Review: Winterkill

This continuing series features Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, who works alone patrolling an area of 1500 square miles, contacting his supervisor by Email on the infrequent occasions he needs guidance. Pickett's office is in a small house which also is his home - which he shares with his wife, two daughters, and a foster daughter. In Winterkill, his mother-in-law has joined them, and the forced tight spaces of inhospitable winter weather and too many people indoors together become an atmospheric backdrop to the action.

Pickett's performance of his game warden duties doesn't always go smoothly, and this "oops!" feature of this very appealing protagonist is one of the things which enhances this series for me. In Winterkill, Pickett arrests a man he catches in the act of violating the limit on elk hunting, and within just a few minutes the arrested man has handcuffed Pickett to the steering wheel of the game warden's truck. In order to follow the man through the snow, Pickett succeeds in removing the wheel from the steering column and stumbles after him, carrying the wheel the whole time.

But the comedy doesn't last. The backwater nature of the Wyoming mountains has prompted higher authorities in the Forest Service to dispatch an unstable supervisor to the area to "take control" and fix a situation which isn't broken. Her paranoia, ineffectiveness, and susceptibility to sadistic suggestions from staff under her leads to several frightening situations, and more than a few unneccessary deaths.

In all the books in this series, Pickett displays a deep, committed love of his wife and family. When a threat to their safety arises, he is NOT the man you want to have opposing you. In Winterkill as in the other volumes, we see nice family interactions and at the conclusion of this book Pickett and his wife act in a manner above and beyond the call of duty in caring for those who cannot provide for themselves.

Near the close of the action, as Pickett desperately seeks to prevent the unfolding tragedies, he remains awake for over 48 hours and also endures the pain of a broken rib. He struggles against brutal Wyoming winter weather and manages to arrive at crucial locations in the nick of time. This type of action usually has me moaning to myself "Oh, please!"

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

Book Review: Winterkill