In Plain Sight

Book Description When wealthy matriarch Opal Scarlett vanishes, Joe Pickett is sure one of her greedy sons did her in. But when Joe becomes the victim of violent pranks, he wonders if what's happening has less to do with Opal's disappearance than with the darkest chapter of his own past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly Wyoming Game and Fish warden Joe Pickett--honest, upright and hardworking--tends to attract the meanest villains this side of a spaghetti western, as shown in his sprightly sixth outing in which he and his family become the target of John Wayne Keeley, a misguided, conscienceless killer. In addition, Opal Scarlett, the matriarch of a wealthy ranching clan, is missing, and two of her sons, Hank and Arlen, are fighting over the estate. Joe's daughter, Sheridan, is best friends with Hank's daughter, Julie, which puts Sheridan in danger. As usual, hotheaded Joe is also in trouble with his boss, self-serving Randy Pope. When Joe is pulled off of the search for Opal, he stubbornly follows his instincts rather than orders, bringing down Pope's wrath. Edgar-finalist Box (Out of Range) expertly evokes Wyoming's landscape, wildlife, people and politics. Joe's love for the natural world shines throughout, but his lack of political finesse costs him his job by book's end. Fans will eagerly wait to see how he recoups his fortunes in the next installment. Copyright ® Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist *Starred Review* Keeping any series balanced between familiar and fresh is tricky. An excellent series is like a tightrope act. With the author pushing himself to daring new heights, we just know he's bound to fall. In the sixth installment of Box's Joe Pickett series, the Wyoming game warden is back home in Saddlestring, happy to be with his family, when he finds himself in the crosshairs of an ex-con intent on righting a perceived wrong (from Winterkill, 2003) and drawn into an epic family feud. Out of Range (2005) was so remarkable that asking Box to top it seems unfair. Indeed, though Joe is again tested, In Plain Sight lacks the intensity and inventiveness of the previous books. Box always works in an issue--here it's the "curse of the third generation," or inheritance troubles--and while it's a nice update on the western gothic, it doesn't have the same burning relevance as ecoterrorism or natural gas drilling. Even a family-in-jeopardy device feels slightly rote. But a high-wire artist can't go up indefinitely, and even performing closer to the ground, Box puts on a hell of a show. Keir Graff Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.