C. J. Box

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About C. J. Box

C. J. Box is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over twenty-two novels including the Joe Pickett series. He won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel (Blue Heaven, 2009) as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, the Barry Award (twice), the Western Heritage Award for Literature, and 2017 Spur Award for Best Contemporary Western. The novels have been translated into 27 languages. Open Season, Blue Heaven, Nowhere To Run, and The Highway have been optioned for film and television. Millions of copies of his novels have been sold in the U.S. alone.

Box is a Wyoming native and has worked as a ranch hand, surveyor, fishing guide, a small town newspaper reporter and editor, and he owned an international tourism marketing firm with his wife Laurie. In 2008, Box was awarded the "BIG WYO" Award from the state tourism industry. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He served on the Board of Directors for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo and is currently serving on the Wyoming Tourism Board. He lives in Wyoming.

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Titles By C. J. Box

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Dark Sky (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 21) Mar 2, 2021

by C. J. Box

( 7,354 )

$14.99

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett must accompany a Silicon Valley CEO on a hunting trip--but soon learns that he himself may be the hunted--in the thrilling new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box.

When the governor of Wyoming gives Joe Pickett the thankless task of taking a tech baron on an elk hunting trip, Joe reluctantly treks into the wilderness with his high-profile charge. But as they venture into the woods, a man-hunter is hot on their heels, driven by a desire for revenge. Finding himself without a weapon, a horse, or a way to communicate, Joe must rely on his wits and his knowledge of the outdoors to protect himself and his companion.

Meanwhile, Joe's closest friend, Nate Romanowski, and his own daughter Sheridan learn of the threat to Joe's life and follow him into the woods. In a stunning final showdown, the three of them come up against the worst that nature--and man--have to offer.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Audio CD

Open Season (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 1) May 7, 2002

by C. J. Box

( 3,615 )

$9.99

The first novel in the thrilling series featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett from #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box.

Joe Pickett is the new game warden in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming, a town where nearly everyone hunts and the game warden—especially one like Joe who won't take bribes or look the other way—is far from popular. When he finds a local hunting outfitter dead, splayed out on the woodpile behind his state-owned home, he takes it personally. There had to be a reason that the outfitter, with whom he's had run-ins before, chose his backyard, his woodpile to die in. Even after the "outfitter murders," as they have been dubbed by the local press after the discovery of the two more bodies, are solved, Joe continues to investigate, uneasy with the easy explanation offered by the local police.

As Joe digs deeper into the murders, he soon discovers that the outfitter brought more than death to his backdoor: he brought Joe an endangered species, thought to be extinct, which is now living in his woodpile. But if word of the existence of this endangered species gets out, it will destroy any chance of InterWest, a multi-national natural gas company, building an oil pipeline that would bring the company billions of dollars across Wyoming, through the mountains and forests of Twelve Sleep. The closer Joe comes to the truth behind the outfitter murders, the endangered species and InterWest, the closer he comes to losing everything he holds dear.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

Long Range (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 20) Mar 3, 2020

by C. J. Box

( 4,711 )

$9.99

"Impressive precision and heart-gripping suspense....Good characters, an extra good story, and great scenes of life and death in the wilderness"--New York Times Book Review

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett must investigate an attempted murder--a crime committed from a confoundingly long distance--in the riveting new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box.

When Joe Pickett is asked to join the rescue efforts for the victim of a startling grizzly attack, he reluctantly leaves his district behind. One survivor of the grizzly's rampage tells a bizarre story, but just as Joe begins to suspect the attack is not what it seems, he is brought home by an emergency on his own turf. Someone has targeted a prominent local judge, shooting at him from a seemingly impossible distance. While the judge was not hit, his wife is severely wounded, and it is up to Joe to find answers--and the shooter.

The search for the would-be assassin becomes personal when Joe's best friend, Nate Romanowski --just as he's adjusting to the arrival of his first child--falls under suspicion for the crime. It's a race against the clock as Joe tries to clear Nate's name and identify the real shooter, all while deciphering the grizzly encounter. Beset by threats both man-made and natural, the two men must go to great lengths to keep their loved ones safe.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Audio CD

Savage Run (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 2) May 6, 2003

by C. J. Box

( 2,627 )

$8.99

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett uncovers a conspiracy in this explosive novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

When a massive blast rocks the forests of Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is called to the scene to help investigate the death of a colorful environmental activist. The case is wrapped up quickly, explained as an environmental publicity stunt gone wrong, but Joe isn't convinced. He soon discovers clues that suggest a deadly conspiracy–one that will test his courage, his survival skills, and his determination to “do the right thing” despite all costs.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

Winterkill (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 3) Jun 29, 2004

by C. J. Box

( 2,387 )

$8.99

Joe Pickett’s pursuit of a killer through the rugged mountains of Wyoming takes a horrifying turn when his beloved foster daughter is kidnapped in this thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

It's an hour away from darkness, a bitter winter storm is raging, and Joe Pickett is deep in the forest edging Battle Mountain, shotgun in his left hand, his truck's detached steering wheel handcuffed to his right—and Lamar Gardiner's arrow-riddled corpse splayed against the tree in front of him. Lamar's murder and the sudden onslaught of the snowstorm warn: Get off the mountain. But Joe knows this episode is far from over. And when his own daughter gets caught up in his hunt for the killer, Joe will stop at nothing to get her back...

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

Trophy Hunt (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 4) Apr 5, 2005

by C. J. Box

( 2,093 )

$9.99

In this thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling Joe Pickett series, the Wyoming game warden is up against a vicious killer who's more beast than man...

Local authorities in Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming, are quick to label a rash of animal mutilations as the work of a grizzly bear, but game warden Joe Pickett suspects that something far more sinister is afoot. And when the bodies of two men are found disfigured in the same way, his worst feats are confirmed: A modern-day Jack the Ripper is on the loose—and the killings have just begun.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

Out of Range (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 5) May 2, 2006

by C. J. Box

( 1,898 )

$9.99

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is about to become the hunted in this suspenseful thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

When a good friend and fellow warden kills himself, Joe Pickett is chosen to temporarily run his Teton district. But Jackson, Wyoming, is a far cry from Joe's hometown of Saddlestring—and it doesn't help that now Joe feels compelled to investigate the circumstances surrounding his friend's suicide. But as he comes closer to the truth, the more his own life spirals out of control—and he realizes if he isn't careful, he may be Jackson's next victim...

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

Free Fire: A Joe Pickett Novel May 6, 2008

by C. J. Box

( 2,058 )

$8.99

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett hunts a mass murderer in Yellowstone in this thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box.

Joe Pickett’s been hired to investigate one of the most cold-blooded mass killings in Wyoming history. Attorney Clay McCann admitted to slaughtering four campers in a back-country corner of Yellowstone National Park—a “free-fire” zone with no residents or jurisdiction. In this remote fifty-square-mile stretch a man can literally get away with murder. Now McCann’s a free man, and Pickett’s about to discover his motive—one buried in Yellowstone’s rugged terrain, and as dangerous as the man who wants to keep it hidden.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , MP3 CD

Blood Trail (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 8) May 20, 2008

by C. J. Box

( 1,771 )

$9.99

It's elk season in the Rockies, but a different kind of hunter is stalking prey in this novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Joe Pickett series.

Game wardens have found a man dead at a mountain camp—strung up, gutted, and flayed as if he were the elk he'd been hunting. Is the murder the work of a deranged anti-hunting activist or of a lone psychopath with a personal vendetta? Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is the man to track the murderer and stop him, before someone declares open season on humans...

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , Audio CD

Wolf Pack (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 19) Mar 12, 2019

by C. J. Box

( 3,442 )

$9.99

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett encounters bad behavior on his own turf--only to have the FBI and the DOJ ask him to stand down--in the thrilling new novel from #1 New York Times-bestselling author C.J. Box.

The good news is that Joe Pickett has his job back, after his last adventure in The Disappeared. The bad news is that he's come to learn that a drone is killing wildlife--and the drone belongs to a mysterious and wealthy man whose son is dating Joe's own daughter, Lucy.

When Joe tries to lay down the rules for the drone operator, he's asked by the FBI and the DOJ to stand down, which only makes him more suspicious. Meanwhile, bodies are piling up in and around Joe's district in shocking numbers. He begins to fear that a pack of four vicious killers working on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel known as the Wolf Pack has arrived. Their target seems to be the mystery man and everyone--including Joe, Nate, and others--who is associated with him.

Teaming up with a female game warden (based on a real person, one of the few female game wardens at work in Wyoming today) to confront these assassins, Joe finds himself in the most violent and dangerous predicament he's ever faced.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Audio CD

In Plain Sight (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 6) May 1, 2007

by C. J. Box

( 1,909 )

$8.99

Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett's hunt for a missing woman forces him to confront his own past in this gripping novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Ranch owner and matriarch Opal Scarlett has vanished under suspicious circumstances during a bitter struggle between her sons for control of her million-dollar empire. Joe Pickett is convinced one of them must have done her in. But when he becomes the victim of a series of wicked and increasingly violent pranks, Joe wonders if what's happening has less to do with Opal's disappearance than with the darkest chapters of his own past. Whoever is after him has a vicious debt to collect, and wants Joe to pay...and pay dearly.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , Audio CD

Cold Wind (A Joe Pickett Novel Book 11) Mar 22, 2011

by C. J. Box

( 1,826 )

$9.99

Joe Pickett investigates a murder that hits close to home in this thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

“I would say that C. J. Box is at the top of his form, but the top just keeps moving ever upward...A nonstop thrill ride not to be missed!”—Bookpage

When Earl Alden is found dead, dangling from a wind turbine, his wife, Missy, is arrested. Unfortunately for Joe Pickett, Missy is his much-disliked mother-in-law, and he’s not sure what to do—especially since it looks like Missy is guilty as sin.

But then things happen to make Joe wonder: Is Earl's death what it appears to be? Is Missy being set up? He has the county DA and sheriff on one side, his wife on the other, his estranged friend Nate on a lethal mission of his own, and some powerful interests breathing down his neck. Whichever way this goes, it’s not going to be good...

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Hardcover , Paperback , Mass Market Paperback , Audio CD

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