Force of Nature by C. J. Box

Don't miss the JOE PICKETT series--now streaming on Paramount+ Joe Pickett's friend's past comes back to haunt everyone he cares about in this violent, bloody, and quite satisfying thriller* from #1 New York Times bestselling author C. J. Box. In 1995, Nate Romanowski was in a Special Forces unit abroad when his commander, John Nemecek, did something terrible. Now the high-ranking government official and cold-blooded sociopath is determined to eliminate anyone who knows about it--like Nate, who's hidden himself away in Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains. And he knows exactly how Nemecek will do it--by targeting Nate's friends to draw him out. That includes his friend, game warden Joe Pickett, and Pickett's entire family. The only way to fight back is outside the law. Nate knows he can do it, but he isn't sure about his straight-arrow friend. And all their lives could depend on it. ONE OF LIBRARY JOURNAL'S BEST MYSTERIES OF THE YEAR Editorial Reviews Praise for Force of Nature A rush...an excellent wilderness adventure.--*The New York Times Book Review Proceeds at warp speed.--The Denver Post Moves like greased lightning.--Kirkus Reviews Perhaps the best in the series.--San Jose Mercury News Violent...Those who love Box's stunning set pieces will be in heaven.--Booklist (starred review) Absolutely riveting...This is the best Box I've ever read, and I've read them all.--Library Journal (starred review) More Praise for the C. J. Box and the Joe Pickett novels One of today's solid-gold, A-list, must-read writers.--Lee Child Picking up a new C. J. Box thriller is like spending quality time with family you love and have missed...It's a rare thriller series that has characters grow and change. An exciting reading experience for both loyal fans as well as newcomers.--Associated Press Box is a master.--The Denver Post Box knows what readers expect and delivers it with a flourish.--Cleveland Plain Dealer Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett strides in big boots over the ruggedly gorgeous landscape of C.J. Box's outdoor mysteries.--The New York Times Book Review Riveting...[A] skillfully crafted page-turner.--People Will keep you on the edge of your seat.--The Philadelphia Enquirer - From the Publisher ...an excellent wilderness adventure...Joe Pickett, the nice game warden who keeps stupid hunters from maiming themselves or blasting at animals with automatic weapons, gallantly plays backup for his falconer friend Nate Romanowski in this violent, bloody and quite satisfying thriller set in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. -The New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio Edgar-winner Box's breakneck 12th Joe Pickett novel (after 2011's Cold Wind) focuses on Joe's outlaw buddy, Nate Romanowski. Nate's been hiding in the foothills of Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains from cruel and powerful enemies, harmlessly communing with his falcons, except when assisting game warden Joe on a case. Unfortunately, Nate's sociopath former Special Forces commander, John Nemecek, a fellow falconer, comes after him with merciless efficiency and a crew of fanatical thugs, and Nate responds with measured but startling ferocity. When Nemecek begins interrogating--and eliminating--people connected to Nate, Joe's family members become targets, forcing Joe to decide how far he can go to help his friend. The struggle between loyalty and law has always been at the heart of this series, set far from big-city legal support systems, and it's especially impressive in this superior entry. Author tour. Agent: Ann Rittenberg, Ann Rittenberg Literary Agency. (Mar.) - Publishers Weekly Set just weeks after fugitive Nate Romanowski's double loss of his lover and a trusted ally (Cold Wind), Nate realizes that his former Air Force mentor is hunting him down and systematically eliminating all his known associates. A bloody confrontation along the Twelve Sleep River injures Nate and sets the tone for a series of violent attacks stretching from Colorado into Wyoming and Idaho. Getting ever closer to Nate's best friends, game warden Joe Pickett and his wife Marybeth, the killer taunts his intended victims. Nate, up against a skilled falconer, expects only the worst outcome, but still he perseveres. And Joe, always honorable, plans to save Nate's life, no matter what it takes. VERDICT The 12th Joe Pickett novel focuses on the enigmatic Nate, whose story mirrors some of the sweeping changes brought on by 9/11 and the subsequent wars. Edgar-winner Box has written an exquisitely designed, six-act mystery that uses falconry for its central metaphor without ever losing the necessary thrust to make this an absolutely riveting read. This is the best Box I've ever read, and I've read them all. Recommend to fans of Lee Child's The Affair. [See Prepub Alert, 9/19/11.] - Library Journal The dark past from which Nate Romanowski's hidden for so long and so successfully finally catches up with him and his friend, Wyoming Fish and Game Warden Joe Pickett (Cold Wind, 2011, etc.). The Five. They've deployed, Nate's pal Large Merle tells him with his dying breath. As soon as he hears the news, Nate knows that his years of living off the grid in Wyoming's Twelve Sleep County--no job, no bank account, no Social Security number--haven't buried him deep enough. Setting his beloved falcon free and abandoning or destroying most of his meager belongings, he high-tails it out, pausing only to shoot three locals who draw on him first. Joe Pickett, tangling once more with Ten Sleep County Sheriff Kyle McLanahan over his responsibilities as government official, witness and friend of the fugitive Nate, is pulled so completely into the triple murder investigation that at one point Luke Brueggemann, his new trainee, asks him, Does that mean we're going to get to do real game warden stuff? Nate, meanwhile, makes the rounds of all his closest friends and relations from his days in Special Forces and finds that those who haven't recently died are in serious danger of getting killed before his eyes. Clearly John Nemecek, the master falconer from Special Forces who taught Nate everything he knows before sucking him into an improbable intrigue that led to a catastrophic screw-up for the federal government, is determined to keep his secret at all costs. The secret is preposterous but serviceable, and the strenuously unnuanced story moves like greased lightning. Box has done much better work, but this high-casualty actioner is just fine. - Kirkus Reviews