Paradise Valley (Highway Quartet Series #4)

by C. J. Box

Overview

She almost caught the notorious Lizard King serial killer once. Now, he’s back—with a vengeance.

For three years, Investigator Cassie Dewell has been on the hunt for a serial killer known as the Lizard King, whose hunting grounds are the highways and truck stops where runaways and prostitutes are most likely to vanish. Now, working for the Bakken County, North Dakota sheriff's department, Cassie has set what she believes is the perfect trap for the Lizard King—and she has lured him and his truck to a depot. But the plan goes horribly wrong…and Cassie loses her job, her reputation, and her hope for justice.

At the same time, Kyle Westergaard, a troubled kid whom Cassie has taken under her wing, has disappeared after telling people that he’s going off on a long-planned adventure. But Kyle's disappearance may have a more sinister meaning than anyone realizes…Now Cassie must track down Kyle and take down a killer who is as ruthless as he is cunning. But can she do it alone, without losing her own humanity—or her own life?

Paradise Valley continues the Highway Quartet series from bestselling author C. J. Box.

“Excellent.”—Associated Press

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250051066
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/25/2018
Series:	Highway Quartet Series , #4
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	121,505
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

C.J. BOX is the bestselling author of Badlands, The Highway, and more than twenty other novels, including the award-winning Joe Pickett series. Blue Heaven won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 2009, and Box has won the Anthony Award, the Macavity Award, the Barry Award (twice), the Western Heritage Award for Literature, and the Spur Award. Box’s work has been translated into twenty-seven languages. He splits his time between Cheyenne and his ranch in Wyoming.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Paradise Valley:

"Thrilling plot, evocative setting, deep characterization; this book has them all." —Reviewing the Evidence

"[Box has] crafted fascinating characters and put them in riveting, challenging circumstances that test their mettle and threaten their worlds." —The Durango Herald

Praise for Badlands:

“Suspenseful—you can’t put it down.” —Library Journal (starred)

“Brilliant…the most effective of his thriller since his Edgar-winning Blue Heaven.” –Booklist (starred)

"A suspenseful, professional-grade north country procedural...The unrelenting cold makes this the perfect beach read.” –Kirkus Reviews

"Fascinating...Box is a master.” –The Denver Post

"Absorbing...strong and compelling." –Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Intriguing...An enthralling thriller." –Associated Press

"Box’s latest thriller burnishes his reputation as the dean of contemporary Western suspense." –BookPage

"Cassie Dewell is a complex and multi-faceted protagonist who is one of the more interesting characters to emerge from the thriller genre over the past couple of years." –Book Reporter

From the Publisher

★ 05/15/2017
Bestseller Box’s excellent conclusion to a quartet of loosely related novels that started with 2011’s Back of Beyond finds Cassie Dewell now the chief investigator for the Bakken County (N.Dak.) Sheriff’s Department. Cassie convinces her boss, Sheriff John Kirkbride, to approve a sting operation designed to entrap serial killer Ronald Pergram, an independent trucker who preys on truck stop prostitutes. Having eluded capture in 2013’s The Highway, the cunning Pergram gets wind of the plan and booby traps his truck, which explodes and kills several local police and feds involved in the operation, including Cassie’s fiancé. In the aftermath, Cassie is suspended and obnoxious county attorney Avery Tibbs subsequently forces her to resign. Meanwhile, Pergram goes on a kidnapping spree that leads to Cassie getting back on the force and the case. The intrepid, appealing Cassie relies on her keen investigative instincts to hone in on Pergram in this top-notch thriller, which makes vivid use of the American West. 250,000-copy announced first printing; author tour. Agent: Ann Rittenberg, Ann Rittenberg Literary Agency. (July)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2017
In this third installment of the series (after The Highway and Badlands), Cassie Dewell has been suspended from her job as chief investigator for the Bakken County, ND, sheriff's department, when her plan to capture the serial killer known as the Lizard King went badly awry. Pending an investigation, Cassie uses her free time to probe the disappearance of three Grimstad residents, including her son's friend, Kyle Westergaard. Clues lead Cassie to Paradise Valley, MT, childhood home of the Lizard King. Here, Cassie and her late partner, Cody Hoyt, had first uncovered the highway killer's gruesome deeds. With the help of mountain guide Bull Mitchell, Cassie tracks the Lizard King and his three captives to a remote cabin where, in a climatic finale, she comes face-to-face with the man she has long hunted. VERDICT Box's many fans will devour this dark thriller, which is sure to be another hit for the author. [See Prepub Alert, 3/1/17.]—Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at Illinois Eastern Community Coll., Mt. Carmel

Library Journal

Christina Delaine delivers a thrilling performance of this high-stakes hunt for a killer. Relentless in her pursuit of the Lizard King, a long-haul trucker responsible for a string of murders, Deputy Cassie Dewell finally has him cornered in Bakken County, North Dakota. Unfortunately, he knows it. Employing regional accents and mostly avoiding caricature, Delaine firmly grounds the story in the Midwest. Male characters have deeper voices marked by a slower cadence, while female characters, especially older ones, elongate their vowels in signature Midwest style. Notably, Delaine's sensitive portrayal of a young man with a speech impediment adds emotional depth, while her depiction of the elusive Lizard King generates chills. Though it's the final audiobook in the Highway Quartet, listeners can easily enjoy this as a stand-alone. A.S. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2017 - AudioFile

2017-05-02
Box takes another break from the travails of Wyoming Fish and Game Warden Joe Pickett (Vicious Circle, 2017, etc.) to throw a serial killer at a dogged investigator and vice versa.His real name is Ronald Pergram, but he's more widely known as the Lizard King because of his habit of abducting lot lizards—prostitutes who work truckers' parking lots—and driving off with them into the endless sunset. And Cassandra Dewell, chief investigator for the Bakken County Sheriff's Department, has been after him for more than three years, ever since veteran Sheriff Jon Kirkbride recruited her from Montana and began to train her as his successor. Now that the deep-laid trap Cassie's set for the Lizard seems to be about to snap shut, she's arranged for every available lawman to be on hand when the Lizard's truck, complete with his latest victim, or at least with forensic evidence he hasn't yet had time to clean off, crosses North Dakota and heads west into Bakken County. On the very same day Cassie's set her trap, her son's friend Kyle Westergaard and his buddy Raheem Johnson, both 14, plan to pull a Huck and Jim and light out for the wide open spaces on a boat they hope to row to New Orleans. All too predictably, Cassie's trap goes horribly wrong, leaving her frozen out of the department by slimy new Bakken County attorney Avery Tibbs and the Lizard with several new hostages on his hands, setting the stage for a dogged pursuit all the way to Yellowstone National Park. Box handles both the set pieces and the longer arc with professional dexterity. The results can't exactly be called memorable, but if you like chases across wide-open spaces, you'll race toward the satisfying climax without caring about anything else.

Kirkus Reviews