Publishers Weekly calls this fourth entry in Anthony Award winner and New York Times best-selling author C.J. Box's gripping Joe Pickett series "riveting." Trophy Hunt opens at the Wyoming game warden's chilling discovery of a mutilated moose. Although the sheriff believes the carnage was the act of a ravenous bear, Joe has a hunch something-or someone-much more sinister is to blame.
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"4.25 stars. I so enjoy spending time in Wyoming with Joe Pickett, his family and the entire cast of characters. This one starts with Joe finding a mutilated moose and Sheriff Barnum, the sheriff we love to hate, finds cattle mutilated in similar fashion. Soon thereafter, mutilated people are also found. There is talk of aliens and all sorts of speculation. It is a curious case, a well-told story, and a great escape. Everything you want in a crime fiction novel."
— Jodi (4 out of 5 stars)
“Box vividly evokes life in the West, and the surprises he springs keep you guessing right to the end—and a little beyond.”
— People“Continues his run of excellence.”
— Rocky Mountain News“Riveting…his skillfully crafted page-turner should have wide appeal.”
— Publishers Weekly“With its credible and sensitively drawn characters, loads of interesting tidbits about the natural world and timely plot, this skillfully crafted page-turner should have wide appeal.”
— Publishers Weekly“This has all the elements that made the first three Picketts so pleasurable: Pickett himself, a bad shot but a good man; a strong supporting cast, especially his family; an inventive plot; and Box's own well-reasoned grasp of the issues.”
— Booklist" Not Box's best. A little on the gory/gross side. Seems like he was going for shock value and it was just ... not. "
— Lovestheoutdoors, 6/29/2023" This was kind of creepy, but I did enjoy it. Joe Pickett is out fishing with his daughters when they come upon a dead bull moose which has been gruesomely disfigured. Shortly after, a herd of cattle suffers the same fate. What is causing these animals to die? What-or who- is surgically mutilating them? Joe is caught up in the investigation along with Sheriff Barnum, and FBI agent Portenson. I wasn't quite satisfied with the ending. Like Joe, I'm not fond of the "woo-woo" stuff which left a few threads dangling. "
— Deb, 2/10/2014" A series of animal mutilations is labeled as the work of a grizzly bear, but game warden Joe Pickett believes it is the work of a modern day Jack the Ripper. Moments that were really creepy. "
— Kevin, 2/1/2014" wow, that book surprized me. a plot that i have never come across before, which is saying something! can hardly wait to pick up my next Box book and continue learning about the life of Joe Picket, game warden. "
— Marion, 1/29/2014" Better than than Open Season, more suspense. Interesting that apparently unexplained cattle mutilations in the West actually have been reported. Starts out slow but has some decent twists and turns. (See, I said I read a whole stack of these suckers while on the beach...) "
— Carrie, 1/28/2014" I love the Joe Pickett series by C.J. Box...I'm trying to read them all in order...this one deals with developments involving a rash of animal mutilations and a couple of murders...the characterization of a good man and family dealing with the everyday mundane and evil is truly entertaining...I'm hooked!!! "
— Mark, 1/24/2014" This almost got 3 but the last few chapters didn't quit and gave it the push to 4. This is a good story in the events of joe Pickett, reminds me of a wilderness criminal minds episode. Not as good as 3 but I think it might set up some diversity for the book "Out Of Range", hope so, still it WAS worth my time and I enjoyed this. "
— Wesley, 1/23/2014" I like CJ Box. Savage Run and Winterkill were both good pot boilers that showed him becoming a better writer in this genre. Trophy Hunt I felt was a step back. There was a weirdness to the story that just didn't fit. It was like taking part of a slasher film and transplanting it to a Joe Pickett book. Or maybe an X-Files to a Joe Pickett book. It just didn't quite work. Also the whole metaphysical stuff with Nate didn't make a whole lot of sense and found myself skipping those paragraphs. CJ went back to being predictable. And the whole kid thing needs to end. I don't want to say anything because it give away the end. It was ok. That is all I can say about the book. "
— Anthony, 1/20/2014" 2 Good. "
— Pam, 1/19/2014" A pretty good mystery, set in contemporary Wyoming. I just don't love the characters. "
— Frank, 1/16/2014" Wyoming game warden investigates the mutilation of big game animals and cattle when it escalates into the murder and disfigurement of two men in the Wyoming wilderness. A good read with some supernatural elements. "
— Fredrick, 1/15/2014" Something is mutilating animals and people in Joe's neighborhood and he has to stop it. He sure found a high crime corner of Wyoming. I enjoy this series and will continue to read it. "
— Nate, 1/4/2014" ALL of his books are great! "
— Barbara, 12/23/2013" Moose and cattle mutilations lead to murders and mutilations; faces, gonads, rectums all cut away. "
— Victoria, 12/19/2013" Uhmm ... creepylike characters doing gory things ... "
— Tom, 12/13/2013" A little more gruesome than some of the other books, but fast paced and a good story. "
— Michelle, 12/11/2013" I like C.J.Box. His stories are believable and clever. The hints are there you must be able to pull them together. "
— Marilyn, 12/6/2013" I liked this author. I thought I was getting the first book in the Joe Pickett series. Of course I didn't. I was still able to follow and really enjoyed the story. "
— Shelby, 10/18/2013" Written in about 2003-2004, "fracking" problems already a concern in Wyoming. Not until it started in N.Y. and PA did it hit the news, and many are saying "no problem" when there may very well be a problem. This awareness brought it up from a 3 to a 4 star book. "
— Marcie, 9/10/2013" CJ Box trying out for X-Files? This one had some over-the-top theories of the crime, including space aliens. Not my favorite of the Pickett series so far. I agree with Tony, another reviewer, that this one was not as good as previous titles in the series. "
— KarenC, 8/11/2013" CJ Box is growing as a writer. In this book in the Joe Pickett series, he spreads his wings into riskier subjects with a seeming serial killer. He plants red herrings and pulls the reader along with the story. "
— Helen, 7/20/2013" I absolutely love any book by CJ Box and I love the character Joe Pickett. "
— Heather, 5/19/2013" Reading this one way out of order -- not recommended. "
— Deanna, 5/14/2013" Good, but not up to Box's usual level. "
— Jo, 11/7/2012" This is a continuing saga of game-warden Joe Pickett & his family along with more mysterious adventure in Twelve Sleep County, Wyoming. "
— Anna, 10/2/2012" I really like the Joe Pickett series but as the character Joe Picket says, "I don't like woo woo". The semi-supernatural isn't my cup of tea but over-all a good book. "
— Mary, 7/21/2012" I thought that we were in for a re-run of a South Park episode with all the animal mutilations, but CJ Box tied it all together and it made another enjoyable Joe Pickett read. "
— Rod, 3/21/2012" I think this is the 4th of C.j's booxs that I have read and I am just happy that I have the others waiting for me. This book more than some of the others really kept me guessing, lots of twists. "
— Martin, 1/24/2012" I love CJ Box books, can't wait for more to come out! "
— Jaci, 12/25/2011" You do not seem to hear alot about this author but the stories are quite different, a game warden that out detects the detectives. "
— David, 12/8/2011" I loved reading the Nevada Barr series and his books are a little like <br/>hers in that he is a game warden out west so you get the virtual trip <br/>out west when you read. Kind of like taking vacation without leaving home. "
— Candace, 6/16/2011" Didn't even like it enough to read the free preview of the next book in the series. "
— Lora, 6/14/2011" Good story, keeping me on the edge of my seat, but a little over-the-top in some aspects. "
— Julie, 5/14/2011" this is the beginning of a really good series too! "
— Cynthia, 4/26/2011" CJ Box is one of my new favorite writers. I love how each book builds on each other. "
— Heather, 4/3/2011" Great start to a promising series. I'm looking forward to learning more about this area of the country--Wyoming Big Horn Mountains. The main character is honorable but flawed making him so . . . possible. "
— Sue, 4/2/2011" I am not seeing anything really special with this book. I had won the book cold wind in the first reads drawings and loved it, so I decided to give his books another try, but found myself really bored with this one, as I have with other books of his. "
— Naomi, 3/1/2011" Crime/thriller novel with a game warden as the hero. This is the first of the Joe Pickett series. I shall definitely be reading more of them. "
— Jack, 2/25/2011" Book club selection. A bit slow to start. Didn't hold my interest at first, but once I got into it I did enjoy it. A bit predictible. First book in a series. Not sure I would continue reading the series. So many books...so little time! "
— Emanuel, 2/9/2011C. J. Box is the New York Times bestselling author of the Joe Pickett series, six stand-alone novels, the Cody Hoyt series, the Cassie Dewell series, and a story collection. He has won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Barry Awards, as well as the French Prix Calibre .38, and the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Award for fiction. He has also been a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His novels have been translated into twenty-seven languages. A Wyoming native, he has worked on a ranch and as a small-town newspaper reporter and editor. He is an executive producer of ABC TV’s Big Sky, which is based on his Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell novels, as well as executive producer of the upcoming Joe Pickett television series for Paramount TV.
David Chandler is an Earphones Award–winning narrator who has read numerous titles for New York Times bestselling authors William Kent Krueger and C. J. Box, among others.