mystery

(2018) As evidence that everybody is getting older, Joe's eldest - Sheridan, has an adult relationship with Lance. He is the head wrangler at a dude ranch that she is working at. One of the ranch's customers disappears before she returns to England. Apparently the entire state of Wyoming is mobilized in order to find her. As it turns out, she has chosen to go off the grid with Lance's help and does not know that she is subject of a massive hunt to find her. This causes major issues with Sheridan and Lance. In the meantime, Nate Romanowski is recruited by Joe to look into what is happening at a local sawmill where strange odors are eminating. Turns out it is not human remains being sent into a burn unit on site, but rather eagles and hawks who have been victims of the nearby wind farm. Rather than report them the man running the farm has destroyed them in the burn unit. Nate, in his pursuit of justice, is ?unable? to prevent the culprit from stumbling into the unit. The scenes with Nate are the funniest of the series so far. As Joe is taken away from end scene by the state's highway patrol, the former governor Rulon calls him as it appears Joe needs an attorney in his conflict with the current governor. To be continued.Kirkus: A new governor demanding special favors means a new assignment and new problems for Wyoming Fish and Game Warden Joe Pickett.It's not Gov. Colter Allen's fault that high-profile British ad-agency CEO Kate Shelford-Longden disappeared somewhere between Silver Creek Ranch, the ultra-posh dude ranch where she'd just spent a week been pampered within an inch of her life, and the Denver airport several months ago. But his wife and other folks are leaning on him, so he leans on Joe (Vicious Circle, 2017, etc.) to drive the 300 miles to Saratoga in the depth of a January freeze and get the answers that have eluded Carbon County Sheriff Ron Neal and the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation. Bullied by the governor, Joe agrees to look into the case. Luckily, he has an in: His daughter, Sheridan, who's been working at Silver Creek as a horse wrangler, got fairly close to the missing woman and knows all the ins and outs of the place. The staff at Silver Creek has been vetted more closely than most vice presidential candidates, but several contractors with access to the ranch seem suspicious enough to make likely suspects. Before Joe can make any real progress, though, the case notes he's been given by Connor Hanlon, the governor's dislikable chief of staff, are stolen, and his old friend Nate Romanowski, the ?outlaw falconer? he's been specifically ordered to keep away from, drops in to ask Joe a serious, albeit apparently unrelated, favor. The case turns out, rather disappointingly, to be two cases. But it's a treat to see Joe's daughter pulled into working with her father; there's an unexpected role for his reptilian mother-in-law, the imperishable Missy Vankueren; a false lead he follows will have readers whooping with laughter; and both cases are wound up in highly satisfactory ways.Best of all, the final pages find Box's hard-used hero both triumphantly successful and in deep trouble once again in perhaps the most finely balanced conclusion in this rewarding series.Pub Date: March 27, 2018ISBN: 978-0-399-17662-3Page Count: 400Publisher: Putnam

The Disappeared is a good book. It has believable characters, settings and storyline. There is not a lot of blood and guts. The book takes place in Wyoming during December when the temperatures are much below zero fahrenheit. There is a lost woman and there is someone who is burning off what seems like bodies in a local mill. Unfortunately, the book comes to a stop at the end leaving the reader wondering "what next?" Three and one half stars were given to this review because of the strange ending. ( )

Book 18 of the Joe Pickett series. Just as good and exciting as the last book! An English business woman disappears after a week at a very exclusive ranch. The new governor insists that Joe investigate the disappearance. Lots going on since the game warden of the town has also disappeared, a giant wind farm is going up and Joe's daughter, Sheridan works at the ranch where the Englishwoman stayed. Thank goodness Nate also shows up to help with the bad guys! ( )

Another excellent Joe Pickett mystery. Thoroughly enjoyed it. ( )