The Highway: A Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell Novel

Written by C. J. Box

Narrated by Holter Graham

The inspiration for the hit ABC television series Big Sky.

Winner of the Edgar Award for Best Novel, the New York Times bestselling author of Back of Beyond and Breaking Point and the creator of the Joe Pickett series is back.

"If C.J. Box isn't already on your list, put him there."--USA Today

When two sisters set out across a remote stretch of Montana road to visit their friend, little do they know it will be the last time anyone might ever hear from them again. The girls—and their car—simply vanish. Former police investigator Cody Hoyt has just lost his job and has fallen off the wagon after a long stretch of sobriety. Convinced by his son and his former rookie partner, Cassie Dewell, he begins the drive south to the girls' last known location.

As Cody makes his way to the lonely stretch of Montana highway where they went missing, Cassie discovers that Gracie and Danielle Sullivan aren't the first girls who have disappeared in this area. This majestic landscape is the hunting ground for a killer whose viciousness is outmatched only by his intelligence. And he might not be working alone. Time is running out for Gracie and Danielle…Can Cassie overcome her doubts and lack of experience and use her innate skill? Can Cody Hoyt battle his own demons and find this killer before another victim vanishes on the highway?

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Jul 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781427230997

C. J. Box

C. J. BOX is the New York Times best-selling author of many novels including the Joe Pickett series. He has won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel (Blue Heaven, 2009) as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, and the Barry Award. Over four million copies of his novels have been sold in the U.S. alone and they have been translated into twenty-seven languages. He lives in Wyoming.  

Reviews for The Highway

[Wanda Schaefer · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great story! Diabolical plot! Absolutely awesome narration! Did I say I loved it? C. J. Box knows how to spin a yarn and his prose is almost poetry!

[Leslie Bishop · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyed the book but the audio version I listened to bleeped out the climax of the story,

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good thriller, but not amazingly original. Having the gimp in the torture chamber was just the most obvious of them. And an angry, big rig driver? Hmm...
A long haul truck driver is a serial killer, feasting on lot lizards and other prey. When he grabs two sisters, he sets in motion a cat and mouse game with a tough cop and his partner. There is a surprising twist half way through, and I love the way this book en

[holly_blain · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a very good book. If you like the show "Big Sky," this is the book that is based on. It is very different and ultimately better.

[becky_mckenna-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best things about C.J. Box's writing is his absolute fearlessness when it comes to content and plot devices. The Highway provides an up close and personal look at some very serious issues; kidnapping, violence against women, sexual assault, rape, and murder. I'm new to Box's work, but I always find a life lesson woven into his stories. He forces his characters to operate in the "grey" and consider alternative choices to reach their objectives. While this book is darker than his previous novels (I'm only five books in), the violence did not come across as gratuitous.

A few things that I liked:

1) This story grabbed my attention from Chapter 1 and never lost momentum. I pulled an all-nighter, finishing around 5:30 this morning since I couldn't put it down. I had to bite my tongue in quite a few places to keep from waking the hubby with "OMG!" or "Oh no he did NOT just say/do that!"

2) I was pleased to learn more about Cody's thought process when it comes to his job. He's had a rough couple of years, but his heart is in the right place.

3) Cassie Dewell is my kind of leading lady. She learns a valuable lesson in this book, too. Read it to find out.

4) The scene between Cassie and Sheriff Tubman in the last chapter was extremely satisfying. Best line in that confrontation: After threatening to "blow [Tubman's] head off" she says, "Get in your car or I’ll borrow a weapon!” She's a far cry from the insecure rookie we see at the beginning of the book. I like Cassie. A lot.

5) Gracie's strength. She's the younger of the two sisters, but she's strong. I liked the way she kept a level head, even when Danielle's actions were making their predicament worse.

6) Box's villains are TRUE villains. I can honestly say there isn't a likable bone in their bodies. I know I'll think twice the next time I consider a late night drive home on the open highway. Safety first, ladies!


Overall a very exciting book! I look forward to reading Badlands!

[Stephanie Sisson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

CJ Box does it again, kept you wanting more. Great!

[pennsylady · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

audio discs“"There's a killer on the road.His brain is squirmin' like a toad." Jim Morrisonkidnapping,long haul truckers,montana,murder,mystery/suspense/thriller

[delta61 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised at the number of negative reviews of this book. I thought it was a great story with excitement from beginning to end. Maybe these people should switch to Amish stories. One item in the book was a great surprise to me. It certainly changed the direction of the story and any books in the future.

[dara85 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A serial killer is killing women in Montana. After Coy Hoyt's son's former girlfriend and her sister disappear on the highway to Montana, Cody goes to see what he can find out. Then Cody seems to disappear. Lastly, Cassie goes to Montana to find Cody and the girls.

[bjellis_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this as a ten hour audiobook. It was the first CJ Box I read, and I think it is also the last. I like dark mysteries (Ian Rankin) but this one is dark in a particularly misogynistic way. I stopped at about 7 hours, just couldn’t finish it. The victims are either trucking prostitutes (lot lizards) or pretty teenagers. The killer is very twisted (and shock, hates his mother) and torture s, rapes, used each victim over and over and finally kills her, sometimes dismembers her. The focus on all those acts is unrelenting, and almost voyeuristic. Too dark for me. The novel does do a very good job of plot, character, setting. Some of the interactions—how a character perceives something, or figures something out—are really terrific. Great writing. The two main sleuths, one makes and one female, are both very well done, vivid and unique and believable. Perhaps Box’s other novels aren’t this dark, or at least not this focused on someone who abuses women so intensely, but after this novel I’ll have to let other readers figure that out. Too dark, too thrilled about the dark—I can’t go there.

[toobusyreading · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book, the second in the Highway Quartet, just didn't work for me at all. It starts relatively innocently when a teen, traveling with her younger sister, annoys a long haul trucker. And it goes downhill from here. There is more power and strength given to one of the female characters, but it was still much too brutal for me. There were grisly and too explicit crimes against women, a lot of them. This was a disturbing book, and once I got past the beginning, I did not enjoy it at all. Having tried two in this series, this is the end of the author's work for me.

[jenniferrobb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The other C J Box books I've read were Joe Pickett novels so it took me a bit to realize this one was not the same series. It started out a bit slow for my taste but it did pick up.I liked Cassie at first. I didn't like that her boss used her to get evidence against Cody (her work partner), but if Cody was cutting corners then he deserved to be suspended or fired. And at first Cassie seemed like an up and up cop, but by the end, she shoots the bad guy first, then fires his gun to "frame" him as shooting at her first to justify her shooting him. There are several references to her thinking "what would Cody do" or "how would Cody handle it" and I don't really want her to become a cop who cuts corners just to make sure the bad guy is convicted. I do feel sorry for Justin. He probably feels guilty that he asked Cody (his father) to help locate Danielle (his on-again, off-again girlfriend) and Gracie (Danielle's sister) when they went missing. Cody looking in to their disappearance is what got him killed--so I imagine Justin is dealing with the guilt of that as well as with the loss of his father.Danielle's character bothered me when we were first introduced to her, but I do feel sorry for what happened to her. I feel more sorry for Gracie who was riding along with Danielle thinking they were going to their father's for Thanksgiving and instead finds the trip is hi-jacked by Danielle who is convinced Justin wants to break up with her and feels she needs to see him to prevent that. And though Gracie's insistence that they pull in to a truck stop is what puts the girls on the Lizard King's radar, it is Danielle's later actions that probably make them more of a target to him as well as her neglect of her car in allowing the check engine light to be on for so long without getting it checked. It's scary how well the Lizard King could plan to get away (while still implicating the man who partnered with and tried to blackmail him). Not only that he could physically do it, but that he knew what to do to disguise his truck until he could get somewhere to trade it in, that he knew where to go to exchange his truck for a different one where his current one would probably get sent to Mexico, that he knew where to go to get new identity papers, that he knew how to reestablish himself as an independent trucker. Also scary that he's planning to take his extra-long trailer and create his own (travelling) cell so he can keep abducting women and doing what he does to them-all while continuing to be on the road so that it will be harder for law enforcement to connect his crimes to one individual.

[jamespurcell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Intense and compelling and difficult to put down; C J Box changes his venue and does it very well. Interesting characters, even the bad guys, keep the action moving throughout the book.

[empressreece · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have read all of Box's novels and they are all excellent! If you enjoy a wilderness setting and a good mystery, you should definitely check him out.

[buffalogr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This story grabbed my attention and did not let go. The plot just keeps on coming and doesn't let go...kidnapping, murder, Montana, truckers. Characters are believable, fit the western type and keep you reading. I listened to this while driving across Montana.

[walkernot · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very good thriller, but creepy.

[cherylk_44 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had a co-worker and fellow reader tell me to check out Mr. Box. I heard of him but had not read anything of his work. She told me to read this book. She read it in the hardback format. I kind of forgot about it as I had many other books on my shelf to currently read. It was not until the paperback copy was released that I remembered my friend telling me about this book. So I decided to pick up a copy and check out what Mr. Box was all about. Mr. Box made me think of a favorite author of mine Mr. Rick Mofina. I love Mr. Mofina's books and can read them in one sitting. I think that Mr. Box is going to be another one of my favorite authors like Mr. Mofina. This is because I read this book almost in one sitting. I would have too if it had not already been too late at night. Even though this is my first book, I instantly felt a connection with Cassie and Cody. They each brought something good to the story. The ending was good too. Now back to checking out the prior novels. The Highway is a roller coaster of a great read!

[bohemiangirl35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Police detective Cody Hoyt is fired from the department and ends his sobriety streak on the same day. Cody's son finds him in the bar and asks for his help to find Danielle and Gracie, Justin's girlfriend and her little sister who have gone missing on the highway. They were supposed to be on the way to visit their dad, but were instead headed to Justin's college. Cody uses his law enforcement contacts to begin a search for the girls and gets on the road to look for them himself.Meanwhile, a trucker who goes by the moniker Lizard King searches for lot lizards (prostitutes), and the girls happen to catch his eye. Cody's former partner discovers that Danielle and Gracie aren't the first girls to go missing in that area.This book was a fun read and a little scary. It was my first CJ Box story and I'm already looking for more.

[tabascofromgudreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to the audiobook. This is an excellent, excellent thriller. The setting brings to mind Spielberg's "Duel", where the huge truck represented evil. In short, a deranged killer who calls himself the Lizard King works as a long-haul truck driver, and he kidnaps and kills prostitutes along the way. This is no spoiler because the reader learns this wihin the very first chapters. When the Lizard King kidnaps two young girls on their way to Montana for Thanksgiving, all hell breaks loose and the real hunt begins.

It would be easy to say "this is just a good thriller", but I'd like to say it's a little bit more than that. The realistic feel of the setting, the dialogues, and the personalities involved comes through as something very spontaneous, almost simple, when we know that it's no easy job to write a good old damn thriller. The story has its twists and turns, and overall perhaps nothing too original happens, however, hearing of new wonderful ideas is not the reason why you read a thriller. At least i don't. It's the pleasure of immersing yourself in a certain primordial mood (the chase, the victim, the hunt), it's the chill of sitting right next to the criminal, being in his mind, and in the mind of the investigator. All those things might be always the same but they're incredible fun.

Mind you, as a very general rule, i believe the simpler and smoother a crime novel or a thriller comes across, the more skilfull the author has been at putting it together. Think of Michael Connelly or Dean Koontz. "The Highway" is not as procedurally sophisticated as a Connelly book, or as dark and creepy as a Koontz book (although it is quite creepy in places), but in my opinion it presents a very similar level of fine-tuned, polished writing craft.

You won't ever look at big trucks on the highway the same way again. Guaranteed.

[julie3billing · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Never thought I'd be rating a CJ Box book a two, but I just wasn't enthralled by this one - in fact I was somewhat repelled. I enjoyed Back of Beyond (Hoyt #1) and assumed Hoyt would grow with the books. By one-third of the way through this one I actually put it down and wasn't going to finish, but decided today since I loved Box's other books so much I should give it a chance. I think my problem is that in all of the Pickett novels, there is a greater issue (wind, minerals, etc) although of course greed and off-balance people are always invovled. In Highway, it was simply evil people doing evil things - not a genre of books I'm drawn to.SPOILERS START HERE: I looked for interviews with Box to see if he mentioned a future for this series but couldn't find one. I find it interesting that he killed off Hoyt. Did Box not like where it was gong with such a dark character? (Pickett goes off the rope now and then, but not like this). Or is there some other plan. At any rate, not sure I'd read another Hoyt, though I look forward to other future novels.

[justmelissa_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am a fan of Box's Joe Pickett series. Joe is principled; he does what's right if not always what's legal or prudent. Cody Hoyt, the detective in The Highway (and previously in Back of Beyond), is no Joe Pickett. He's more anti-hero than white knight. Cody's unpredictable and self-involved. He's a lot less likeable than Joe. But, I definitely liked him better this time out, and Cody started to grow on me a little. He's trying to do the right thing for himself and his family, even if he doesn't always succeed. As for the story itself, it's definitely more gruesome that your typical Pickett novel. Serial killer long haul trucker trumps crooked outfitter or wildlife poacher any day.If I hadn't read any of the Pickett books, and picked up either of the Hoyt books first, I probably wouldn't stick with CJ Box. The Highway was a decent way to pass the time, but nothing special.

[she_climber · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Love this author but not one of his best. Story seemed very disjointed between characters/speaker, timeline, and continual reference to a previous incident among some of the characters that took place in Yellowstone, but Box never filled the reader in completely and I couldn't remember anything specific. There were too many characters as well that never really got fleshed out so you didn't really care about anyone too deeply. It was therefore hard to follow although an interesting concept.

[khiemstra631 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is basically a stand-alone Box book although it does feature character Cody Hoyt who readers previously met in Blue Heaven. Here two teenage sisters decided to detour to Helena, MT to visit Hoyt's son Justin, instead of driving from Denver to Omaha to spend Thanksgiving with their father. Also featured is a long-haul trucker nicknamed the Lizard King who specializes in doing unthinkable things to prostitutes that solicit in truck stop parking lots. The two sisters never make it to Helena, and Cody sets out to find them with assistance from his partner Cassie Dewell. Various twists and turns occur before the book wraps up leaving the possibility for another sequel wide open. Way more blood and gore than the usual Joe Pickett book but not as bad as it might have been, given the subject matter. Box fans will enjoy, and readers new to Box will have no problem climbing aboard the Box train.

[bjmitch_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've read one of C. J. Box's novels in the Joe Pickett series, so I selected this stand-alone novel expecting a good read. It is that, but I must admit it scared the heck out of me. I couldn't wait for the end because I couldn't take much more.The story is about a long-haul trucker who preys on young women, calling himself the Lizard King. This guy is scary because he's such a thorough planner and so inhuman. Most of his victims are the prostitutes called "lot lizards" who work truck stops, simply going from truck to truck looking for customers. Many are drug addicts and many are too old and ugly to make their living any other way.Two teenage girls are heading north, supposedly to visit their father, but the eldest instead turns off their route toward Helena, Montana to check on her boyfriend because he is apparently not so stuck on her anymore. Her sister doesn't want to do this, but has to go along. Then they and their car vanish.I can't tell you anymore without spoilers but this plot will have you on the edge of your seat. As for characters, I thought the bad guys were better portrayed than the good guys, but then a lot of the action is theirs and Box concentrated on describing them and their methods.C. J. Box is an excellent writer whose plots are elegantly constructed for maximum page-turning effect.Recommended reading.Source: Amazon Vine

[bookmagic_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

When I started reading this I felt that I was somewhat familiar with the story of the previous book, Back From Beyond, but I don't remember reading it. Maybe I didn't finish it.In THE HIGHWAY, we are reunited with cop Cody Hoyt and his son, Justin, who was lost in Yellowstone Park with Danielle and Cassie and some serial killer. Now Danielle has dragged her younger sister on a road trip to go see her now boyfriend Justin, who moved away and seems to be moving on. They need to take a detour through Yellowstone and this is where they are taken by a trucker known as The Lizard King who usually abducts and rapes prostitutes that frequent truck stops. But he followed Danielle and Cassie on their detour because Danielle flipped him off. Justin begins to worry as Danielle stops answering her cell phone which is usually glued to her. He turns to his dad, Cody, who is having a pretty bad night after being thrown off the police force. Cody goes looking for the girls and to meet up with a state trooper and also loses contact. That leaves his partner, Cassie, to find the girls, along with other ones that she discovers have been abducted.This was a fast-paced read, it takes place over two days and a lot happens, so there are no slow moments. I was quite surprised at a game-changing move in the plot and not sure how I feel about that. I liked Cassie and Grace, the younger of the sisters. I'm not sure why the author decided to use the same characters that had been traumatized in the previous novel. Overall, it wasn't a bad read, not my usual preference, but one I think fans of thrillers can enjoy.

[mikedraper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Two teenage girls go missing in rural Montana and the sheriff's department search for them. Since one of the girls told their father they were going somewhere else the search is slow to begin.Cassie Dewell, a Montana Sheriff's Department Investigator leads the investigation. Cody Hoyt is part of the team and taught Cassie much of what she knows.The characterization is well described and interesting to read.This part of Montana is lonely and a truck stop is the base from which a man can prey on women, usually prostitutes who cater to the long distance truckers using that truck stop.There is good imagery of the Montana life and the author provides some excellent twists and surprises that will leave the reader thinking about this novel into the future.