Publisher: Head of Zeus (ebook – 25 February 2025)
Series: Joe Pickett – Book 25
Length: 327 pages
My Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Last year I had the very great pleasure of reading my first novel from C. J. Box, Three-Inch Teeth, which was a wonderfully fun thriller. The 24th book in Box’s long-running Joe Pickett series, Three-Inch Teeth saw a gang of vengeful criminals attempt to kill several of their old enemies, including the book’s protagonists, using an elaborate contraption that simulated a deadly bear attack. Naturally, such a fantastically over-the-top narrative greatly appealed to me, and I had a blast getting through this amazing book. After this excellent introduction to the series, I was keen to read the next Joe Pickett book, especially as I just had an incredible holiday around Wyoming, the main setting of the series. I couldn’t wait to see more depictions of this beautiful landscape after being back in the less-than-picturesque office for a few weeks, so I just read the 25th book in the series, Battle Mountain, which featured another amazing and exciting story.
Plot Synopsis:
Outlaw falconer Nate Romanowski is off the grid and out for revenge in this riveting new novel from #1 New York Times bestseller C. J. Box.
The campaign of destruction that Axel Soledad and Dallas Cates wreaked on Nate Romanowski and Joe Pickett left both men in tatters, especially Nate, who lost almost everything. Wondering if the civilized life left him vulnerable to attack, Nate dropped off the grid with his falcons in tow to prepare for vengeance.
When Joe gets a call from the governor asking for help finding his son-in-law, who has gone missing in the Sierra Madre mountain range, he enlists the help of a local, a rookie game warden named Susan Kany.
As Nate and fellow falconer Geronimo Jones circle closer to their prey, Joe and Susan follow the nearly cold trail to Warm Springs. Little do Nate and Joe know that their separate journeys are about to converge . . . at Battle Mountain.
Battle Mountain was a highly exciting and entertaining thriller from Box, who once again amps up the action and takes his readers out into the wilds of Wyoming. An intense and compelling novel that readers are guaranteed to power through, Battle Mountain was a lot of fun, and I’m really glad I decided to continue this cool series.
This latest book from Box had a great multi-layered narrative to it that set up some interesting story developments, while also moving the series along in a big way. Coming off the tragic end of Three-Inch Teeth, which featured the murder of major protagonist Nate Romanowski’s wife, Battle Mountain starts with Nate on his own and hunting for the culprit, long-time enemy Axel Soledad. As Nate and his friend, Geronimo Jones, begin their hunt anew, the main protagonist, Joe Pickett, is tasked with finding the governor’s missing son-in-law, who was taken near the infamous Battle Mountain. However, Joe is unaware that his target has been kidnapped by Soledad, and his actions to find the missing man could lead him right into the middle of his enemies most ambitious and destructive scheme.
Box did a good job setting up both main storylines, and you soon become quite intrigued by the separate journeys the two main protagonists embark on, especially as one stays within the law while the other is an unsanctioned revenge mission. The two diverging paths of this story complement each other quite nicely, especially as Box also throws in some additional perspectives, including from the antagonist, the Governor’s kidnapped son-in-law, and a young woman working at the site of Soledad’s next attack, which provides key information to the reader and helps to increase the stakes of the narrative. After some fun action-packed scenes, where the protagonists get closer to their respective goals, Box brings all these story elements together for the big conclusion, which ends in the expected shoot out. This conclusion is relatively short and sharp, but provides a satisfying ending to the plot that leaves the series wide open for the future.
I quite liked how Battle Mountain turned out, although it did lack the fun, over-the-top nature of the previous book in the series that I read, Three-Inch Teeth. However, Box makes up for that with a darker, grittier tale of revenge, as one of the characters embarks on a dark hunting mission to finally kill his long-time enemy. The darker tone helped to make this a more addictive story, which, when combined with the fantastic action, ensures that you can just power through Battle Mountain in no time at all. I really enjoyed how Box initially split his narrative and set up the key characters of the book, with Joe Pickett being the more noble protagonist, Nate Romanowski being the figure of righteous vengeance, while Axel Soledad proving to be a particularly nefarious and manipulative overarching antagonist. Battle Mountain had a great flow as a result, and the cool tension in the lead up to the big conclusion, ensured that you couldn’t put the book down, especially near the end.
As with most of the books in the Joe Pickett series, Battle Mountain works very well as a standalone novel, although established readers of the series will no doubt get a lot more out of it, especially after tragic ending of Three-Inch Teeth. While there are some ongoing character elements that are addressed, I felt that Box did an excellent job reestablishing all the characters, including once again hyping up Soledad as a great villain, while also ensuring that all readers get the emotional stakes of the plot. I liked how Battle Mountain’s tone and focus matched the previous novels in the series, with a particularly enjoyable focus on the natural beauty and personality of the people of Wyoming. I personally loved this book a little more thanks to my very recent journey to the fantastic state of Wyoming, especially when Box references locations and local elements I can now relate to (for example, bison-caused traffic jams), and you can really feel the love that the author has for this state (it’s mutual, by the way; I visited a bookshop in Wyoming with every single Joe Pickett book proudly displayed on the shelf). This depiction of Wyoming does include a large look at the politics of the state, which as you can imagine is a bit fractious. However, Box ensures it’s not too overwhelming, and readers can interpret or focus on it as much as they want. An overall excellent addition to the Joe Pickett series that I feel any thriller fan could have fun with.
Once again loading up the action, outrageous characters and fantastic depictions of some of the most beautiful country in the United States, Battle Mountain was another awesome book from C. J. Box, that I had a lot of fun with. Exciting and extremely fast paced, Battle Mountain was a very easy book to get through, and I look forward to seeing what cool adventures Box has planned next.
The Unseen Library 