‘Shots Fired’ by C.J.Box

Published by Head of Zeus,
18 June 2015.
ISBN: 978-1-7818-5262-8

This collection of short tales bills itself as 'Stories from Joe Pickett Country,'  which means Wyoming, where the author's long-time protagonist, Joe Pickett, Wyoming game warden, operates.  Not all these stories feature Joe: there is a particularly chilling story set in Paris (Le Sauvage Noble), and a sad historical one set in 1835 during a freezing winter in the.Wyoming wilderness: The End of Jim and Ezra.

I was hooked by the author's ability to conjure up the wild and dangerous beauty of his settings, though he is equally assured in France and Montana.  Out of a masterly collection, I would especially recommend Blood Knot and The Master Falconer.  But if you like short stories (and I do), these are all high-quality.

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Reviewer: Susan Moody

C J Box is a Wyoming native and has worked as a ranch hand, surveyor, fishing guide, a small town newspaper reporter and editor, and he owned an international tourism marketing firm with his wife Laurie. In 2008, Box was awarded the "BIG WYO" Award from the state tourism industry. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He served on the Board of Directors for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo. They have three daughters. He lives in Wyoming

Susan Moody was born and brought up in Oxford.  She has published over 30 crime and suspense novels, including the Penny Wanawake series and the Cassandra Swann bridge series.  She is a past Chairman of the British Crime Writers' Association, a member of the Detection Club, a past Writer-in-Residence at the University of Tasmania and a past President of the International Association of Crime Writers.  She divides her time between south-west France and south-east Kent.   Nominated for the CWA short story award.  Nominated for the RNA's award.