C. J. Box - Open Season (2001)
"When a high-powered rifle bullet hits living flesh it makes a distinctive - pow-WHOP - sound that is unmistakable even at tremendous distance."
That is the opening line of this brilliant debut mystery from C. J. Box, a new author who is quickly taking the mystery world by storm. If this book is any indication of his potential as a writer, we can expect great things from him. This is not only one of the best first mysteries I've read in a long time; it's one of the best, period.
Open Season follows the travails of Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett, a decent, dedicated family man who is trying his best to do his job honorably. That brings him into conflict with a lot of people who wish he would just look the other way. His sense of responsibility, though, and the pride he takes in his work won't let him do that.
Pickett's job leads him into the thick of a puzzling mystery involving murder, conspiracy, betrayal, and corporate greed. It places not only him, but his family in mortal danger. Box allows bad things to happen to good people in this book, something more timid authors are reluctant to do. The truth and honesty with which he tells his story not only increase the tension and suspense, but they draw the reader closer in as well.
Joe Pickett is as realistic and likeable a mystery protagonist as you are likely to discover. Most of us can empathize with his efforts to balance family and work, making sacrifices for them both, fearing that he's a success with neither. He is a man who doubts, who makes mistakes, but still tries his best to do the right thing. Pickett has his flaws, but they are human flaws which only make him a better man.
C. J. Box's writing is crisp and clean, the seemingly effortless kind of prose that is actually the reflection of many hours of toil and sweat. His plotting is likewise excellent, keeping the reader in rapt attention as he gradually tightens the screws of suspense.
Go ahead and award Open Season the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. If this book doesn't win, that would really be a crime.
Posted by David J. Montgomery in Book Reviews | Permalink
