a friend of those guys Olig. That I would guess was a murder suicide that set off an unexpected earthquake due to the disruption of one of these natural geysers.
This was a great read and as I have said before, read C.J. Box, you will be very pleased. Keep coming back as the next book in the series will be written up as well and that one is called Blood Trail.
Further into his investigation things just aren't adding up. People are finding out information that he just isn't sure how it is getting around since he was only working with Cutler who is now dead and Ranger Demming who was in a coma at another hospital. He calls in his old buddy Nate Romanowski to help assist in his investigation.
Meanwhile, his wife Marybeth and kids come out for a visit, which is just what Joe needed to help keep his mind off of everything that is going on. In sitting down with Nate and Marybeth, they do some thinking on what all this is about and why so many people are getting murdered. Well, they come to the conclusion that it is all about microbes that are being naturally produced in the park by one of the natural geysers. Apparently, there is a gas that is released and when lit, they are what they call "flamers." Some big wigs for an environmental agency are trying to get their hands on this and see what they can do. Well, environmentalists are getting in their way, which is resulting people getting killed, such as the first five in the beginning of the book, Cutler who was also a scientist and figured it all out and who all was involved. The shooting of Ranger Demming was just an accident.
With all that said, Joe and Nate figure out who all is involved, how, and why, makes a few phone calls, sets up a sting and manages to arrest all the guys that were involved, except for two, McCann, the lawyer who killed the five at the beginning of the story and a friend of those guys Olig. That I would guess was a murder suicide that set off an unexpected earthquake due to the disruption of one of these natural geysers.
This was a great read and as I have said before, read C.J. Box, you will be very pleased. Keep coming back as the next book in the series will be written up as well and that one is called Blood Trail.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Part Three - Free Fire
Joe is learning more and more pieces of the puzzle of this case. He is also learning more and more that he is not wanted or welcomed. He is walking on thin ice as him and his partner in this case that is helping him out.
In reading more on the case and doing some more research, he finds a man by the name of Mark Cutler. He is a very informed individual when it comes to the area and all the gysers in this area of Yellowstone National Park. He has studied these geysers for years. He is one of what they call a Zephyr employee, but when he is off the clock, he volunteers his time in checking the geysers and learning about them. In his rounds, he explains to Joe and his partner how the underground plumbing works and how a geyser could simply stop erupting in one corner of the park and a new geyser could shoot up miles away. He also explained to Joe about Bio-miners. As stated, biologists have come to this area because they have discovered thermofiles - microbes. These microbes are unique to anywhere else on earth. Apparently this area this a kind of biological perfect storm due to the combination of the hot water, the minerals, and the ecological isolation of the area.
The last geyser they go to is called Sunburst Hot Springs. As Cutler explains, it is called this because from the air, the runoff vents come off of it like spikes in all directions. Kind of like the way a kid draws sun beams on a sun. People have been illegally using this geyser as a hot spot. In other words, people have been using this as a natural whirl pool. It's about waist deep and clear.
In all these rounds, Joe found out various information about the case. On their way back to the station, they noticed that they were not the only ones on the back roads of the national park and they are aware of that. They just aren't sure who that person is and why they are being followed.
In reading more on the case and doing some more research, he finds a man by the name of Mark Cutler. He is a very informed individual when it comes to the area and all the gysers in this area of Yellowstone National Park. He has studied these geysers for years. He is one of what they call a Zephyr employee, but when he is off the clock, he volunteers his time in checking the geysers and learning about them. In his rounds, he explains to Joe and his partner how the underground plumbing works and how a geyser could simply stop erupting in one corner of the park and a new geyser could shoot up miles away. He also explained to Joe about Bio-miners. As stated, biologists have come to this area because they have discovered thermofiles - microbes. These microbes are unique to anywhere else on earth. Apparently this area this a kind of biological perfect storm due to the combination of the hot water, the minerals, and the ecological isolation of the area.
The last geyser they go to is called Sunburst Hot Springs. As Cutler explains, it is called this because from the air, the runoff vents come off of it like spikes in all directions. Kind of like the way a kid draws sun beams on a sun. People have been illegally using this geyser as a hot spot. In other words, people have been using this as a natural whirl pool. It's about waist deep and clear.
In all these rounds, Joe found out various information about the case. On their way back to the station, they noticed that they were not the only ones on the back roads of the national park and they are aware of that. They just aren't sure who that person is and why they are being followed.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Part Two - Free Fire
As we venture into part two of this book, Joe learns more about the case that he is sent to help out on. He also learns his place in all of this, at the very bottom and not very welcomed. This part of the book is not very long and nothing really exciting happens other than the little hike him and his partner go out on. They went to the ranger station that McCann checked in at before he went out that morning. They look at the signature log and find some information that was not stated in the report and decide to take a hike out to see the crime scene. With both on guard and aware that they could possibly be putting themselves in danger due to the fact that everyone is aware that this is an area that anyone can commit a crime and get away with it. With that said, they come upon the area that the environmentalists were camping and come across a man and his shotgun, but what none of them know is that Joe's friend Nate was hanging in the balance. The outcome was not very good, causing Joe's female partner who is a ranger in the park to be scared out of her mind and the shooter about killed.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Part One - Free Fire
The start of this book has pulled me in and has not let go or should I say I don't want to put it down. The setting for this book is still in Wyoming as the others, but this particular book takes place in Yellowstone National Park.
Before I get into details on part one, I want to give you a little information on Yellowstone as stated in the book. Yellowstone was conceived by the Hayden Expedition in 1871 as the world's first national park. It is a set aside of 2.2 million acres containing more than 10,000 thermal features, canyons, waterfalls, and wildlife. Some of the sights in the park are Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Lower and Upper Falls. As a kid, Joe used to go to Yellowstone every year with his family. It was his and his father's love for the park that made him want to be a game warden.
The start of the book takes place at Bechler River Ranger Station at Yellowstone National Park. Clay McCann walked into the ranger station fully armed with weapons announcing that he just brutally killed four campers by Robinson Lake. The ranger looks at him and tells him that law enforcement will be here any minute and does he want him to call him a lawyer. He looks up and says, "I am a lawyer."
Now lets back up a little bit. At the end of Plain Sight, Joe was fired. Well, he is currently working on his father-in-law's ranch as a foreman ranch hand. He and his wife Marybeth along with their two daughter's Sheridan and Lucy are staying there as well in the guest house. One day while working on the fencing, some government vehicles approach the property asking to speak to Joe. Joe goes back to the ranch house to find out what is going on. Well, they have a position for him that they need help with. They want him to go up to Yellowstone and help sort out the information on this murder that took place up there. Joe takes the information and tells him that he needs to talk to his family about this and will get back to him. Meanwhile, they give him the folder with all the information on the case. When the time is right, Joe talks to his wife and is pretty happy that she said yes. This is want he does, this is what he wants.
In reading into the information he asks his good friend Nate to join him. He tells him a little about the case. This guy, Clay McCann takes a hike into Yellowstone National Park armed with two SIG-Sauer P220 .45 ACP semiautomatic handguns and a Browning BT-99 Micro twelve-gauge shotgun. Basically, this guy goes into this one part of the park, kills four campers, walks out a free man three months later. The reasoning behind this is jurisdiction and venue, or what is called "vicinage." Joe explains that there is a hidden loophole in the federal law.
Yellowstone is broken down by boundaries. Boundaries drawn before Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana were granted statehood Joe goes on to explain. The square border of Wyoming, which contained more than 92% of the park, north into Montana and west into Idaho. There is approximately 260 square miles of Yellowstone in Montana, and approximately 50 in Idaho. There is no state law in Yellowstone, it is only Federal Law. Any crime that is committed there, the perpetrator is bound over under federal statues. The trial will take place either inside the park at a courthouse in Mammoth Hot Springs, or the federal district court over in Cheyenne. As stated in the book - "Article Three of the Constitution says the accused in entitled to a 'local trial,' meaning a venue in the state, and a 'jury trial' but does not say where the jury has to come from. The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution specifies a 'local jury trial' - that's the vicinage. With that said, the jury would have to be picked from the state Idaho and the district Wyoming because of the way the park overlaps into this area and these states. Being that no one lives in this area, there is no trial and the guy walks committing "the perfect crime." Sounds too good to be true. That is where Joe comes in.
Before I get into details on part one, I want to give you a little information on Yellowstone as stated in the book. Yellowstone was conceived by the Hayden Expedition in 1871 as the world's first national park. It is a set aside of 2.2 million acres containing more than 10,000 thermal features, canyons, waterfalls, and wildlife. Some of the sights in the park are Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Lower and Upper Falls. As a kid, Joe used to go to Yellowstone every year with his family. It was his and his father's love for the park that made him want to be a game warden.
The start of the book takes place at Bechler River Ranger Station at Yellowstone National Park. Clay McCann walked into the ranger station fully armed with weapons announcing that he just brutally killed four campers by Robinson Lake. The ranger looks at him and tells him that law enforcement will be here any minute and does he want him to call him a lawyer. He looks up and says, "I am a lawyer."
Now lets back up a little bit. At the end of Plain Sight, Joe was fired. Well, he is currently working on his father-in-law's ranch as a foreman ranch hand. He and his wife Marybeth along with their two daughter's Sheridan and Lucy are staying there as well in the guest house. One day while working on the fencing, some government vehicles approach the property asking to speak to Joe. Joe goes back to the ranch house to find out what is going on. Well, they have a position for him that they need help with. They want him to go up to Yellowstone and help sort out the information on this murder that took place up there. Joe takes the information and tells him that he needs to talk to his family about this and will get back to him. Meanwhile, they give him the folder with all the information on the case. When the time is right, Joe talks to his wife and is pretty happy that she said yes. This is want he does, this is what he wants.
In reading into the information he asks his good friend Nate to join him. He tells him a little about the case. This guy, Clay McCann takes a hike into Yellowstone National Park armed with two SIG-Sauer P220 .45 ACP semiautomatic handguns and a Browning BT-99 Micro twelve-gauge shotgun. Basically, this guy goes into this one part of the park, kills four campers, walks out a free man three months later. The reasoning behind this is jurisdiction and venue, or what is called "vicinage." Joe explains that there is a hidden loophole in the federal law.
Yellowstone is broken down by boundaries. Boundaries drawn before Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana were granted statehood Joe goes on to explain. The square border of Wyoming, which contained more than 92% of the park, north into Montana and west into Idaho. There is approximately 260 square miles of Yellowstone in Montana, and approximately 50 in Idaho. There is no state law in Yellowstone, it is only Federal Law. Any crime that is committed there, the perpetrator is bound over under federal statues. The trial will take place either inside the park at a courthouse in Mammoth Hot Springs, or the federal district court over in Cheyenne. As stated in the book - "Article Three of the Constitution says the accused in entitled to a 'local trial,' meaning a venue in the state, and a 'jury trial' but does not say where the jury has to come from. The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution specifies a 'local jury trial' - that's the vicinage. With that said, the jury would have to be picked from the state Idaho and the district Wyoming because of the way the park overlaps into this area and these states. Being that no one lives in this area, there is no trial and the guy walks committing "the perfect crime." Sounds too good to be true. That is where Joe comes in.
June - In Plain Sight
It is said that when it comes to the Scarlett brother's, you're either for Arlen or for Hank. There is a third brother, but people usually leave him to his own business.
Joe's wife was asked by Arlen Scarlett to work for him as Marybeth has her own accounting business. Joe wasn't happy about this as he wasn't for or against one over the other.
When Marybeth was with Arlen, she saw that he was a little distracted. He kept looking at his phone. When he got a phone call, he about jumped out of his skin. He stepped outside to talk to his lawyer. Marybeth looked on from inside the office. When Arlen came back, he burst through the door yelling, "there was a secret will." Apparently Opal liked to play Hank against Arlen and they both thought they were going to get the ranch. This secret will that his lawyer found, states that Arlen will be getting the ranch.
At the Scarlett wing of the Twelve Sleep County Historical Society, Joe could see all the pro-Arlen and pro-Hank followers.
It was also at the ceremony that Joe recognized someone. That someone is Bill Monroe. The same guy that beat the crap out of Joe earlier in the book.
In doing his daily rounds, he heard the pop of a shot gun. Grabbing his binoculars, he saw a man step out from behind the door and wave. Bill Monroe. Antelope season was four months away.
Joe needs to get to the bottom of all this and figure out what all this is about. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Bill Monroe or should I say John Keeley is making himself known. Telling Hank who he really was and stopped Hank in his tracks. Watching him like a hawk and just as he was about to turn around, John Keeley cut Hank's throat open.
As Joe and his buddy Nate approach the bank of the ranch via their boat, Nate notices someone standing in the rain. It was Opal. As they walked further up the bank, part of the embankment collapsed into the river. Noticing something, Nate walks over and notices the bumper of a car. Opal's Cadillac.
Walking through the house, they heard a moan from under the floor. Recalling a cellar door, the guys go outside. Recognizing the moan as they got close and realizing it was Wyatt Scarlett, the youngest brother. What Joe saw next was very surprising, a taxidermy studio.
Wyatt sat on the floor holding his brother Arlen's head in his lap, but he was clearly dead. Lying next to him was a man's entire arm. Joe asked Wyatt what happened. All he said is that his brother's are dead. Joe asked him who did this and all Wyatt said was Bill Monroe. He asked him where he is and he didn't know and then asked him if that was his arm.
Following the trail of blood, he found John Keeley slumped on the floor in the barn. After a few exchanges of words even I was shocked at what Joe did. He slowly raised his gun to John's head and pulled the trigger.
The ranch house and barn go up in flames killing all the brother's and also resulting in Joe loosing his job as the Twelve Sleep County game warden. With all this unfolding at the end of the book and as the next one in line awaits as a continuation of this one, I am curious to see what lies ahead for Joe since he is no longer the game warden.
Joe's wife was asked by Arlen Scarlett to work for him as Marybeth has her own accounting business. Joe wasn't happy about this as he wasn't for or against one over the other.
When Marybeth was with Arlen, she saw that he was a little distracted. He kept looking at his phone. When he got a phone call, he about jumped out of his skin. He stepped outside to talk to his lawyer. Marybeth looked on from inside the office. When Arlen came back, he burst through the door yelling, "there was a secret will." Apparently Opal liked to play Hank against Arlen and they both thought they were going to get the ranch. This secret will that his lawyer found, states that Arlen will be getting the ranch.
At the Scarlett wing of the Twelve Sleep County Historical Society, Joe could see all the pro-Arlen and pro-Hank followers.
It was also at the ceremony that Joe recognized someone. That someone is Bill Monroe. The same guy that beat the crap out of Joe earlier in the book.
In doing his daily rounds, he heard the pop of a shot gun. Grabbing his binoculars, he saw a man step out from behind the door and wave. Bill Monroe. Antelope season was four months away.
Joe needs to get to the bottom of all this and figure out what all this is about. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Bill Monroe or should I say John Keeley is making himself known. Telling Hank who he really was and stopped Hank in his tracks. Watching him like a hawk and just as he was about to turn around, John Keeley cut Hank's throat open.
As Joe and his buddy Nate approach the bank of the ranch via their boat, Nate notices someone standing in the rain. It was Opal. As they walked further up the bank, part of the embankment collapsed into the river. Noticing something, Nate walks over and notices the bumper of a car. Opal's Cadillac.
Walking through the house, they heard a moan from under the floor. Recalling a cellar door, the guys go outside. Recognizing the moan as they got close and realizing it was Wyatt Scarlett, the youngest brother. What Joe saw next was very surprising, a taxidermy studio.
Wyatt sat on the floor holding his brother Arlen's head in his lap, but he was clearly dead. Lying next to him was a man's entire arm. Joe asked Wyatt what happened. All he said is that his brother's are dead. Joe asked him who did this and all Wyatt said was Bill Monroe. He asked him where he is and he didn't know and then asked him if that was his arm.
Following the trail of blood, he found John Keeley slumped on the floor in the barn. After a few exchanges of words even I was shocked at what Joe did. He slowly raised his gun to John's head and pulled the trigger.
The ranch house and barn go up in flames killing all the brother's and also resulting in Joe loosing his job as the Twelve Sleep County game warden. With all this unfolding at the end of the book and as the next one in line awaits as a continuation of this one, I am curious to see what lies ahead for Joe since he is no longer the game warden.
Friday, July 1, 2011
May - In Plain Sight
A month after Opal Scarlett was reported missing, her body still hasn't been found. The question around town is where is she? So far, they still believe it was Tommy Wayman who threw her in. Some believe that as stubborn as she is, she swam to shore and is in hiding.
With the disappearance of Opal, the Thunderhead Ranch is in shambles if you will and sides and feuds amongst the brothers is heating up.
Did you ever feel like you were being watched? Joe has the same feeling and that feeling came true when there was a noise outside. The oldest daughter opened the door to find a Miller's weasel stuck to the front door with a steak knife. Of course this has Joe puzzled. With all of these books referencing back to other event's in earlier books, this was an animal that Joe dealt with and looks at all the people that he dealt with about the Miller's weasel.
The time came for Sheridan to have a sleepover at the Thunderhead Ranch, where her best friend lives. Joe was not very happy about it with so much going on between the Scarlett brother's. Sheridan was excited about the sleepover but when it came time to go to bed, she was having a hard time sleeping. After a while, she decided to get up and go to the bathroom. She saw a light on downstairs. She heard some voices outside and it was her friend's Uncle Arlen and Bill Monroe. The kitchen looked like someone was making a sandwich. She also noticed that the sharp knife in the kitchen matched the one that was stuck in the front door with the Miller's weasel. AS the voices got closer, she panicked, grabbed the sharp knife, some water, and just as she was walking out of the kitchen, in walked her friend's Uncle Arlen and his friend Bill Monroe.
The name sound familiar to Sheridan as that was the name of the man who beat up her dad and worked for Hank Scarlett. This puzzled Sheridan as Hand and Arlen both lived on the ranch but on different parts of the property.
The next morning, Sheridan woke up but Julie was still sleeping. She took the binoculars that were on Julie's dresser and looked outside. She was very surprised to see a slightly smiling face of a woman. It was Opal Scarlett.
A few days later, Joe went outside to get the paper and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Looking around, he noticed four elk heads mounted on the fence posts in his front yard. Who is doing this and why?
With the disappearance of Opal, the Thunderhead Ranch is in shambles if you will and sides and feuds amongst the brothers is heating up.
Did you ever feel like you were being watched? Joe has the same feeling and that feeling came true when there was a noise outside. The oldest daughter opened the door to find a Miller's weasel stuck to the front door with a steak knife. Of course this has Joe puzzled. With all of these books referencing back to other event's in earlier books, this was an animal that Joe dealt with and looks at all the people that he dealt with about the Miller's weasel.
The time came for Sheridan to have a sleepover at the Thunderhead Ranch, where her best friend lives. Joe was not very happy about it with so much going on between the Scarlett brother's. Sheridan was excited about the sleepover but when it came time to go to bed, she was having a hard time sleeping. After a while, she decided to get up and go to the bathroom. She saw a light on downstairs. She heard some voices outside and it was her friend's Uncle Arlen and Bill Monroe. The kitchen looked like someone was making a sandwich. She also noticed that the sharp knife in the kitchen matched the one that was stuck in the front door with the Miller's weasel. AS the voices got closer, she panicked, grabbed the sharp knife, some water, and just as she was walking out of the kitchen, in walked her friend's Uncle Arlen and his friend Bill Monroe.
The name sound familiar to Sheridan as that was the name of the man who beat up her dad and worked for Hank Scarlett. This puzzled Sheridan as Hand and Arlen both lived on the ranch but on different parts of the property.
The next morning, Sheridan woke up but Julie was still sleeping. She took the binoculars that were on Julie's dresser and looked outside. She was very surprised to see a slightly smiling face of a woman. It was Opal Scarlett.
A few days later, Joe went outside to get the paper and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Looking around, he noticed four elk heads mounted on the fence posts in his front yard. Who is doing this and why?
Monday, May 16, 2011
April - In Plain Sight
I love how C.J. splits up his book besides the chapters. This will make my postings even better. This book is broken up by months.
The beginning of the book In Plain Sight, the sixth in the years begins in the month of April. Now given that this part of the book only has seven chapters, quite a bit happens in that time frame and all of it makes you want to just keep reading to find out what part each character will carry out in the rest of the book.
As you all know these books take place in Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming. One of the local ranch owners, Opal Scarlett vanishes. No one knows what happened to her and I really don't think that very many people care, in fact, they are happy. She owns a pretty large ranch in Twelve Sleep and this ranch backed up to a river. In response to her disappearance has caused all kinds of hiatus amongst her three sons, well really only two as the other is oblivious to it all. Every spring and summer, guides would come down the river in their boats with customers and they would show them the best parts of the river to fish. Well, Miss Opal thought that she would make some money off of all of these guides. She would charge them a fee to go down the river. She new that it was illegal to do so. As quoted from the book, "it was perfectly legal for anyone to float in a boat through private land as long as the boaters didn't stop and get out or pull the boat up to shore and trespass. The land belonged to the landowner, but the river belonged to the public." It was okay for the landowner to charge a fee for access to the river over the private property, but as I stated, it was illegal to charge for simply floating through private land. So in order for her to bide by the law, she would stand on the bank near her home and cry out as if she was in trouble. The guides would pull over and get out to see what was wrong and she would collect her fee for coming onto her land. She would charge anywhere from $5 to $20 per person in each boat. It was said that she collected enough money from the float fees, she would buy herself a new Cadillac at the end of every summer. Now that is a lot of money. Anyway, that is just one big part of the puzzle of this book.
Another part of the puzzle is a guy by the name of John Wayne Keeley. He is making a trek from down south all the way up to Wyoming as he has some unsettled business to take care of. He stole a car from Georgia to get to a penitentiary in Rawlins, Wyoming where he manages to kill someone with some tobacco laced with pesticide, steals a truck from an eldery couple all in hopes to find one person, Joe Pickett.
Now like I said, April was a pretty busy month with one person taken into custody for the disappearance for Opal Scarlett as he claims that he threw her in the river after she tied a piece of wire across the river slicing his neck open to get even with some of the guides going down river without paying their so called, "floaters fees."
Now we do learn in chapter 7 that the guy killed in prison, Wacey Hedeman was also the same guy that shot Joe's wife in the stomach back in the first novel by C. J. Box.
Can't wait to see how all these different pieces of the puzzle come together in the end.
The beginning of the book In Plain Sight, the sixth in the years begins in the month of April. Now given that this part of the book only has seven chapters, quite a bit happens in that time frame and all of it makes you want to just keep reading to find out what part each character will carry out in the rest of the book.
As you all know these books take place in Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming. One of the local ranch owners, Opal Scarlett vanishes. No one knows what happened to her and I really don't think that very many people care, in fact, they are happy. She owns a pretty large ranch in Twelve Sleep and this ranch backed up to a river. In response to her disappearance has caused all kinds of hiatus amongst her three sons, well really only two as the other is oblivious to it all. Every spring and summer, guides would come down the river in their boats with customers and they would show them the best parts of the river to fish. Well, Miss Opal thought that she would make some money off of all of these guides. She would charge them a fee to go down the river. She new that it was illegal to do so. As quoted from the book, "it was perfectly legal for anyone to float in a boat through private land as long as the boaters didn't stop and get out or pull the boat up to shore and trespass. The land belonged to the landowner, but the river belonged to the public." It was okay for the landowner to charge a fee for access to the river over the private property, but as I stated, it was illegal to charge for simply floating through private land. So in order for her to bide by the law, she would stand on the bank near her home and cry out as if she was in trouble. The guides would pull over and get out to see what was wrong and she would collect her fee for coming onto her land. She would charge anywhere from $5 to $20 per person in each boat. It was said that she collected enough money from the float fees, she would buy herself a new Cadillac at the end of every summer. Now that is a lot of money. Anyway, that is just one big part of the puzzle of this book.
Another part of the puzzle is a guy by the name of John Wayne Keeley. He is making a trek from down south all the way up to Wyoming as he has some unsettled business to take care of. He stole a car from Georgia to get to a penitentiary in Rawlins, Wyoming where he manages to kill someone with some tobacco laced with pesticide, steals a truck from an eldery couple all in hopes to find one person, Joe Pickett.
Now like I said, April was a pretty busy month with one person taken into custody for the disappearance for Opal Scarlett as he claims that he threw her in the river after she tied a piece of wire across the river slicing his neck open to get even with some of the guides going down river without paying their so called, "floaters fees."
Now we do learn in chapter 7 that the guy killed in prison, Wacey Hedeman was also the same guy that shot Joe's wife in the stomach back in the first novel by C. J. Box.
Can't wait to see how all these different pieces of the puzzle come together in the end.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Time tells all
We all know that when you watch a movie or read a good book, there are always new characters that are introduced. Some are good, funny, interesting, while others we know are going to throw a monkey wrench in the story line. There were several new characters brought into this story mixed in with the other mishaps and mysterious happens makes you wonder if they are good or evil. Reading this book, I was always second guessing if they were part of the scheme of the story or what. Well, let me tell you, it was awesome trying to figure that out.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Summary II - Out of Range
As Joe starts his new assignment in a new county, first he must help his supervisor take care of a 450-pound grizzly bear that was named bear 304. They got the bear into a trap, but what happens next is something that I would not want to encounter. They shot the bear with a tranquilizer gun and waited ten minutes. Neither one of them could tell if the bear was a sleep or not. The bear's eyes were still reflecting the light and was still drooling. Both Joe and his supervisor got out of the truck and went up to the bear trap. They shone their flashlight on the bear and not only did the bear blink, but also turned his head away from the light, but it's when they realize that the lock on the gate didn't work that they were in some serious trouble. The bear roared and charged through the gate with such force that gate blew open. Now mind you Joe was on his way to a new job that he was to start the next day. They spent the next three days driving around trying to find the bear. Just when they thought their luck was over with, the receiver on the bear's collar chirped. The bear came back. They went out in search for the animal, but what Joe does being a game warden even surprises me. He is standing ten feet away from the grizzly, staring him in the eyes. He raises his shotgun, but Joe can't pull the trigger? I could just imagine what that felt like and hopefully I won't have to ever find that out.
Well the bear does get taken down, but by his supervisor. Joe continues on his way to his new assignment and the new office is not happy that he is late. Joe pretty much hits the ground running. Not able to talk to his wife, who needlessly is not happy right now that he has not checked in yet. Joe gets to his new office, which belongs to the old game warden who took his life and just can't put two and two together on what is wrong with the office, but sits down anyway to kind of figure out where Will left off. He gets a phone call from the receptionist saying that there are some people setting up camp in the middle of an elk refuge. As Joe approaches the camp it seems that these people are no strangers to the area. The previous game warden has arrested them a time ro two for their antics. They of course are animal rights activists who don't feel the need for hunters. Knowing that they are out numbered with all the hunters, Joe offers to take them down to their car as the camping gear they had was not suitable for overnight camping. I'm thinking they were actually hoping to get arrested for publicity on their part.
Well the bear does get taken down, but by his supervisor. Joe continues on his way to his new assignment and the new office is not happy that he is late. Joe pretty much hits the ground running. Not able to talk to his wife, who needlessly is not happy right now that he has not checked in yet. Joe gets to his new office, which belongs to the old game warden who took his life and just can't put two and two together on what is wrong with the office, but sits down anyway to kind of figure out where Will left off. He gets a phone call from the receptionist saying that there are some people setting up camp in the middle of an elk refuge. As Joe approaches the camp it seems that these people are no strangers to the area. The previous game warden has arrested them a time ro two for their antics. They of course are animal rights activists who don't feel the need for hunters. Knowing that they are out numbered with all the hunters, Joe offers to take them down to their car as the camping gear they had was not suitable for overnight camping. I'm thinking they were actually hoping to get arrested for publicity on their part.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Out of Range - Summary 1
Well, I finally started the next book in the Joe Pickett series, Out of Range. I'm currently on chapter six of the book. Talk about a beginning that really pulls you in from the get go and hasn't let go yet. It first starts off with a game warden cooking and eating dinner and then leads into the man taking his own life. Well, naturally it leads you to believe that it is the main game warden.
On a brighter note, the next five chapters takes you to a wedding of Joe's mother-in-law on a beautiful ranch setting of the Bighorn Mountains. While having dinner at the reception they get the news that a game warden from Jackson Hole was found dead in his home and it looked like a suicide. Game warden Jensen was a friend of theirs and they just couldn't figure out what happened. After some drinking, eating, dancing, and partying, they are on their way home not knowing that a possible new future is in their view.
As most people assume, Joe works out of a Game and Fish Department building, but all reality, Joe has an office in his house. As the rest of the family changes out of their wedding attire, Joe goes into his office to see if he has any messages. Joe had three messages waiting for him. The first one was from a ranching calling to complain of the elk coming down from the mountains eating his hay and wondering when the fencing was going to be put up. The second phone call was an odd one. It was a gentleman with heavy breathing and faint music in the background. Joe can't figure out who it is or why he is getting these phone calls. The third in the past month. The third phone call was from Joe's Supervisor, Trey Crump. He was calling and confirming the death of the game warden from Jackson Hole. Along with that, he is needing someone to fill in for the up coming elk season. He put in a recommendation for a game warden and he recommended Joe. One of the other warden's he requested was Will Jensen, but since he decided to take his own life, he has called Joe to see if he would like to come up.
The rest of the Sunday was spent tieing up loose ends before heading out to the Jackson Hole. This includes packing bags, the truck, and meeting with Nate Romanowski, a friend of Joe's. On his way to Jackson, he is interrupted from Trey saying that he needs to meet Joe as there is a grizzly bear problem and he needs Joe's help.
Well, that's where I leave you for now. I'm curious as you are wondering more about the mysterious phone calls, the grizzly bear, as well as the investigation on to why Will Jensen took his own life.
On a brighter note, the next five chapters takes you to a wedding of Joe's mother-in-law on a beautiful ranch setting of the Bighorn Mountains. While having dinner at the reception they get the news that a game warden from Jackson Hole was found dead in his home and it looked like a suicide. Game warden Jensen was a friend of theirs and they just couldn't figure out what happened. After some drinking, eating, dancing, and partying, they are on their way home not knowing that a possible new future is in their view.
As most people assume, Joe works out of a Game and Fish Department building, but all reality, Joe has an office in his house. As the rest of the family changes out of their wedding attire, Joe goes into his office to see if he has any messages. Joe had three messages waiting for him. The first one was from a ranching calling to complain of the elk coming down from the mountains eating his hay and wondering when the fencing was going to be put up. The second phone call was an odd one. It was a gentleman with heavy breathing and faint music in the background. Joe can't figure out who it is or why he is getting these phone calls. The third in the past month. The third phone call was from Joe's Supervisor, Trey Crump. He was calling and confirming the death of the game warden from Jackson Hole. Along with that, he is needing someone to fill in for the up coming elk season. He put in a recommendation for a game warden and he recommended Joe. One of the other warden's he requested was Will Jensen, but since he decided to take his own life, he has called Joe to see if he would like to come up.
The rest of the Sunday was spent tieing up loose ends before heading out to the Jackson Hole. This includes packing bags, the truck, and meeting with Nate Romanowski, a friend of Joe's. On his way to Jackson, he is interrupted from Trey saying that he needs to meet Joe as there is a grizzly bear problem and he needs Joe's help.
Well, that's where I leave you for now. I'm curious as you are wondering more about the mysterious phone calls, the grizzly bear, as well as the investigation on to why Will Jensen took his own life.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Summary
I don't know exactly how I came upon the current author I'm reading, C. J. Box, but I sure am glad I did. I love the outdoors and I love a good murder mystery and his Joe Pickett series is the best of both worlds sort of speak. He currently has 11 books out and I'm on the 4th of the series.
The first book of the series is Open Season. Joe Pickett is first introduced into this edge of your seat thriller with many twists and turns. Just when you think you have it all figured out on what is going on, you get pulled into another direction. Besides the murder that takes place in the story, the endangered species issue is well written into the plot of this book.
The second book in the series is Savage Run. Exploding cows that also takes out a newlywed couple is only part of the many exciting parts of this murderous twist. Some of the murders in a shooting spree that crisscrosses across the U.S. include a lawyer, a writer, and a lobbyist, all of which are enviromentalists. All the people killed have a powerful position.
The third book in the series is Winterkill. Due to the events that are happening, a high-ranking forest official is brought in for the investigation of the District Supervisor for the Twelve Sleep National Forest. Not only was he killed, but he was left stuck to a tree with hunting arrows. You would think that the death of this man would be the center of the plot, but it isn't. It all centers around a steak out a piece of land on Battle Mountain. This definitely is a must read for all murder mystery lovers as well as the rest of the Joe Pickett series.
The fourth book in this series is Trophy Hunt. By the name of the book and given the fact that the main character is a game warden one would thing this is about the one that is meant to be mounted on the wall. Well this story line is along a whole different aspect. We are talking mutilations of animals and humans. What could be causing this? Aliens, people, a beast of a bear? There are many twists and turns on trying to figure out what the cause of the mutilations of a moose and cows with no evidence of preditor or clues on who did it. When two men are found dead the same way the moose and cattle are killed, a task force is formed, but with Joe goes his own way to find out what is tearing his town apart.
The first book of the series is Open Season. Joe Pickett is first introduced into this edge of your seat thriller with many twists and turns. Just when you think you have it all figured out on what is going on, you get pulled into another direction. Besides the murder that takes place in the story, the endangered species issue is well written into the plot of this book.
The second book in the series is Savage Run. Exploding cows that also takes out a newlywed couple is only part of the many exciting parts of this murderous twist. Some of the murders in a shooting spree that crisscrosses across the U.S. include a lawyer, a writer, and a lobbyist, all of which are enviromentalists. All the people killed have a powerful position.
The third book in the series is Winterkill. Due to the events that are happening, a high-ranking forest official is brought in for the investigation of the District Supervisor for the Twelve Sleep National Forest. Not only was he killed, but he was left stuck to a tree with hunting arrows. You would think that the death of this man would be the center of the plot, but it isn't. It all centers around a steak out a piece of land on Battle Mountain. This definitely is a must read for all murder mystery lovers as well as the rest of the Joe Pickett series.
The fourth book in this series is Trophy Hunt. By the name of the book and given the fact that the main character is a game warden one would thing this is about the one that is meant to be mounted on the wall. Well this story line is along a whole different aspect. We are talking mutilations of animals and humans. What could be causing this? Aliens, people, a beast of a bear? There are many twists and turns on trying to figure out what the cause of the mutilations of a moose and cows with no evidence of preditor or clues on who did it. When two men are found dead the same way the moose and cattle are killed, a task force is formed, but with Joe goes his own way to find out what is tearing his town apart.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
What's in a title?
Sitting in front of my semi-large collection of books, I sort through all the titles and it makes me wonder, where or how did they come up with the titles they have. I've got authors like James Patterson, C.J. Box, Patricia Cornwell, Dean Koontz, Tess Gerritsen, Lisa Black just to name a few. As I mentioned before Patricia Cornwell has a title of her book The Body Farm, which is a fiction story of her main character Kay Scarpetta touring the body farm. One of her books that I have not read yet, but found doing some research is called Port Mortuary. It is an actual place that is on Dover Air Force Base. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/excerpt-patricia-cornwells-port-mortuary/story?id=12266046. This is a link of an interview Patricia did on GMA talking about her book. I have also supplied a link that talks more about this place. It's pretty interesting. http://www.mortuary.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15361.
I have a few books from an author John Sanford. I have heard good things about his books, although I have never read his books yet. I did notice that all his books have prey in the title. For example, Rules of Prey, Shadow of Prey, Eyes of Prey, just to name a few. here is a link of his books if you would like to check out his series. http://www.johnsandford.org/faq.html
It's pretty interesting how authors come to title their books and sometimes after reading it, you still are left puzzled on how they came up with that title while others it is pretty obvious. I will continue to wonder when reading a book how they do come up with the titles of their books as I'm sure it's not easy.
I have a few books from an author John Sanford. I have heard good things about his books, although I have never read his books yet. I did notice that all his books have prey in the title. For example, Rules of Prey, Shadow of Prey, Eyes of Prey, just to name a few. here is a link of his books if you would like to check out his series. http://www.johnsandford.org/faq.html
It's pretty interesting how authors come to title their books and sometimes after reading it, you still are left puzzled on how they came up with that title while others it is pretty obvious. I will continue to wonder when reading a book how they do come up with the titles of their books as I'm sure it's not easy.
Monday, April 4, 2011
The Body Farm
The Body Farm, although a title to one of the greatest forensic authors, Patricia Cornwell, is also a well known place located on the campus of University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The body farm was created by another well known author and professor of the University of Tennessee, Dr. William M. Bass in 1971. Dr. Bass is one of the most famous American anthropologists in his field.
Over the years, this has become the place for researchers everywhere, including Patricia Cornwell. The body farm at UT Knoxville was the only one of it's kind until a few years ago when other colleges have opened their own facilities, It helps document postmortem changes in various elements, both controlled and natural environments; as the body does decompose in various elements, such as sun, water, cold, etc and based on insect activity.
The body farm is a 2.5 acre facility that is well hidden and well protected by razor wire fence. There are several ways these bodies have come to the facility. They are either donated by their families and are pre-registered with the facility, while others are donated by the medical examiner's office as they are never identified. On average, about 60% of the bodies are from family members that were not pre-registered. Over 100 bodies are donated each year.
I must admit, when I first heard of this place when living in Knoxville, I seriously did not believe that it existed. It is a well protected area. It is located behind UT Medical Center in downtown Knoxville. Some have said you can see it from the highway, but I never have. Some of the links below from where I got some of my information, actually have some pictures (not a whole lot) of the body farm.
Dr. Bass has several forensic books out that I have read, though fiction, take place in East TN and are based off the body farm. http://www.jeffersonbass.com/books.html
For more information on this facility, please follow the following links.
http://www.jeffersonbass.com/videos.html
http://web.utk.edu/~fac/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_farm
http://www.vbs.tv/watch/motherboard/the-body-farm (actual interview with Dr. Bass and glimpses of the body farm and very informative information on the concept of the body farm).
Over the years, this has become the place for researchers everywhere, including Patricia Cornwell. The body farm at UT Knoxville was the only one of it's kind until a few years ago when other colleges have opened their own facilities, It helps document postmortem changes in various elements, both controlled and natural environments; as the body does decompose in various elements, such as sun, water, cold, etc and based on insect activity.
The body farm is a 2.5 acre facility that is well hidden and well protected by razor wire fence. There are several ways these bodies have come to the facility. They are either donated by their families and are pre-registered with the facility, while others are donated by the medical examiner's office as they are never identified. On average, about 60% of the bodies are from family members that were not pre-registered. Over 100 bodies are donated each year.
I must admit, when I first heard of this place when living in Knoxville, I seriously did not believe that it existed. It is a well protected area. It is located behind UT Medical Center in downtown Knoxville. Some have said you can see it from the highway, but I never have. Some of the links below from where I got some of my information, actually have some pictures (not a whole lot) of the body farm.
Dr. Bass has several forensic books out that I have read, though fiction, take place in East TN and are based off the body farm. http://www.jeffersonbass.com/books.html
For more information on this facility, please follow the following links.
http://www.jeffersonbass.com/videos.html
http://web.utk.edu/~fac/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_farm
http://www.vbs.tv/watch/motherboard/the-body-farm (actual interview with Dr. Bass and glimpses of the body farm and very informative information on the concept of the body farm).
Friday, April 1, 2011
Captured on the big screen
When I get into a good book, I often times wonder who I would pick to play the main character. As for the series I'm reading now from C. J. Box, I'm not quiet sure yet who I would have play the various characters. As much as I love to read Patricia Cornwell, I'm not sure I would like to see those as a made for T.V. movie or even a big screen movie. There are times when a book comes to life, it can ruin your impression of that character. There is however, one author who has had her character's come to life on T.V. I was not aware of this at first as it was years ago that I read one of her books. I love crime dramas, especially when one of the main character's is a medical examiner. I stumbled upon one one evening that is on TNT called Rizzoli & Isles. These character's were brought to life from an author named Tess Gerritsen. Like I said, I've read only one or two of her books in the past. In reading the credits during one of the shows, it said that the characters were characters taken from the books by Tess Gerritsen. After the first episode I was hooked.
The two main characters are Dr. Maura Isles, medical examiner and detective Jane Rizzoli. I love the portrayal these two have played out. I don't know about you, but when I think of a medical examiner, I'm not really picturing someone with stilettos on and designer dresses, although I must say it fits her character well and sure would love to have her sense of style. Who says you can't look nice even though you are working with dead people all day. Anyone who can spend 8+ hours on their feet in those things gets an A+ in my book. When I do get a chance, I would love to go back and read some of her books. If you haven't seen the show and would like to learn more, follow the link and check it out. http://www.tnt.tv/series/rizzoliandisles/.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
We all have our favorite kinds of books and our favorite authors that we love to follow. Well me, I have several authors that I love to read. Granted they are all murder mysteries, but they all have their own style. Patricia Cornwell has Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner in Virginia as her main character in most of her books and C.J. Box has Joe Pickett, a game warden in the state of Wyoming as his main character just to name a few. Whether it is a series of books with a main character that is like a mini series of books or just a stand alone book, I enjoy them all. I've read many Patricia Cornwell and although I have yet to read everyone of her books, my goal is to one day.
Currently I am reading a series by C.J. Box. I'm not sure how I stumbled upon his books, but I am sure glad I did. Like all good books, it pulls you in and won't let go. There are a total of 11 books in his "Joe Pickett" series and I am currently on the 4th book, Trophy Hunt. Like I said, Joe Pickett is a game warden for Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming. He's help solve murders in the first three books and is currently trying to solve a mystery on why cows are being mutilated and left for dead. I won't go in the gory details of how the cows are being mutilated, I guess you'll have to read it for yourself to find out, but don't forget, you will need to start with the first book, Open Season.
Currently I am reading a series by C.J. Box. I'm not sure how I stumbled upon his books, but I am sure glad I did. Like all good books, it pulls you in and won't let go. There are a total of 11 books in his "Joe Pickett" series and I am currently on the 4th book, Trophy Hunt. Like I said, Joe Pickett is a game warden for Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming. He's help solve murders in the first three books and is currently trying to solve a mystery on why cows are being mutilated and left for dead. I won't go in the gory details of how the cows are being mutilated, I guess you'll have to read it for yourself to find out, but don't forget, you will need to start with the first book, Open Season.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
