Breaking Point

Starred review from January 21, 2013
Bureaucracy run amok drives Wyoming construction company owner Butch Roberson to the breaking point in Box’s excellent 13th Joe Pickett novel (after 2012’s Force of Nature). When game warden Pickett investigates a cut fence between private land and public land, he comes across Roberson, who says he entered the public land to scout elk. Before leaving, Pickett delivers a friendly warning to Roberson, who resents the laws restricting his access to public land, to repair the fence. Later, Pickett learns that Roberson is the prime suspect in the killing of two armed EPA agents. Vindictive EPA regional director Juan Julio Batista, who quickly arrives on the scene, calls in a lot of manpower, while Pickett leads a team on horseback into the mountains after Roberson. Former sheriff Kyle McLanahan goes gunning for Roberson, too, prompted by hopes of a reward. Thrilling wilderness chases, chilling stories of the abuse of power, and Pickett’s indomitable frontier spirit power this explosive novel. Agent: Ann Rittenberg, Ann Rittenberg Literary Agency.

February 1, 2013
Wyoming Fish and Game Warden Joe Pickett, who attracts trouble the way carcasses attract maggots (Force of Nature, 2012, etc.), gets in the line of fire between an old friend and the Feds. When two EPA agents, sent all the way from Denver to take contractor Butch Roberson into custody. are shot to death, Butch himself is the obvious suspect. But Joe, who saw Butch only hours before he disappeared, can't help wondering why the EPA was so interested in Butch, whose attempt to build a new house for his family in Aspen Highlands blew up in his face, and why the new, race-baiting EPA regional director Juan Julio Batista has taken such a personal interest in the case. Joe has no time for any speculations, though, before he's pressed into service to lead an ill-equipped EPA party searching for Butch up the mountain where he was last seen. Little does Joe know that he's not the only one on the hunt. His old nemesis, ex-Sheriff Kyle McLanahan, has heard the rumor of a big reward for bringing in Butch and has gotten Dave Farkus, a clueless employee Butch fired, to lead him and Jimmy Sollis, the no-account brother of slain deputy Trent Sollis, to Butch first. Box doles out complications and misfortunes with masterly control; each time you're convinced things can't get any worse for Butch or Joe, they do, usually in unexpected ways. And every twist tightens the analogy between the shiftless vigilantes after Butch and the Feds determined to capture or kill him, two parties that are not only equally villainous, but villainous in exactly the same way. Its basis in a real-life conflict makes Joe's 13th case one of his most tendentious, but it's Box who makes it one of his most exciting.

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Starred review from March 1, 2013

In his 13th outing (after Force of Nature), the Wyoming game warden must weigh his devotion to law enforcement versus his personal values and integrity. This conflict is ignited by the murder of two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agents, the flight of accused murderer Butch Roberson, and the reappearance of Joe's old nemesis, ex-Sheriff McLanahan. Joe faces powerful forces who want Roberson dead and his family ruined, while the feds use all resources at their command, including unmanned drones, during the ensuing manhunt. Relying on reason and his strong will, Joe unravels the complicated puzzle and finds corruption and abuse of authority that cause him to re-evaluate his life. VERDICT Like the forest fire described in the book, fans of this series will burn through the pages to discover who-dun-it and why. With each book, Joe Pickett has evolved as a complex, deep character, richly described by Box. Another must-read.--Patricia Ann Owens, Illinois Eastern Community Colls., Mt. Carmel

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2013
Box has always been adept at giving Joe Pickett, his old-school Wyoming game warden, modern issues to confront. Here, Joe finds himself tracking Butch Roberson, the father of his younger daughter's best friend, after Butch seemingly kills two armed EPA agents and heads for the hills. Armed EPA agents? You read that right. In this nightmarish scenario, the EPA carries guns, the Forest Service has a SWAT team, and an unhinged administrator can target a fugitive with a missile-carrying drone. Hell had broken open, and hundreds of bureaucrats were gushing out, laments Pickett, wondering whether he can stand to wear his badge anymore. Should war break out between the government and the people, he knows whose side he would be on. His outrage is understandable, but, still, this is a far cry from the thoughtful, balanced takes of previous Picketts. And, despite a fiery, thrilling ending, it's not as seamlessly structured as usual, either. But, whether you watch the skies for black helicopters or not, you'll still have a hard time putting this one down and turning out the light.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)