In Plain Sight

By C.J. Box

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Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett's hunt for a missing woman forces him to confront his own past in this gripping novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Ranch owner and matriarch Opal Scarlett has vanished under suspicious circumstances during a bitter struggle between her sons for control of her million-dollar empire. Joe Pickett is convinced one of them must have done her in. But when he becomes the victim of a series of wicked and increasingly violent pranks, Joe wonders if what's happening has less to do with Opal's disappearance than with the darkest chapters of his own past. Whoever is after him has a vicious debt to collect, and wants Joe to pay...and pay dearly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: May 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9781440679490

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 In Plain Sight

[shelbycassie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Joe Pickett books are a good read. This one left a small cliff hanger at the end of the book. However, each one of these books can be read out of order, but I find it better to read them in order. This is one where I think the next book needs to be read after this one. Author is pretty steady on making his books interesting. Not heavy.

[gbelik_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another pretty good outing for Fish and Game ranger Joe Pickett. The formula of family in danger and Joe skirting or exceeding legality is getting a little tired. Indications of a job change will maybe stir things up.

[buffalogr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Joe Pickett is such a man's man. Novel is well paced and does not loose your interest. C.J. Box has added several facets that make Joe's life interesting: mother in law, boss, co workers all add drama. Great edge of your seat story. Characters are not new, but embellished somewhat. Fun read, I liked it.

[infjsarah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable enough with some twists and turns. But I'm not a fan of the stranger on revenge warpath of our hero through a very convoluted reason why!

[jessiep73 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really good. I definitely think Joe Pickett has hit a turning point in this book, if he didn't in the previous one. Very excited to see what happens from here!

[she_climber · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I just really enjoy this series. Joe Pickett is such a man's man following him throughout his adventures is just good entertainment. Can't wait to start the next one.

[joycepa_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

6th in the Joe Pickett seriesUnfortunately, this installment does not make it to the standard that Box has set with his previous novels in the series. Box’s plotting is always workmanlike—not outstanding but good. However, he generates much of the tension in his novels by putting Joe’s family in danger; he does it again with this book, and it’s a tired-out device.There are two things that lift this series above the average: Box’s exploration of New West issues, such as environmentalism and land and wildlife management, and his lyrical descriptions of the Wyoming high country. There is an issue here—the passing on of large family ranches in the third generation. And while that’s central to the plot, it isn’t of riveting an interest as his treatment of other issues has been.But as usual, he comes through with his ability to pass on to the reader his love of and feel for waking up in the morning to a spectacular sunrise, what happens during too much rain too soon, the beauty of the high mountains. It’s a real gift and more than compensates for his rather ordinary prose in other respects.However, keeping the interest going: box introduces the new governor of Wyoming, a definite iconoclast whose very personal way of being governor is absolutely fascinating. He’s so well done as a character, that I am going to look up the current, real Wyoming governor to see if Box has based his fictional one on the real thing. If not—Governor Rulon is a great addition to the book and to the series.This is not a book I would recommend on its own merits; I think it’s only valuable to those fans of the series who want to keep up with Joe and what is happening in his (and Box’s) beloved Wyoming.

[clik4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Winner of the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, the Barry Award, and an Edgar Award and (Whew!) L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, CJ Box’s newest Joe Pickett mystery hit the New York Times bestseller list.Our Cheyenne, Wyoming author created a character who tries to do the right thing, be a good husband, father and man yielding common sense and his game warden badge. His stories revolve around the life of Joe Pickett, his job and his family, possibly similar to Box’s own experiences traveling, fishing, hiking, working as a ranch hand, a surveyor and a newspaper man. The series starts with Open Season, Savage Run, Winter Kill, Trophy Hunt, Out of Range and his newest award winner: Free Fire. In Free Fire, Joe has been fired from his job as game warden, and the politics are daunting. The Wyoming governor is faced with public critisism with the murders of four campers in Yellowstone by an attorney. Something profitable and dangerous is going on in Yellowstone so the governor offers Joe his badge if he will investigate without credentials.Look for the next Joe Pickett mystery Blue Heaven in 2008.