Free Fire (A Joe Pickett Novel)

Joe Pickett the game warden savant uncovers one clue after another. At the same time the author illuminates the wonders of Yellowstone National Park. C.J. Box's writing is clean and builds tension as the narrative progresses. Joe Pickett and his extended family are a heartwarming ensemble. Reading their adventures is a pleasure.

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.

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.