Open Season

So I went back and ordered the first "Joe Picket" novel in the series from C.J. Box because I have heard good things about this author AND was so turned off by the other book I tried to read by him, The Highway. I have to say, this was a considerable improvement with more complex and interesting characters, at least some of whom I could identify with. Joe Pickett is a fairly new game ranger in Saddlestring, Wyoming. He has two young daughters and a 3rd child on the way. He knows his wife Marybeth has given up her career and the wealthy lifestyle she was accustomed to in order to follow him to various government-owned houses that leave a lot to be desired. Older daughter Sheridan also seems not to like the constant moving. Joe has taken the place of retiring warden Vern Dunnegan, who was a local legend, but has now gone to work as a consultant for a company wanting to run a pipeline through the Bighorn mountains. He is offering Joe the opportunity to work for this same company and make lots of money. But Joe loves his life of being outdoors and safeguarding the wildlife. When a hunting guide stumbles into Joe's backyard late one night mortally wounded and leaves behind a scarred plastic cooler that seems to have been carrying live animals, the real trouble begins. A series of murders is followed by threats to Joe's family, which come from the most unlikely direction. Joe begins to suspect that an endangered species may play a key role in what is happening. Then someone pulls strings to get Joe suspended for losing his weapon in a confrontation with a man he once tried to arrest. Joe is determined to get to the bottom of things while he still can, but the cost is higher than he ever imagined.