Review: Free Fire

In the prior entry in Box’s entertaining series, game warden Joe Pickett lost his job. He and his family have moved onto the ranch owned by Joe’s wife’s father-in-law and Joe has begun to work as ranch foreman. While this has solved short term cash flow problems for Joe, he still regrets the change in atmosphere, working conditions, and responsibility which occurred when his game warden days ended.

In a remote corner of Yellowstone National Park, a ranger is startled when a man comes into the ranger station and confesses to mass murder. He has gunned down four persons relaxing at a remote campsite. The chilling postscript is this: Because of a strange quirk in the intersection of Federal and state law and the lack of permanent residents in the area, the murdered cannot be tried for his crime. He will be as free as a bird once the investigation is complete.

Wyoming’s governor soon contacts Joe, and offers him a special assignment to return to duty and to go to Yellowstone to find enough information to enable the murderer to be tried on other grounds.

Not surprisingly, Joe is not really welcome when he arrives to consult with local authorities and National Park Service personnel. Only one NPS safety officer is willing to help, and she and Joe begin to investigate as inconspicuously as possible, following up leads which had been ignored by previous investigators.

Eventually, Joe finds that good old fashioned greed is at the heart of the motivation for the murders, and several persons hoping for a financial windfall are pulling strings behind the scenes.

I like Joe Pickett, on occasion he makes a monumental “oops!” error which complicates the situations he’s working on. But he is a straight shooter, firmly committed to an honest approach, and fiercely protective of his family.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.

Book Review: Free Fire

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.