User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
5 stars
Joe Pickett is back in his 19th adventure in the series, and C.J. Box shows no signs of slacking off even the slightest bit. Wolf Pack is an outstanding addition to the series, and Pickett tackles dual issues as he frequently does – one timely (often environmental) issue and one more straightforward mystery. The current issue in Wolf Pack is the use of drones to herd animals, sometimes to harass them and other times to lead them to their slaughter. When Joe identifies the drone operator and attempts to halt the drone usage, he is met with resistance from the FBI and the DOJ. Frustrated and unhappy, Joe tries to determine why the drone operator is being granted immunity; unfortunately, his persistence places him directly in the path of a Mexican cartel searching for a man that has joined the Witness Protection Program. All hell breaks loose in Saddlestring, and it will take a while for the town to recover from the events that are unleashed in Wolf Pack. This book is fantastic, and I look forward to many more of Joe Pickett’s adventures.
Rating: really liked it
Well, that went fast. Probably Box's best written. Very tight and smooth.
Not sure what I can say about the content without spoilers. Maybe a couple of teases: there are two eponymous wolf packs, and only one is of gray wolves. Nate Romanowski's birds play a key role. And Joe and and Marybeth's last daughter remaining at home, Lucy, is in the line of fire.
If you're a fan, you'll like it a lot. So will you if you're new and it'll probably start you on the whole series.
Rating: really liked it
This is the 19th in the author's series featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, and having read them all, it's one of the best, I think. Granted, it leans a bit more toward the dark side with some really nasty characters, but the story was so intriguing - and moved along so quickly - that I kept pushing to get to the conclusion as fast as I could.
After losing his job at the conclusion of the previous book, Joe is back in the saddle again, this time out in the wilds investigating leg hold traps that have been set but not retrieved - a no-no in this territory where wild animals are supposed to roam free. Usually, it's not easy to determine who the traps belong to, but in this case, the owner's initials are on the trap. Before he can do much about it, though, he's called by another nearby ranger, Katelyn Hamm, who has spotted a drone swooping down and scaring the bejesus out of herds of deer.
As it turns out, the drone belongs to the grandfather of the young man Joe's daughter Lucy is dating (she's the last of the three daughters still in the cozy nest of Joe and his librarian wife, Marybeth). Even Joe's old friend Nate Romanowski gets in on the action; an experienced falconer and outdoorsman with a shady past, he watches until the next time the drone takes to the skies, encourages his birds to do likewise (with a bang-up result).
But when Joe finally locates the old man in a remote hideaway that doesn't even show up on his GPS, the reception is far from cordial. Confounding matters is that when he and Kate start to take steps that would charge the old guy with breaking the law, the law inexplicably fights back. That sets Joe to wondering: Why on earth is the FBI protecting the man?
Meanwhile, four extremely skilled killers - three men and a woman - start showing up in the area, and dead bodies start showing up as well. It's thought that the killers, dubbed the Wolf Pack, are working for a cartel - apparently trying to find the old man who's in the Witness Protection program to keep him safe until he can testify against other cartel bigwigs.
Needless to say, Joe isn't one to back down; but all too soon, he discovers that putting himself in between the killers and their intended prey might not be the smartest thing he's ever done - and it could even cost him, and his family and friends, their lives. Bodies keep piling up right to the exciting end (which, of course, I won't reveal). All I'll say is this one is a don't-miss, especially for diehard followers like me. Well done!
Rating: really liked it
This newest edition to the Joe Pickett series is one my top favorites of the series thus far. Many exciting changes taking and/or took place with several of the main characters. -
'Wolf Pack' is a genuine action-packed mystery/thriller delivered in top form by C.J. Box and narrator David Chandler. #DynamicDuo.
Rating: really liked it
A re-read. One of Box's best featuring Joe Pickett.
The Game Warden has just been reinstated and with new car and new home. Initially he encounters drone activity scaring the animals. Then come the Dept of Justice and the FBI asserting themselves in his county.
Definitely one of Box's best in this series.
Unputdownable
Rating: really liked it
Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is happy. At the end of The Disappeared he had lost his job. Now, with the help of the former governor he not only has his job back but he has a new home and truck. Things are looking good. For now.
The story opens in April opens with neighboring Wyoming game warden Katelyn Hamm out on patrol. Her section is on the other side of the Big Horn mountains from Joe. She spots a drone that is harassing elk and mule deer that are weak from the winter weather. The drone panics the animals and causes them to run to their death. Then the drone takes off for the other side of the Big Horn mountains. Joe's section. She calls him to find out if he knows anyone who flies drones. She wants this guy. So does Joe.
Joe is able to figure who the drone owner is. It is a mysterious and wealthy man who happens to be the father of the boy his daughter Lucy is dating. He basically laughs off Joe's warning and tells him he won't pay any citations. Katelyn and Joe begin preparing their case to bring charges when they are warned off by the FBI and DOJ.
Meanwhile, in Arizona, three people are killed by a team of four persons known as the Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack works for the Sinaloa cartel. They were looking for someone. They got their answer and after dismembering and disposing of the bodies they head to Saddlestring, Wyoming. Straight for Katelyn, Joe ... and Nate. Things are about to get real Western.
Before long the bodies start piling up. Among them innocent people. The Feds, as often occurs in a C.J. Box novel, play the heavies. They do things their own way and don't work with the locals. They threaten and intimidate. The result is not good. It will be up to Joe and Nate to clean up the mess they brought to Saddlestring.
Rating: really liked it
The 19th book in this series and perhaps the best one yet!
Rating: really liked it
I think I've read almost all of CJ Box's books, which is a talented author that I really enjoy.
He has only one big weak point: the credibility of his stories is sometimes at the limit of the acceptable, he has from time to time recourse to the facility of happy chance. And, more rarely, CJ Box gratifies us with an incongruous story, which defies logic.
Wolf Pack is the perfect example of this bad side of CJ Box.
From the beginning we know that it will not be a great Joe Pickett: the story is scattered in several points of view, we guess everything that happens ten chapters before the protagonists. But if not great, it's quite pleasant to read, as usual.
Then, at two-thirds of the story, the plot crashes with ridiculous hazards and incomprehensible decisions of the characters.
I do not know how a publisher can let something like that go by without doing anything.
It's sad.
The book ends as a bad action TV movie. (I feel very polite, other words, bad ones, could suit.)
The only good news is that every bad Joe Pickett is usually caught by an excellent Joe Pickett in the months that follow.
The next one is going to be great!
Rating: really liked it
First Sentence: For Wyoming Game Warden Katelyn Hamm, April really was the cruelest month.
Game Warden Joe Pike has his job back, a new house, and another new truck. He and neighboring game warden Katelyn Hamm also have a big problem with someone using a large drone to kill herds of animals. It becomes more complicated when Joe learns that Lucy, one of his daughters is dating the son of the very wealthy man named Hill who owns the drone, and when Joe receives orders from above to leave Hill alone. The drone is the least of the problems when it is suspected that four killers, known as the Wolf Pack, of the Sinaloa cartel, are in the area, and are after Hill and anyone who gets in their way.
One always learns new things when reading Box. It's fascinating to know about the value of antlers and the horrible damage to a herd of deer caused by unscrupulous antler collectors. It's an industry with regulations of which we would not otherwise know.
Box creates such fascinating characters. Certainly, there are the recurring characters of Joe, his family, falconer Nate Romanowski and his now pregnant fiancé Liz, but it's extra nice to have the female game warder of Katelyn. Joe is such a well-constructed character. That he and his wife Marybeth have such a strong relationship and partnership where she, at times, provides Joe with informational assistance, gives further dimension to both characters. Although Nate may refer to him as "Dudley-Do-Right," Joe is no one's fool. Underestimating him is a mistake and things can get " Western" very quickly. On the other side, the head of the Wolf Pack is as nasty a character as nasty can get.
From the very start, Box creates a sense of threat. The plot is as one is on a roller-coaster ride. There are fairly gentle rises and falls, then huge escalations, heart-stopping drops, flat runs for relief, and then we're off again. Box knows how to plot. He's an expert at linking aspects of the story together in ways one doesn't expect. Even seemingly innocent scenes have an overlay of danger to them. The escalation of tension is palpable to the point where one may even mutter "No, don't go." as if watching a movie. One is definitely never bored.
"Wolf Pack is a high-energy, edge-of-seat book. There is divine retribution and an ending that is very emotional and somewhat bittersweet. Fair warning that this book is more violent, with more bodies, than some of the past books in the series, but it's an excellent read.
WOLF PACK (LicInv/Game Warder-Joe Pike-Wyoming-Contemp) - Ex
Box, C.J. – 19th in series
G.P. Putnam's Sons – March 2019
Rating: really liked it
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Crazy, fast pace read! One of my favorite in the series so far. I couldn’t read it fast enough and even let laundry pile up today to read because the suspense of the Hill family was something I could not wait for the reveal. Bug changes in the end for the character landscapes and I am interested in seeing where Box takes it after Lone Range. Very good read!
Rating: really liked it
4.5 ⭐️
Almost perfect! Great thriller, the hunt was exciting on different levels. The final showdown was a bit disappointing to me and was sketchy of how ill prepared they were against the Pack.
Rating: really liked it
The last of the sun was ballooning over the western horizon before sliding behind the mountains. It infused the light with a soft bronze glow that painted the street as well as the sides of buildings.Wolf Pack is the nineteenth in the series featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, based in the small town of Saddlestring, loving husband of Marybeth and proud father of 3 daughters, the youngest, Lucy, about to leave the nest. It is late April, a time of unsettled weather, and the Pickett’s are joined by long-time friends Nate Romanowski, former Special Forces soldier and now a commercial falconer, with his partner Liv, and district attorney Dulcie, to celebrate Lucy’s birthday. Joe is distracted by an irresponsible trapper leaving behind a trap that allowed an animal to die in needless pain, and the reports of a drone spooking herds of deer weakened by hunger following the harsh winter.
There are two Wolf Packs involved, the animal kind - reintroduced and raising concern among ranchers - and the human kind, a killer squad of 4 Hispanics – three men and a younger woman – hired by a Sinaloa cartel to take out elements of the drug trade who turned evidence against them, standing out like Prairie Oysters in that environment.
Author CJ Box captures the townships and dramatic landscapes, the descriptions of the sky and trees, both in Wyoming and at Scottsdale and the Tonto National Forest outside Payson, Arizona. This one was darker than usual for a Joe Pickett; but retains the inevitable environmental message, legal v illegal hunting, the warm and fuzzy family/friends relationships, Nate Romanowski’s almost hypnotic effect on birds and wild beasts. Missing is Joe’s mother-in-law, the many-times married Missy Vankueren Hand, who tried to get Joe dismissed from his job.
The storyline reveals an over-reliance on technology in a rugged area which places limits on cell phones, GPS, and yes, a drone. I found the Wolf Pack - supposedly professionals - linear in their thinking; slitting throats and spraying bullets everywhere, leaving a trail of carnage and innocent victims in their wake. Straight out of “Pulp Fiction”. Throw in a pair of FBI special agent stooges who abide by their own rules, which brought to mind a parody on the Gestapo "
vee vill ask zee kvestions".
This is the third Joe Pickett I have read, and as with the earlier ones it is the finer detail that lets it down: when does a
black Mercedes magically turn
white? At 40 degrees below zero, who turns off their engine and gets out of a vehicle to have a chat? And where was Daisy the Labrador during the gunfight?
Verdict: a reasonable read.
Rating: really liked it
Whew! What a book!! This novel's murderous wolf pack is two-legged kind. Joe finds himself in the most violent and dangerous predicament he’s ever faced. I don't want to write anything that would give the plot of this book away so I'll leave it at that.
I have to say that reading one of Box’s new books and following Joe, Marybeth, and Nate Romanowski, is like catching up with old friends one hasn't seen in a while.
I highly recommend this book AND this series!!
Rating: really liked it
I've been waiting on this latest book to come out for a year and I am not disappointed!
Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett has been re-instated in his job since the last book with a raise, a new state residence and a new pickup truck. For those who follow Joe, let me reassure you that he doesn't wreck the truck in this book. Give him time.
The neighboring game warden Katelyn Hamm spots a drone herding mule deer into a frenzy and alerts Joe that the pilot headed in his direction. Katelyn makes some inquiries and is told by FBI agents to stand down. Joe doesn't take this type of direction very well. He is doubly concerned though when the drone's owner turns out to be the father of his daughter Lucy's boyfriend.
A gang of killers known as the Wolf Pack has come to Joe's neck of the woods for some unknown reason. The group is composed of three men and one woman, all stone cold killers. The woman is the alpha of the bunch. People start dying.
This is one of my all time favorite series and I savored every page. I love the descriptions of the outdoors and the wildlife -- antelope, elk, mule deer, wolves, and bobcats. I liked the black alpha wolf Joe spotted. I always enjoy Joe's family with wife Maryanne and daughter Lucy featured in this one. The books are always made much better with the help of Joe's best friend Nate. Spenser has Hawk, Joe has Nate. Nuff said.
The ending is wowzadooza!
Rating: really liked it
In Wolf Pack (G.P. Putnam 2019), C.J. Box's nineteenth in the wildly-popular Joe Pickett series, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett is back to work patrolling the beautiful loneliness of the Wyoming wilds thanks to the legal efforts of the former Wyoming governor and the ineptitude of the new one.
"...cold hard rain to Winchester with dark storm clouds pressing down on him and obscuring the mountains."
"The stream had jumped the banks, and water pooled within stands of willows and around the trunks of pine trees. Large branches and even entire trees had come down from above and were wedged into hazardous deadwood dams that diverted the flow and changed the banks."
As part of the settlement (read about that drama in Book #18), he has a new house, a new car, and his old seniority number. But instead of wild herds and hunters, he runs into a drone, herding the natural herds, frightening them so badly, they run themselves to death trying to escape.
"The pilot was destroying winter-weakened mule deer by running them until they collapsed."
Working with another game warden, he begins to hone in on where the drone is coming from and who controls it, thanks in no small part to his long-time friend, Nate Romanowski. Nate trains falcons for lots of interesting jobs but most recently, to take down drones by grabbing them from underneath--the non-propeller side. Fighting drones is new territory for Joe but anyone who has read earlier books in this series knows that no problem frightens Joe away. He may bend the rules and break new territory, but he'll figure out how to protect the lives of his beloved wild animals. The other piece of investigating that he's good at--really good--is connecting the dots. Joe often sees what no one else does and pulls that thread. Again, despite drones and falcons, he does just that but not without a strange group of hard folks visiting his town and the murder-suicide of a couple who seemed to have lots to live for and the zest to do just that.
And the last ten pages--you don't want to miss those.
