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“A great crime novel.”

“Open Season is a muscular first novel...Box writes as straight as his characters shoot, and he has a stand-up hero to shoulder his passionate concerns about endangered lives and liberties.”

“Pickett [is] an engaging change from the fast-driving, trigger-happy male heroes of so many contemporary crime novels…Open Season offers several unexpected twists and is greatly enlivened by concise but heartfelt descriptions of the Wyoming landscape…a very promising debut.”

“Intriguing, with a forest setting so treacherous it makes Nevada Barr’s locales look positively comfy, with a motive for murder that is as unique as any in modern fiction. Pickett is a refreshingly human and befuddled hero…But it’s Box’s offbeat way of telling the story that puts it on the best of the year track.”

“A fascinating, well-scripted debut novel...It’s a classic tale of Wild West justice.”

“An appealing first novel.”

“The unusual setting and flawed characters make for an enlightening...suspenseful read.”

“C. J. Box might represent an endangered species himself: a first novelist who is getting his due…Box’s book has it all—suspenseful plot, magnificent scenery, and a flawed male hero who is tough but truly connected to his family…profoundly memorable.”

“[A] debut mystery to be savored...Joe Pickett is a modern-day Gary Cooper, soft-spoken and good-hearted...Box has created an enduring hero in Joe...Once you stake out Open Season, you won’t want to turn loose until the limit is bagged and the back cover is closed.”

“C. J. Box has written a fast-paced, intelligent mystery that draws us into the wide open spaces of Wyoming and introduces a memorable hero: Game Warden Joe Pickett, unwilling detective and a man with a conscience. A page-turner and a remarkable debut.”

“[A] superb debut...Without resorting to simplistic blacks and whites, Box fuses ecological themes, vibrant descriptions of Wyoming’s wonders and peculiarities, and fully fleshed characters into a debut of riveting tensions. Meet Joe Pickett: he’s going to be a mystery star.”

“Every few years a novel appears that immediately sets itself apart from the crowd...Taking dead aim with his first sentence...Box remains square on target throughout this nearly word-perfect debut...Best of all, the soft-spoken Joe Pickett is a Gary Cooper for our time.”

“A high-country Presumed Innocent that moves like greased lightning.”