Free Fire (A Joe Pickett Novel)

The quote in the title comes from a Fed near the end of this novel. It is indicative of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett series for it is not just the Feds Pickett cannot trust. Throughout the series, Pickett has to fight the bureaucracies of local, state and federal agencies in order to get the bad guy. He also gets caught between tree huggers vs greedy developers, animal rights activists vs poachers and law vs justice. In the Joe Pickett books, there are no good guys other than Pickett, his family and friend Nate. Oh, there is the occasional breakthrough like the female park ranger character in "Free Fire" but, on the whole, most every other character in the series is ruthless, ambitious, violent or incompetent. Everyone seems to have an agenda from the unrealistic and dogmatic environmentalist to the unethical and money-grubbing businessman. Nobody escapes C.J. Box's skewering in these books. "Free Fire" is a fine example of how frustrating life is for Joe Pickett and how he has to deal with the corruption all around him in his pursuit of justice. In "Free Fire", Pickett is engaged by the new governor to investigate a murder in Yellowstone National Park. Pickett gets his old job back as Wyoming game warden but he is conducting his investigation on the sly--the governor has plausible deniability and offers little in the way of support for the assignment he has given Pickett. The fly in the ointment of the murder itself is that there is no legal way to try the murderer because it took place in the "Zone of Death" within Yellowstone--an area of the country where no one resides to act as peers for a jury in a criminal trial. To further complicate matters, the park officials would just as soon forget the whole incident to avoid further bad publicity that might blemish their careers. Pickett's insecurity and self doubt gets on your nerves after a while. You just want to slap him and tell him to stop beating himself up over every incident in his life and get on with it. But we all have self doubt at times and can identify with Pickett's dilemmas and stress. You also get frustrated when Pickett runs into the power structures that offer no support. In the end, the story does reach resolution but only to the extent that the bad guys face some forms of justice. In the end, Pickett still has to deal with the corruption and deceit of government officials. Makes for a good series of books. I've been reading the whole Joe Pickett series in order and it keeps getting better. The books aren't always perfect (I've found a few editing mistakes and errors of fact along the way) but they are enjoyable. And frustrating.

The title of this novel had me a little puzzled, because I couldn't figure out the title reference. So I decided I'd give Mr. Box a chance to tell me! Game Warden Joe Pickett, is sent by Gov, Rulon to do some undercover investigation in beautiful Yellowstone Park. It seems that the four campers/employees of Yellowstone Park are brutally murdered while enjoying a camp out and a kind of reunion. They have been shot down while still sleeping in their tent and sleeping bags. It's a mystery that no one seems to understand or reason why. Therefore, the Governor sends his "Range Rider", Joe Pickett to see what he can find out, however,undercover, unassisted, and absolutely hush-hush (without any knowledge of the Governor's involvement ). It happens that the murders took place in a very remote area of Yellowstone which also spills over into Idaho, and is in an area known as the Zone of Death. It gets a bit complicated with the laws that exist in a national park such as Yellowstone so you will have to find that out for yourself! Box's writing skills have improved by leaps and bounds, especially his storylines, the way he puts things together, and makes everything fit into a tightly woven, mind bending, ever moving suspense drama that simply blows you away. As the story evolves, more murders take place in the Zone of Death area, and everyone knows who the murderer is, but because of the area where the crimes are committed; the killer cannot be touched by the arm of the law. Yes folks, Joe has his work cut out for him. I would have given my review 5 stars (which it really deserves), but to me, I'd like to see a little more closeness with his wife and family. However, in this novel it seems that Mr. Box is nudging a little closer to that regard. I loved this book and couldn't seem to put it down. My dishes were piling up in the sink and my loving husband was giving me some sly looks!! Do yourself a favor and treat yourself with this great gripping read. It will amaze you.

Best of the series so far!! Joe is made an offer he can't refuse from the Governor of Wyoming. He's to be reinstated as a game warden, but he'll be working on behalf of the Governor's office investigating a mass murder that took place several months earlier. Four activists are killed in what is referred to as "The Zone of Death," a desolate part of Yellowstone that doesn't fall under any governmental laws. Thus, the killer gets away with murder. Joe is to report back to the Governor his findings. Well, when Joe gets involved in anything, it usually plays out about the same as whenever Virgil Flowers gets involved in anything. Suffice it to stay, you will be glued to the pages. More unsavory characters than you can count, and some new ones that you'll love. And of course, Nate is there to help Joe out. The descriptions of nature up there in Yellowstone late in the season sound absolutely mesmerizing. Box can really put you right into the world you're reading about. Joe has a child-like fascination with the place, which is palpable to the reader. I had to google some of what was in the book because it sounded so stunning. That, along with the a gripping mystery, made this book one that you will rush right through. I'll be interested to see how the dust settles after this one.

great book pity it was delivered late.

What a wonderful, exciting, brain stimulating episode!! Great stuff, great science, great stuff about the planet but underneath all that the heartbeat of the Pickett family.

Loved this book. Another refreshing change of venue to Yellowstone Park. More on Joe's past along with his great family & the mysterious Nate. C J Box manages to yet again tell a satisfying story while keeping us wanting to find out what happens next. Now ordering "Blood Trail" Book 8

Die Aussicht, einen Krimi zu lesen, der im Yellowstone Nationalpark spielt, war verlockend. CJ Boxs Idee, den Mord in der "Death Zone" (also einem kleinen * fiktiven? * Bereich, in dem aufgrund seiner Lage keine Gesetze greifen) des Parks geschehen zu lassen, hat mein Interesse weiter angefeuert. Kurz zum Inhalt... Der game warden Joe Pickett (sorry, ich kenne keine passende Übersetzung) wird nach seiner Entlassung von oberster Stelle verpflichtet, einen kaltblütigen Mord in der Todeszone des Parks aufzuklären. Schon bald muss Pickett merken, dass er nur eine Randfigur in einem weitaus größeren und vor allem tödlichen Spiel ist. Die Geschichte um Joe Pickett, der das Unheil und die Gefahr geradezu magisch anzuziehen scheint, ist vollends gelungen: * die Figuren sind sympathisch, vor allem Pickett - ein "Normalsterblicher", der nie so genau weiß, was er denn nun mit der geliehenen Glock anfangen soll * zum Glück also gibt es da noch Picketts Schutzengel, Nate, der der ganzen Geschichte dann doch die nötige Härte verleiht; aus meiner Sicht ein gutes Team! * das Setting ist klasse, wer schon im Yellowstone war, wird vieles wiedererkennen; wer den Park nicht kennt, wird Lust auf Urlaub bekommen * mir persönlich haben es die Szenen im Old Faithful Inn angetan; hier findet logischerweise auch der spannende Showdown statt * die Story ist durchdacht (auch wenn manchmal keine 100% Glaubwürdigkeit gegeben ist) und wird zügig entwickelt; die Idee des Biomining ist spannend (muss noch mehr dazu googlen, wie auch zur Frage, ob es wirklich eine "Death Zone" gibt), Gleiches gilt zu den Informationen über die vulkanische Natur des Parks und mögliche Auswirkungen eines Ausbruchs (, der angeblich überfällig ist...) Insgesamt also gutes Kopfkino. Eigentlich also die besten Voraussetzungen, mal wieder einen CJ Box bzw. Joe Pickett Roman zu lesen. Die Frage bleibt aber, wie das atemberaubende Setting da noch getoppt werden kann...

An atmospheric book. Lovely settings. Fast paced. Writing is superb. M.Vincent Selva Pandyan.