Praise for The Bitterroots:
"Outstanding...Vividly etched characters and a realistic plot lift this outing, and the well-done Montana setting is a plus. Box remains at the top of his game." —Publishers Weekly
"Will render readers utterly immobilized until they've closed the book...Box has become the dominant mystery/thriller author of the mountain West." —Booklist
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
08/01/2019
In Box's fourth "Cassie Dewell" mystery (after Paradise Valley), Cassie is working as a PI in Helena, MT, conducting investigations for insurance companies and car dealerships, which feels like a breath of fresh air after her previous job in law enforcement. But then an old friend calls in a debt, and Cassie leaves the comfort of her new business to look into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a member of an influential family in a small, rural community. As she heads into the Bitterroot mountains, where a fire is raging, that fresh air disappears both literally and metaphorically. The family of the accused is the worst kind of dysfunctional, and there's a trucker who seems bent on killing Cassie and her family, harkening back to her stressful days chasing a serial rapist and murdering trucker. After a slow start filling in Cassie's history, Box shifts into high gear, pulling the plotlines together while writing lyrically of the Western landscape. VERDICT Box gives a scathing look at the perverted nature of a backwoods isolationist family, at the same time providing a strong female protagonist. This will appeal to readers who enjoy works by Craig Johnson, Paul Doiron, Brian Panowich, and Nevada Barr. [See Prepub Alert, 2/4/19.]—Sharon Mensing, Phoenix
★ 2019-05-27
The creator of Wyoming Fish and Game Warden Joe Pickett (Wolf Pack, 2019, etc.) launches a new series starring a female private eye who messes with a powerful family and makes everyone involved rue the day.
Cassie Dewell's been taking a monthly retainer from Bozeman attorney Rachel Mitchell for investigations of one sort and another, but she really doesn't want to look into the case of Rachel's newest client. That's partly because Blake Kleinsasser, the fourth-generation firstborn of a well-established ranching family who moved to New York and made his own bundle before returning back home, comes across as a repellent jerk and partly because all the evidence indicates that he raped Franny Porché, his 15-year-old niece. And there's plenty of evidence, from a rape kit showing his DNA to a lengthy, plausible statement from Franny. But Cassie owes Rachel, and Rachel tells her she doesn't have to dig up exculpatory evidence, just follow the trail where it leads so that she can close off every other possibility. So Cassie agrees even though there's an even more compelling reason not to: The Kleinsassers—Horst II and Margaret and their three other children, John Wayne, Rand, and Cheyenne, Franny's thrice-divorced mother—are not only toxic, but viperishly dangerous to Blake and now Cassie. Everyone in Lochsa County, from Sheriff Ben Wagy on down, is in their pockets, and everyone Cassie talks to, from the Kleinsassers to the local law, finds new ways to make her life miserable. But Cassie, an ex-cop single mother, isn't one to back down, especially since she wonders why anyone would take all the trouble to stop an investigation of a case that was as rock-solid as this one's supposed to be.
An appealing new heroine, a fast-moving plot, and a memorably nightmarish family make this one of Box's best.
