(2016) Another good page turner by Box, although the premise strained credulity. 2 EMP generators built from Home Depot parts, really? Does seem a little far-fetched. Then ISIS terrorists hijack the EMPs and threaten to reap more damage. Nate comes to the rescue in the end as he destroys the terrorists and their plans. Due to his involvement, the government has promised to drop all criminal charges he has accumulated over the years. Or does it?KIRKUS:Terrorists, libertarians, and wild cards duke it out in game warden Joe Pickett's Wyoming.Nate Romanowski, who doesn't like being called a homicidal libertarian folk hero even though the shoe fits like a glove, has been minding his own business, miles from civilization, when a phone call between his lover, Olivia Brannan, and her mother, who's dying in Louisiana, reveals his whereabouts to a pair of clean-cut sharpies calling themselves Brian Tyrell and Keith Volk. Unless Nate wants to stand trial along with Olivia for a gaggle of felonies he's accumulated over previous installments (Endangered, 2015, etc.), they tell him, he'd better sign on with the Wolverines, a group of disaffected government freelancers sick of federal rules and regulations, to make contact with a terrorist who's landed in the Red Desert. They hope the target, Muhammad Ibraaheem, will open up to Nate, who shares his anti-government idealism and his love of falconry. No sooner has Nate taken off to track down Ibby than outgoing Wyoming Gov. Spencer Rulon, apprised of his disappearance, persuades Nate's old friend, game warden Joe Pickett, to go hunting for him. Despite the obstacles, ranging from a highly irritated grizzly bear to the obligatory involvement of Joe's family¥this time his daughter Sheridan, a college senior who decides to go camping at the worst possible time and placeÂ¥Nate soon locates and befriends Ibby, and Joe eventually finds Nate. Nothing else goes according to plan, mainly because Ibby's plans are more apocalyptic than Nate can imagine, and other parties turn out to be interested in the high-octane proceedings.Even though you just know Box isn't going to put an end to his highly successful franchise by blowing his lead characters to kingdom come, you can't help turning the pages and holding your breath until you find out where this scary, all-too-plausible caravan is heading.Pub Date: March 8, 2016ISBN: 978-0-399-17660-9Page Count: 384Publisher: PutnamReview Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2015Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016

This was an absolutely wonderful installment in the Joe Picket series. I wasn't sure about its premise when I read the description on the book jacket, but I should have known that Box would create an engaging story. ( )

This is my first C. J. Box "Joe Pickett" novel, the game warden, (but it was more about his friend Nate, a veteran, so I'm definitely reading out of order, if I read more in the series, which I might. Nate and Joe get involved with a group of activists who are taken over by some Mideast terrorists in the red desert of Wyoming, which is between Rock Springs and Rawlins in Wyoming, off I-80. Kept me reading ! Would make a pretty good movie. ( )

Box is still going strong with this series. Sure, the plot strains credibility to an extent, but it is cleverly executed and a lot of fun. The hallmarks of the series are still evident in this 16th volume in the series: Box's wit and solid writing, clever plotting, very vivid descriptions of setting, well-drawn characters, and delivering the goods with plenty of action and peril for the main characters. This is till one of the most enjoyable mystery series going right now. The series seems to be going in a darker direction of late, which I don't mind at all. ( )

4.5 stars.

Off the Grid by C.J. Box is a terrifyingly realistic thriller that takes place in the very isolated Red Desert area in Wyoming. This sixteenth installment in the Joe Pickett series reunites Game Warden Joe Pickett with his good friend, Nate Romanowski, when their paths unexpectedly cross after the outgoing governor asks Joe to investigate the suspicious happenings in the desert.

Nate has been living completely off the grid when an unspecified government agency sends two of its agents to coerce him into finding missing journalist Muhammad "Ibby" Ibraaheem. Although Ibby's reputation is impeccable, his disappearance nearly two years earlier certainly caught the attention of the federal government and it appears he may be involved in some type of terrorist plot. Nate wants nothing more than to be left alone, but the agents' promise of expunging his record coupled with some very unsubtle threats convince him to accept the assignment.

Just as Joe is heading home from a long day in the field, a distress call about a rogue bear possibly attacking a hunter puts his evening plans on hold. Using info from the GPS trackers on both the hunter and the bear, his worst fears are realized when he finds the nearly dead hunter in the bear's cache. Joe narrowly escapes the hunter's fate when the bear returns but both he and the bear escape the encounter unscathed. With the bear's whereabouts now unknown, he thinks outgoing Governor Spencer Rulon is planning to assign him the nearly impossible task of tracking the bear but much to his surprise, Rulon wants Joe to investigate what is going on in the Red Desert.

Neither Nate nor Joe is prepared for what is awaiting them in the desert. The conditions in the remote area are harsh and unforgiving but what they discover at Ibby's camp ratchets the danger level into the stratosphere. Ibby's idealistic plan is about to come to fruition but, unbeknownst to him, the other men he is working with are planning an attack so catastrophic that it is nearly incomprehensible. Nate and Joe are determined to foil the terrorist plot but they are so completely outnumbered and outgunned, they cannot help but wonder if they will escape with their lives.

With a plausible plot and plenty of action, Off the Grid by C.J. Box is a pulse-pounding thriller that is fast-paced and engrossing. The storyline is horrifyingly realistic in this post 9/11 era and the bad guys are chillingly brutal and willing to die for their cause. The beautiful yet desolate Red Desert is the ideal setting for these nefarious dealings and it is also the perfect backdrop for Joe and Nate's final stand against the evildoers. A riveting novel of suspense, this sixteenth installment in the Joe Pickett series can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend the entire series. ( )