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Interesting turn of events in this story. Joe is working on another murder case- he and Nate are still at odds. Always enjoy the intrigue in this series- kind of thought I had it semi-figured out- even had to go back and read the first chapter part way through just to double check my hunch.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Box got back on track with this one. The bad guy in this one was truly evil and way to close to Joe. In the end, Joe seems to have won. Nate looks like things are about to get very dark and dangerous. It’s going to be interesting.
The way Box portrays government is spot on in today’s climate. He taught us all a few things about renewable energy too. Great entry in a great series.
The way Box portrays government is spot on in today’s climate. He taught us all a few things about renewable energy too. Great entry in a great series.
*My edition (same isbn) is being released Jan 1st 2012 in Australia*
Cold Wind is an enjoyable mystery/thriller set in the wilds of Wyoming, Joe Pickett is a game warden who reluctantly finds himself investigating the death of his father in law, Earl Alden. The local police immediately arrest his mother in law, Missy and while Joe i snot averse to seeing the woman locked up, it seems unlikely she shot her husband, carelessly leaving the gun covered in prints in her car, and then hauled her husband's body 250ft in the air to hang him from the blades of his own wind turbine. Investigating on his own puts Joe at odds with the local law enforcement and DA, and without his long time friend Nate to back him up, Joe is at risk of getting in over his head.
Identifying the killer in this tightly plotted mystery isn't easy as CJ Box presents several suspects. Earl Alden, a wealthy man had alienated many of his neighbors in his pursuit of land, had few friends to speak of and when Joe starts poking around he discovers there is something not quite right with the multi million dollar wind farm project Earl was building in a far corner of his ranch.
Bud Longbreak, Missy's ex husband, started drinking when Missy left him to join Earl, taking his family ranch with her. It seems he is the state's star witness insisting Missy is responsible for the murder. As bitter about the loss of the family fortune is Bud's some who has slipped into town virtually unnoticed.
Joe can't easily dismiss Missy either, his mother in law is the most manipulative and cold-hearted woman he has ever known but with his wife, MaryBeth, distraught at her mother's arrest he hopes the truth will prove her innocent.
With clever misdirection, CJ Box puts all of the suspects in the frame at one time or another but just as one scenario seems most likely, an alternative is offered. Revealing the killer is, if not completely unexpected, a triumph of sorts for Joe.
Cold Wind touches on several personal issues for Joe, while happy to be back in Saddlestring - his 'punishment' ended the Pickett family are struggling financially in the aftermath of the GFC and Joe's demotion, their foster daughter seems determined to make trouble and their oldest daughter is starting her first year at college. Joe's estrangement from close friend Nate, after a disagreement in [b:Nowhere to Run|7187391|Nowhere to Run (Joe Pickett #10)|C.J. Box|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275871861s/7187391.jpg|7730267] is also troubling him.
Nate provides the secondary plot for this book. He is forced out of hiding after a murderous attack on his mountain refuge and the falconer, once an elite soldier, will stop at nothing to get his revenge but his vendetta may make him vulnerable to an even greater threat.
With strong characterisation, plenty of action and a complex mystery to solve, Cold Wind is an entertaining read. Despite Cold Wind being the 11th installment in the Joe Pickett series and the only title I have read, I felt the story stood alone on it's own merit. I do think being familiar with the history of the characters would have enhanced my satisfaction with the book, instead I am simply tempted to pick up this series from the beginning.
Cold Wind is an enjoyable mystery/thriller set in the wilds of Wyoming, Joe Pickett is a game warden who reluctantly finds himself investigating the death of his father in law, Earl Alden. The local police immediately arrest his mother in law, Missy and while Joe i snot averse to seeing the woman locked up, it seems unlikely she shot her husband, carelessly leaving the gun covered in prints in her car, and then hauled her husband's body 250ft in the air to hang him from the blades of his own wind turbine. Investigating on his own puts Joe at odds with the local law enforcement and DA, and without his long time friend Nate to back him up, Joe is at risk of getting in over his head.
Identifying the killer in this tightly plotted mystery isn't easy as CJ Box presents several suspects. Earl Alden, a wealthy man had alienated many of his neighbors in his pursuit of land, had few friends to speak of and when Joe starts poking around he discovers there is something not quite right with the multi million dollar wind farm project Earl was building in a far corner of his ranch.
Bud Longbreak, Missy's ex husband, started drinking when Missy left him to join Earl, taking his family ranch with her. It seems he is the state's star witness insisting Missy is responsible for the murder. As bitter about the loss of the family fortune is Bud's some who has slipped into town virtually unnoticed.
Joe can't easily dismiss Missy either, his mother in law is the most manipulative and cold-hearted woman he has ever known but with his wife, MaryBeth, distraught at her mother's arrest he hopes the truth will prove her innocent.
With clever misdirection, CJ Box puts all of the suspects in the frame at one time or another but just as one scenario seems most likely, an alternative is offered. Revealing the killer is, if not completely unexpected, a triumph of sorts for Joe.
Cold Wind touches on several personal issues for Joe, while happy to be back in Saddlestring - his 'punishment' ended the Pickett family are struggling financially in the aftermath of the GFC and Joe's demotion, their foster daughter seems determined to make trouble and their oldest daughter is starting her first year at college. Joe's estrangement from close friend Nate, after a disagreement in [b:Nowhere to Run|7187391|Nowhere to Run (Joe Pickett #10)|C.J. Box|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275871861s/7187391.jpg|7730267] is also troubling him.
Nate provides the secondary plot for this book. He is forced out of hiding after a murderous attack on his mountain refuge and the falconer, once an elite soldier, will stop at nothing to get his revenge but his vendetta may make him vulnerable to an even greater threat.
With strong characterisation, plenty of action and a complex mystery to solve, Cold Wind is an entertaining read. Despite Cold Wind being the 11th installment in the Joe Pickett series and the only title I have read, I felt the story stood alone on it's own merit. I do think being familiar with the history of the characters would have enhanced my satisfaction with the book, instead I am simply tempted to pick up this series from the beginning.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This is easily the best and most informative book in the series so far, and that’s saying a good bit, since they’ve all been good and different enough from one another that I’m not suffering from series burnout.
Earl Alden has it all, and on the last day of his life, he’s aware of all he has. What he isn’t aware of is that the day on which he celebrates his numerous successes is also the day on which he will brutally die.
One of Alden’s great successes is the creation of Rope the Wind, a company he doesn’t own, but which leases land from Alden—land on which it has constructed hundreds of wind turbines designed to harness the power of air. It is a boon to Wyoming ranchers like Earl Alden. He can drain money from the taxpayer while taking decades for his turbines to ultimately turn a profit.
Earl Alden is found shot to death with his body spinning on a blade of one of his turbines. It’s a gruesome way to die, and the chief suspect is none other than Missy Alden, Joe Pickett’s mother-in-law. Missy makes her money by marrying wealth then dumping them. Earl was husband number five, and law-enforcement officials immediately see her as a suspect. But are there other suspects in the murky world of federal payouts to renewable energy people? How could Missy Alden have gotten that body hundreds of feet in the air and chain it to the turbine blade? What about angry neighbors who felt cheated by Alden or who despise the noise of his turbines?
The subplots are equally compelling in this book. If I go into detail on those, I will divulge inappropriate spoilers; just trust me; they are as impressive as the main storyline in many ways. You will learn more about renewable energy than you ever thought you’d learn going into this book. You’ll learn about the failure rate of renewable energy in terms of financial success. Like the author, you’ll be struck by the irony of building wind turbines on land under which is a significant amount of natural gas and oil. There’s no partisan preaching here; the author doesn’t seem to take sides so much as to present a fair look at renewable energy and the players who dabble in the difficult-to-trace money end of things. He writes about the fact that some wind turbines are successes, but he also talks about the 45 percent failure rate—days when the wind isn’t reliable enough to create the energy. Through the eyes of neighbor ranchers, he introduces you to the excessive noise produced by those turbines. It’s a fascinating look at a side of renewable energy I know little or nothing about, and that alone qualifies this as an interesting read.
Earl Alden has it all, and on the last day of his life, he’s aware of all he has. What he isn’t aware of is that the day on which he celebrates his numerous successes is also the day on which he will brutally die.
One of Alden’s great successes is the creation of Rope the Wind, a company he doesn’t own, but which leases land from Alden—land on which it has constructed hundreds of wind turbines designed to harness the power of air. It is a boon to Wyoming ranchers like Earl Alden. He can drain money from the taxpayer while taking decades for his turbines to ultimately turn a profit.
Earl Alden is found shot to death with his body spinning on a blade of one of his turbines. It’s a gruesome way to die, and the chief suspect is none other than Missy Alden, Joe Pickett’s mother-in-law. Missy makes her money by marrying wealth then dumping them. Earl was husband number five, and law-enforcement officials immediately see her as a suspect. But are there other suspects in the murky world of federal payouts to renewable energy people? How could Missy Alden have gotten that body hundreds of feet in the air and chain it to the turbine blade? What about angry neighbors who felt cheated by Alden or who despise the noise of his turbines?
The subplots are equally compelling in this book. If I go into detail on those, I will divulge inappropriate spoilers; just trust me; they are as impressive as the main storyline in many ways. You will learn more about renewable energy than you ever thought you’d learn going into this book. You’ll learn about the failure rate of renewable energy in terms of financial success. Like the author, you’ll be struck by the irony of building wind turbines on land under which is a significant amount of natural gas and oil. There’s no partisan preaching here; the author doesn’t seem to take sides so much as to present a fair look at renewable energy and the players who dabble in the difficult-to-trace money end of things. He writes about the fact that some wind turbines are successes, but he also talks about the 45 percent failure rate—days when the wind isn’t reliable enough to create the energy. Through the eyes of neighbor ranchers, he introduces you to the excessive noise produced by those turbines. It’s a fascinating look at a side of renewable energy I know little or nothing about, and that alone qualifies this as an interesting read.
This was a great book. It had an ending that had me 🙄 then 😲. Looking forward to more from this series.
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot