Blood Trail (Joe Pickett) (2024)

...he no longer believed in the legal system but he believed in justice. -Nate Romanowski

4.5⭐
This has me confused at first. It's a unique one in the series where we get the villain's POV from start to finish.

In Blood Trail a series of hunters are being hunted and their bodies, when found are properly field dressed as if they're game animal. I won't go into the details. 😅 It's a good story and I was unable to figure out who did the killing until it's slowly revealed in the last few chapters. Overall, a 4 star read. Then Box dropped an exceptional ending that makes me want to grab the next book THIS INSTANT knowing what's left unsaid most likely won't be in the next one...😭

4.5 Stars for Blood Trail: Joe Pickett Series, Book 8 (audiobook) by C. J. Box read by David Chandler.

The Governor has sent Joe Pickett out to catch the person that’s killing hunters. The elk hunting season has been put on hold and the hunters are getting restless.

The story is interesting because it’s told from the killer’s point of view and Joe Pickett’s And the author did a great job with the ending.

Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett was fired by his boss, Randy Pope, but you can't keep a good man down. Joe now works directly for the Governor going wherever the Fish & Game department (or Governor) needs him. When this story opens a hunter has been killed at his elk camp. Strung up and gutted just like an elk.

Periodically throughout the story we hear from the killer. Stalking. Killing. There is no clue as to the identity of the killer. All the reader knows is that the killer is very skilled. Able to stalk hunters. Move through their camps. Unseen. Unheard.

The hunter that was killed at the opening does not appear to be the first. There are at least two other hunters who were also killed. At first these were ruled to be accidents but now it appears as though someone is hunting the hunters. They are being treated the same as the game animals they are hunting. Is it a vendetta by a antihunting activist? A lone psychopath?

When there is more killing the Governor is forced to put a ban on hunting for the first time in history. A huge impact on the state's ecconomy. The Governor calls in Joe. Strangely Joe's old boss, Randy Pope, inserts himself into the investigation. Randy typically limited himself to making phone calls to yell at Joe. Now he shows up and is in the middle of the crime scene. Why?

Joe tries to get Nate Romanowski released from federal custody to help him in the investigation but the decision is made to bring in an outside expert. However, it isn't long before Joe and Nate are reunited. Nate is released to Joe's custody. Joe is responsible for Nate. Good luck with that. Good thing Nate considers Joe as a friend.

Typical intense ending with Joe and Nate in the mountains setting a trap for the killer while the sheriff and his posse are on the same mountain also hunting the killer. Two different groups of men with guns on a mountain at night. You know this isn't going to end well.

When the identity of the killer is revealed I wasn't too surprised. There were several clues throughout the story. However I did like the ending. Nate is a good friend. You don't want to be on his bad list.

Terrific as usual. Should I even be surprised?

Brilliant. The story is clean and firm like newly tightened wire. Great surprise ending. My only regret is we don't see how, or even whether, Joe Pickett gets out of trouble at the end. I understand the reasons for doing it that way (dramatic ambiguity, teasing for the next book, etc.). However, to render perfect justice, which I thought was a hallmark of the series, the good guys have to come out okay. Even so, I would go so far as to say this is one to read again, the best that can be said of any book.

Another fantastic addition to the Joe Pickett series! This is the most complex case yet with several excellent twists and turns including the shocker ending. I love the way the characters are growing and evolving from book to book. It would be easy for Joe to become stagnant within a little box, but he's changing and evolving by leaps and bounds. Great story! Highly recommended!
btw - the audios are fantastic!!

It's been about 3 years since I have picked up a Joe Pickett novel. This is the 8th in the series. This one is very good. Box does a nice job of mixing folksy charm with messed up violence. Series definitely gets better as it goes along.

In volume eight of the series, game warden Joe Pickett is sent by the Wyoming governor with a task force to investigate a horrific crime scene in the woods nearby. Someone has killed one of four elk hunters and has “field dressed” the body as would be done to wild game, sending shock waves through the state and threatening one of Wyoming’s main streams of income— hunting. Beyond the gripping action sequences, this episode briefly gets into the pros and cons of hunting, in a discussion between Joe and his daughter Sheridan. What’s the difference between hunting and murder? Does someone hate hunters enough to kill them?

What do Joe Pickett and Stephanie Plum have in common? They are both really tough on their vehicles. These characters tend to destroy at least one vehicle per book. They are also really smart, although those around them don't tend to give them the credit they deserve. Moral dilemmas tear Joe up again and he questions his humanity when he dives deep into the case of who is killing the hunters in Wyoming. He doesn't like what he finds, at all.

The Pickett books just keep getting better. Joe is my new Spenser. Box outdoes him self each time out.

Somehow Joe got a little relief in this one only to feel worse than he had ever believed he could. Dunnagen, Pope... Joe did it all right only to blame himself for something out of his control. Where does his story go from here? I can’t wait to find out.

The Joe Pickett novels keep getting better and better and Joe keeps growing as a complex character. Excellent installment in the series.

What a ride! What a read! I think C.J. Box has got the hang of this Western thriller thing. This is the eighth entry in his Joe Pickett series and they've gotten better and better. This is easily the best one yet, in my opinion.

The events in this book take place a bit less than a year since the last book, Free Fire, which was set in Yellowstone National Park. We find that Joe, who was fired from his position as game warden in Saddlestring, Wyoming, is still on board as a special agent for the governor, which means that he's at the governor's beck and call to handle whatever assignments he decides to hand out and be the governor's eyes and ears on the ground.

For the first time in their lives, Joe and his wife Marybeth have bought a house. They are no longer living in government housing and are enjoying(?) the status of homeowner with all its responsibilities and the headaches of living up to their neighbors' expectations of yard and home care. Their older daughter, Sheridan, is now a teenager and experiencing the upheavals of that fraught chapter of life.

Meanwhile, Joe's friend, Nate Romanowski, who was betrayed and arrested by the Feds at the end of the last book, is languishing in prison, awaiting trial for allegedly murdering a sheriff.

All of these changes to his life are making Joe Pickett a very unhappy camper.

Then, suddenly, Joe is shocked out of his personal ennui by a series of murders. Hunters are being hunted and killed and their bodies mutilated. The first two killings in different parts of the state were ambiguous and might have been hunting accidents, but then the body of a man is found at a hunting camp in the Saddlestring district, strung up from a tree, gutted and flayed and the head removed as hunters would do for an elk. This was no accident.

Hunting is important to the economy of Wyoming and the governor is concerned that he's going to have to shut it down in the interests of public health and safety. He assigns his man, Joe, to help with the investigation. He hires a famous man tracker to come and try to track down the perpetrator.

The tracking does not go well and soon there are more dead bodies on the ground, including the tracker himself.

The investigation regroups and Joe advocates for bringing Nate in because he knows the area and is himself an expert tracker. The governor agrees and, over FBI objections, Nate is released into Joe's custody. Now that the two are reunited, readers of this series will feel confident that the mystery will be solved and justice - at least a rough justice - will be served.

I thought Box did a great job with the plotting and pacing of this thriller. The writing was tight, spare, and clean. He gives us a narrative by the hunter of the hunters, as well as the third person report of Joe's and Nate's perspectives. Speculation about the identity of the killer ranges from an anti-hunting activist to a lone psychopath or to someone with a personal vendetta. But what could that personal vendetta possibly be? There seems to be no connection between the victims, other than the fact that they were hunters.

Box plays fair with his clues and I am proud to say that I began to get a glimmer of the solution to the mystery perhaps halfway to two-thirds through the book. By the time of the conclusion, I was pretty confident in my reasoning. I will just say that reading this book at this time of heightened sensitivity to the issue of sexual harassment and violence probably gave me added insight to the possible motive behind the killings.

Another excellent entry in the Joe Pickett series. I have been reading these in order and they just seem to get better and better. In this one, someone is hunting and killing hunters. It appears that the perpetrator is making these kills because he is against the hunting of animals...but is this the real reason? Why is the killer leaving a red poker chip next to each victim as a calling card? And why does it appear that the victims knew each other? And then why is Pickett's boss, Randy Pope, so concerned about all this? Joe is drawn into this investigation at the behest of the governor and along the why he is able to get Nate Romanowski released from FBI custody to help out. Again, this was one of Box's best and I was surprised by the ending. High recommendation!

These books just keep getting better and better. In this book Box has someone killing hunters.
I have to admit Box had me totally fooled and I did not guess who the killer was at all, or there reason for all killing. That is what Box does so well presents you with just enough facts so that you think you have it figured and and wham he drops the boom.
This one had me hooked from the very start in fact I listened to it in one sitting. Box is one of my favorite authors.

I read C.J. Box’s Joe Picket novel #8 “Blood Trail” immediately after finishing #7 “Free Fire”, so this review will be very similar in nature because both books were so good and reminded me of why I am enjoying the heck out of this series.

In “Blood Trail” Joe is working as a special projects Game Warden for Wyoming Governor, Spencer Rulon, who is keeping Pickett busier than ever. This book starts off with Joe being called to the sight of a murder scene, in which a member of a hunting party has been killed, gutted, and strung up in the trees like an elk. It’s a brutally ugly scene that hits Joe hard, making him wonder if there is a either some kind of crazy animal activist trying to make a brutal anti-hunting statement, or an outright psycho serial killer that raises violence to an all-new level of evil.

The Governor and Joe’s director with an axe to grind, Randy Pope, assign Joe to investigate along with local law enforcement. Joe’s orders are simple and direct - capture the killer before the press gets word that hunters may be in danger - and save the Governor from having to suspend hunting and face millions in lost state revenue.

But things only get worse when Pope leaves Joe alone and without support while trying to track the potential trail of the murderer, and more deaths occur, including someone close to Pickett and his family. To make matters worse, Joe is starting to sense there’s more going on than Pope and the Governor are telling him, and it’s possible this killer has struck before and will strike again. Joe finds himself racing to solve the real mystery behind the deaths, one that involves someone from his past and may require Nate’s help. Only Nate is in prison awaiting trial when Joe needs him the most…

For me book #7 just blended smoothly right into book #8 and I didn’t miss a beat. That’s one nice thing about starting a series after twenty-plus books have been published. You don’t have to wait a year between books. It’s nice to just rip right through them at your own pace. And that is the case with the Joe Picket novels. I can read them anywhere (and I do).

This one focused mostly on Joe, with some appearances from his wife, Marybeth, and their two daughters, Sheridan and Lucy. Although they aren’t as involved as much in other books, Marybeth and Sheridan have some key scenes and moments, especially the rebellious teenage daughter who’s very comfortable with telling adults what she really thinks.

Box continues his multiple storylines arcs, including Nate being stuck in prison awaiting trial for two murders, Marybeth’s mother’s attempt to improve her marriage status, and Sheridan’s developing interest in Falconry with Nate as her mentor. They are all interesting storylines and am enjoying their development along with the twists and turns along the way.

It feels like I keep saying this with each book, and here I go again. This turned out to be my favorite book in the series so far. I was easily immersed in the serial killer plotline and how it was told, using a journal like comments directly from the killer to enhance the story. Even though I figured out who it was about halfway through, appreciated how Box peeled the onion, layer by layer, and still threw in some surprises in the end to make sure I didn’t get too comfortable in my reading experience.

Another strength of this series is the ongoing development of primary and secondary characters being played out against the big murder mystery driving the overall storyline. For me, Box really uses this approach like a master chef to really map out some great storylines that make for some really entertaining reading. He certainly gives Joe enough enemies to deal with. His director, Pope; the always angry and uptight FBI agent Portenson, and even a surprise villain blast from Joe’s past show’s up in this one. That’s just three antagonists without even mentioning the villains. Joe’s a busy man to say the least…

This series keeps growing on me in a lot of good ways. I am emotionally invested in Joe Pickett, his family, and friends. For me, it all starts with Box’s simple and straight-forward writing style. The storylines moved along at a smooth and steady pace. I never lost in interest while reading and was personally invested in the outcomes of both the characters and the mystery. The plot was set-up well, the characters were interesting, and I found myself appreciating his storytelling skills. The plotlines were creative, interesting, and well-delivered. The ending had a strong buildup that delivered a winning and emotional climax.

Overall, this was another strong 4, or even 4.5 out of 5-star rating for me. Each book just keeps building on the previous one and getting better and better…

I hope you consider taking a chance on reading this series if you haven’t already. It is so seriously worth it. Entertaining mystery at its best, and yes, I cannot wait to start reading the next one.

BLOOD TRAIL (Licensed Invest-Joe Pickett-Wyoming-Cont) – G+
Box, C.J. – 9th in series
Putnam, 2008 – US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780399154881

First Sentence: I am a hunter, a bestower of dignity.

Joe Pickett, now working director for the Governor of Wyoming, is called to go to a murder scene where an elk hunter has been murdered and his body treated like the quarry he sought. This isn’t the first such killing.

The Governor puts Joe on the multi-agency investigation, in spite of the antipathy between him and his former boss, Randy Pope. While dealing with a killer and more deaths, Joe has to find out if the appearance in Wyoming of anti-hunting radical Klamath Moore is involved.

In order to track down the killer, Joe persuades the Governor to release his friend, and expert tracker, Nate Romanowski, who is being held in federal prison awaiting trial.

Joe Pickett is a character I really like and it is clear Box knows him well. Pickett is strongly tied to his small, nuclear family of wife and two daughters, he’s loyal to his friends, and believes in what he does. One character also made the observation that Pickett cares more for the dead than he does for the living, both animals and humans. All the elements of the story emphasize these points.

Box does get a bit preach-y when it comes to the distinction of true hunters who how respect the land and animals versus ego hunters and town dwellers, but I also felt he made some good points.

What did disappoint me, and thus lowered my rating, was the obvious nature of some of the clues. I knew where the story was going way too early. I was also disappointed in the direction he took with the character of Nate.

The book is violent but it’s also quite suspenseful. Box is a very talented writer; I find his book stay with me long after I’ve closed the covers. I’m a still a fan and look forward to seeing where Box is taking his characters.

C.J. did it again. Joe is handed the keys to an Escalade which is a Cadillac SUV but parks a Yukon, an SUV but GM, not Cadillac. Does he do this on purpose? I don't know and I don't care, it's fun to find these meaningless errors (or puzzles if you will) which have nothing to do with the overall quality of the story Mr. Box shares with us. So why, you ask, do I point them out? Because they are fun and my pointing them out has nothing to do with my admiration (which is quite high) for Mr. Box's story telling abilities. In fact, I'm reminded of the old DC Superman Comics that I read as a wee. . . and not so wee lad. If memory serves me - and at my age that's not a given - in the middle of each edition of the Superman comics there was a section where fans would write in to discuss perceived errors in previous editions. The editors would, sometimes with tongue in cheek I'm sure, explain away the error or at times admit their mistake. Yet those writing in were still Superman fans.

But on to Blood Trail.

Joe becomes involved in a political issue; how ethical is it to hunt wild game? Someone apparently thinks it's very unethical indeed and hunts those who hunt that game, or so we are led to believe. But is there another reason? Perhaps and perhaps one should read the book to find out.

There is a lot of the usual in this book but that does not make it humdrum. Instead, much of it is like coming home to an old friend as we watch Joe and Nate, Maribeth, and the various other denizens of Mr. Box's imagination. Many we have come to enjoy and love and others we have come to enjoy and hate. It's up to each individual reader which is which.

If you are a fan of Joe Pickett and/or Nate Romanowski this one won't disappoint; but then, I've yet to see a Box novel that does.

As well as Joe Pickett and his family and friends. Blood Trail is a heck of a good book with plenty of action, thrills, suspense and mystery and most of all a great whodunit! I never saw the ending come and had it all figured out wrong which is rare for me. Love Blood Trail!

Mr. Box weaves such a wicked tale of love, lies, revenge and secrets that will totally captivate you. Blood Trail is not what it seems to be at first and Mr. Box takes you on a heck of ride till the very last page. Then it just hits you!!

Joe Pickett and his family are an essential part of every novel without over doing it you look forward to each novel to see how the family has grown and matured, just like you were part of his family. Mr. Box's descriptive writing of Wyoming and it's parks is amazing and gives you a description that is so easy to visualize. Many authors cannot do that but Mr. Box does it so effortlessly and so well.

Support characters of Nate Romanowski and Governor Rulon are expertly written and described. I hope that Mr. Box will write a book about Nate Romanowski and his earlier years that keep hinting at who or what he is. But in the meantime, Blood Trail is a really good book and I will definitely recommend it to others!!

*2.5* I'm done with this series. The storyline was recycled and tired. The hunter becomes the hunted, it's been done so many times before. I also really dislike the direction Box taking with Nate. He was a favorite character of mine and now he's a caricature of the man he used to be.

I love this series. My favorite so far. Have I said that before? They keep getting better!

No one writes Wyoming like C.J. Box. Curling up with one of his books is like getting in out of the wind, he gets the people and the places just right and you can almost smell the sage as you turn the pages. So why only two stars?

1. We get it, Mr. Box. You. Don't. Like. Animal. Rights. Activists. Enough, already! Look, I laughed when the tree spiker wound up in the tree in the beginning of Out of Range, and for a book or two it was fun, but seriously, it's time to skip the needle over a track. Wyoming is full of better songs.

2. Nate. I don't want to give away anything, but yeeesh. He was always a frightening character, but has prison drained the poor man of all complexity? Is he going to be just a thug with birds? Can't you give him some incense, or a prayer bell, or something.

3. Who dunnit was obvious miles before it should've been. [...and the resolution itself was tortured and artificial. Without spoilers, I think I can say that boatloads of bad movies and TV movies of the week have been made with this plot device. It isn't new, interesting or believable.]

Hope the next one's better because normally I really like this guy.

Another solid addition to the Joe Pickett series. Blood Trail and its mystery are sufficiently engaging, including the unexpected chapters from the killer's perspective. What I most enjoyed, though, were the ongoing dynamics between Joe and the various people in his professional sphere. Sad deaths and all, the politics of Joe's world are interesting to follow. I also appreciate how Box continues to engage with environmental issues and environmental activism throughout the series.

Entertaining, action-filled Joe Pickett tale, with someone murdering hunters in Wyoming. Throw in some animal activists, some overeager vigilante types, the Governor, and old nemesis Vern the previous game warden, and the fun is on.

C.J.Box continues to be a reliable resource for a well-told murder/adventure story. In this instance, he's recycling a lot of the story elements he has previously used in the "Joe Pickett" series. Some of them I like a lot (his family relationships to his wife and to his older daughter), others are OK (his lack of social skills and his strong sense of what is right and wrong), and some are just annoying (his tendency to scrap with authority and his reliance on some of his less-principled friends to do the things outside the law that he should be finding possible to tackle within the law). But these are all things that make the character, and are a winning package when taken together.

Relative to some of the previous books in the series, this one seemed weaker and less interesting. No new interesting characters are introduced, and most of the action plays out from the possibilities raised in previous books. I found myself frustrated with the depth of "trouble" that Joe Pickett generates for himself, but I recognized the feeling as an author's manipulation. I knew from previous books that things would turn around somehow and Joe Pickett would prevail. And so it did. In this case, the I found the denouement disappointing -- politics and cronyism carried the day and justice was only seen to be done, but hardly do we feel much sense of completion or salvation when the dust clears.

The notion of hunting the hunters and treating them as game has been done before, and better elsewhere. The infighting of various local and federal agencies lacked the vigor (and cutting wit) of some of the previous books. Native American women, schools in rural Western towns, measures of manliness... there were possibilities for some deeper and more interesting explorations than these themes received. But the ideas were floated, and perhaps they will form the nucleus of future stories.

That said, C.J. Box did not disappoint in the clinches. This was still a fun read, and a nice way to relax for a couple of evenings. I'm looking forward to working my way through the rest of the series.

It's elk season in the Rockies...but this year a different kind of hunter is stalking a different kind of prey. The Governor is forced to end the hunting season early for the first time in state history. That alone would drive some hunters crazy... but then it would have been the Governor that was found strung up and not some other person:) The way that C.J. Box writes about the mountains in the west is a beautiful piece of work and very well done...you can tell that he loves the wilderness...but his character of Joe Pickett must be the busiest Game Warden in the country. This is the 8th book in the series and I've read 3 before this one, and have found the murders are a bit repetitive. The narrative alternates between the searchers and the killer...whose identity will keep readers guessing up to the very end. What I do like about the series and Mr. Box, is that he takes care and the time to present both sides of the controversial issue of hunting. Well done on that Mr. Box.

This one is my favorite now - so much action as Joe is tracking down a killer. The addition of Nate is, as usual, very welcome. That ending was probably one of my favorite endings in the series - I think Nate is easily my favorite character right now too.
I think I pieced it together who the killer was about halfway because the story kind of shifts to focus on certain characters and their backgrounds and that helped explain motives. Plus there was just a moment where Klamath is too obvious and there isn't really anyone else to choose from - but it definitely had me thinking if the killer's first person chapters at the beginning ever explicitly said their gender so I like the break of the norm.
I'm not usually a fan of books that switch between first person and then third person narrative. It took a while to get used to and honestly that's probably my only gripe on the writing itself besides that it felt just like an info dump for Shenandoah's character all of a sudden for a couple chapters straight and that kind of sealed the deal on who the killer was to me.

4.75⭐️ This one got personal with Joe Pickett and I really enjoyed how passionate the character got about various aspects of the story. So many issues were resolved but there were also quite a few new ones to explore.

The “villain” of the story was really easy to dislike and be disgusted by, but the more you found out, the more you could understand why they did what they did. The story progression was so good with little hints that made it so rich and entertaining.

Been loving the early books from CJ Box-this one has an exceptional ending- not to Mention the gruesome plot-hunters are being hunted then dressed in the field-“ whodunit” ! An AWESOME read…Look out Joe…Enjoy

Despite the graphic details in these books on all manner of topics, I love them. Joe is great! As is the narration.

A hunter of the hunters. Can you guess who? Hard to till the end. Joe Pickett does his normal getting in trouble while he solves the crimes. Love this writer. This was the #8 book in the series. On to #9.