Monday, February 3, 2025

Battle Mountain

Battle Mountain by C. J. Box
2/25/25; 368 pages
Penguin/Putnam
Joe Pickett Series #25

Battle Mountain by C. J. Box is a riveting, very highly recommended intense thriller and the 25th novel featuring Joe Pickett. This one directly continues the story in Three-Inch Teeth, which I would recommend reading before enjoying Battle Mountain. They are both 5 star reads so this is a win/win suggestion.

Outlaw falconer Nate Romanowski left his daughter in the care of Marybeth and Joe Pickett and is living off grid while following the trail of Axel Soledad the man who murdered Nate's wife. He eliminated three of his followers, but Axel was not there. Later Geronimo Jones finds Nate and the two men set off to track Axel down and make sure he is taken out. 

At the same time Governor Rulon asks Joe for a personal favor. His son-in-law Mark Eisele and elk hunting guide Spike Rankin have both gone missing. He wants Joe to go down and find him. The two different searches are heading to converge at Battle Mountain.

This is an extremely well-written, un-put-downable, compelling character-driven thriller. The complex, tension-packed, fast-paced narrative follows multiple storylines until everything eventually merges toward the end. The two different searches are equally interesting. The final confrontation is larger than expected and becomes a real showdown.

All the characters are fully realized, complex individuals. At this point, readers know their strengths and weaknesses and the moral dilemmas they have encountered. It certainly helps that I've read several books in the series now and know all the characters, their abilities, the background, and the setting. 

Each new Joe Pickett novel I read makes me an even greater fan of C. J. Box. Thanks to Penguin/Putnam for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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