Shadows Reel (A Joe Pickett Novel) Paperback – August 2, 2022

This was a great read. It’s full of excitement and adventure.

SHADOWS REEL is the twelfth C.J. Box-penned novel (and the ninth in the “Joe Pickett” series) I’ve read. It’s a solid link in the series but I didn’t experience any “Oh wow” moments.There are two independent storylines, almost like the book alternates between two novellas. One storyline centers around Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett and his wife, Marybeth, endangered by two Hungarian fascists. The premise is a local resident leaves a photo album of a high ranking politician in Hitler’s Germany at the local library where Marybeth is head librarian. The two Hungarians (brothers) will do what it takes, including murder, to get that photo album.The story occurs over Thanksgiving (which was an unexpected delight for me since I read it over Thanksgiving). To celebrate, Joe and Marybeth’s three daughters join their parents, giving regular readers a chance to catch up on the daughters’ doings. (For newcomers, the Joe Pickett novels follow the daughters from childhood to now being in college (one) or working (two); and often are players in the storylines.)The second storyline chronicles Joe’s friend’s, Nate Romanowski, quest to retrieve his valuable falcons from the man who stole them from him (Nate, who at one time was not especially law abiding, is now a family man with a thriving bird eradication business using his falcon “Air Force.”) Nate and another falconer named Geronimo Jones track the bad guy from Wyoming to Seattle. Also involved are somewhat incompetent “antifa” protesters (who are portrayed as rich white kids who despise capitalism but freak out when they are separated from their cellphones).At certain parts of the book, CJ Box reproduces two or three lines from a poem by William Butler Yeats titled “The Second Coming.” My favorite line from the poem is “The best lack all convictions, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” I’m not sure how much the poem excerpts add to the story, but CJ Box obviously thinks they do.The title of the book, Shadows Reel, is taken from the Yeats poem. I researched what Shadows Reel means, but all I got were references to this novel.Two characters briefly introduced in the previous Joe Pickett novel, Sheriff Todd Tibbs who came out of retirement for a job he mistakenly thought wouldn’t require much effort on his part, and the new county prosecutor, AnnaBelle Griffith, return. Annabelle doesn’t do much in the story but Marybeth Pickett likes her, so I assume she’ll be around for a few books at least.My rating: 4 stars (my feeling the otherwise solid book is two novellas gussied up, with no “wow” moments.)

To much Nate and not enough Joe Pickett. All and all a good story and well thought out. Ready for book 23

CJ does it again. There's suspense and action, and a change of scenery, having parts of the story in Colorado and Oregon. Plenty of comic relief too. Another fun and interesting read from Mr. Box.

Joe Pickett is called to a farm for a report of a dead moose, it’s not a moose. It’s the burned body of a simple man with little to his name and no reason for anyone to murder him.On the same day, Marybeth Pickett has an album filled with pictures of the heads of the Nazi regime to include Hitler. She wanted so much to leave the library early and start dinner and plans for the Thanksgiving holiday, because all the girls would be coming home and they would be having extra guests.Nate’s wife, Liv and his daughter Kestrel would also be joining them for Thanksgiving because Nate was on the road after the man who had stolen or killed his entire “Airforce” of falcons.As always, there was no shortage of action and intrigue in the story as with all C. J. Box books. Five stars.

Not a bad book, just not my favorite Joe Pickett novel. First time in a long while it was hard to get through the book….

I have been reading the Joe Pickett series books in order so this was my 21st book. There were two distinct stories, and the author did not do a good job tying them together. Additionally, I was disappointed in errors about Portland and Seattle. For example, the author had the Portland airport north of the Columbia river… Having the cast of characters cross the Columbia to get into downtown Portland from the airport. They would have crossed the Willamette river to get downtown from the airport.

I'm sure that if you are looking at reviews of the 22nd book in the series, you are already familiar with Joe Pickett and the cast of characters that CJ Box brings to the series. So I won't rehash all that you already know.I will say that this is another fun and exciting addition to the series.In people's negative reviews you will see that many are upset that CJ Box spoke negatively about some of the protests that were taking place over the past few years. I too was worried that this book was trying to make a political statement. However, if you read carefully, you will notice that while he does poke at antifa, he shows respect to the BLM movement and makes it clear that they have a point and deserve a different kind of consideration than antifa.I am a democrat and support the BLM movement and will clearly say, I'm not offended by anything that is said in this book. Anyone who is offended by anything in this book should not be 22 books into this series.Having said all of that...I love the Pickett family. I love the way that CJ Box writes. I could read a million of these books. Also, he's been foreshadowing that eventually, Sheridan will get in on the action in a bigger way. I think that will be a welcome next step for the series.The only thing that I didn't like about this book is that I finished it too quick and am now forced to wait another year for the next one.

Great read,thank you CJ for another fab read. Feeling the love for Joe Pickett. Just proves there is life I the old dog yet.

Deux histoires séparées, sans liens entre elles avant les vingt dernières pages. Un pickett guère convaincant, avec comme toujours pas mal de coïncidences difficiles à avaler et une Marybeth qui met des heures à réaliser l'évidence, alors qu'elle est supposée très intelligente. L'auteur me semble perdu : la nature n'est quasiment plus présente dans ses intrigues, et il ne sait plus trop quoi faire de Nate Romanowski, qui est un boulet pour la série.

Vorweg: Das Buch ist nicht schlecht - zwei parallele Handlungsstränge, jeder ein Thriller für sich, irgendwie erwartet man, dass die Stränge zusammengehören, was dann aber leider doch nicht passiert. Alles in Allem gute Spannung.Aber: Es ist kein wirklicher Joe Picket Thriller. Das Herzstück der Serie spielt doch eigentlich in den Wäldern, der Wildnis, die Verbrechen hängen irgendwie damit zusammen. Davon ist dieses Mal nichts zu spüren. der Handlungsstrang rund um Nate verläuft von Denver über Seatle nach Portland während Familie Picket in Saddlestring verweilt - zum größten Teil im eigenen Haus oder der Bibliothek. Die "Bösewichte" stammen aus Südost Nates Vergangenheit, die die Antifa und BLM-Bewegung in den amerikanischen Städten instrumentalisieren bzw. aus Südosteuropa. Wie gesagt - ein recht guter Thriller, aber für mich dann doch enttäuschend.

このシリーズは6作しか読んでいないのですが、JoeとNate、別々の話が描かれている点と、Joe本来の仕事とあまり関係ないナチスのアルバムがテーマになっている点で、いつものシリーズとは違う印象を持ちました。ただ、そのアルバムの話の一部が史実であるとの事には驚かされましたし、作者がテーマに選んだ事に納得もしました。

Loving the Joe Pickett series. Makes me wished I'd travelled more when I could have. Brilliant series to give as presents