Title:	Open Season
	Author:	C. J. Box
	Published:	May 7, 2002, G. P. Putnam’s Sons
	No. of Pages:	316
	Cover Price:	$9.99 Paperback, $9.99 Kindle

---

The first novel in the bestselling Joe Pickett series by award winning author, C.J. Box, is Open Season, where Joe Picket is first introduced. Joe Pickett is the new game warden, and he doesn’t pull any punches and he makes sure things are on the up and up. When he discovers a man murdered and splayed in the back woodpile, he has to think things through and investigate all the clues that don’t make sense.

Joe Pickett is a unique character and is beloved by those who like rugged outdoorsy types. He is quite well developed in this first novel (but it gets better as the subsequent novels are read). Box does an excellent job with his characters and they seem real. He also does an excellent job of keeping the storyline going so that readers won’t want to put the book down. The author is obviously very familiar with the outdoors and the area of Wyoming where the novel takes place, so readers will be able to feel like they are there.

All told, this is a series for anyone who likes a rugged type protagonist who is likeable and honest. Joe Pickett is great, and readers will definitely want to pick up the subsequent novels and savor them. Box is a bestselling and award winning author for a reason. This novel is excellent.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.