Free Fire [Hardcover]

C. J. Box (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2007

Joe Picket returns, this time to the wilds of Yellowstone National Park. Deftly plotted and full of intrigue, Free Fire is C. J. Box's best novel yet.

Joe Pickett, having recently been fired from his job as a Wyoming game warden, is working on his father-in-law's ranch when he receives a call from the governor's office. Governor Rulon-a devious but down-home politico-has a special request, one Joe knows he can't refuse. For weeks, the headlines have been abuzz with the story of Clay McCann, a lawyer who slaughtered four campers in cold blood in a far-off corner of Yellowstone National Park. After the murders, McCann immediately turned himself in at the nearest park ranger station. It seemed like a slam-dunk case for law enforcement-except that the crimes were committed in a thin sliver of land with zero residents and overlapping jurisdiction, the so-called free-fire zone. McCann had taken advantage of a loophole in the law: neither the state of Wyoming nor the federal government can try him for his crime, so he walks out of prison a free man.

Governor Rulon, sensitive to the rising tide of public outrage over the McCann case, wants his own investigation into the murders. The governor will reinstate Joe as a game warden if he'll go to Yellowstone to investigate. Joe, happy to get his badge back, even under these circumstances, agrees. However, it quickly becomes clear to Joe that McCann is deeply involved with some illegal activity taking place in the park-something tremendously lucrative and unusually dangerous. As Joe and his partner Nate Romanowski search in the unlikeliest places to find the key to the murders, they find out that it may be hidden in the rugged terrain of the park itself.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. When four environmental activists employed by Yellowstone Park are murdered in an isolated area, the Wyoming governor sends outspoken Joe Pickett, fired in his last outing, In Plain Sight (2006), from the state's game and fish department, to investigate in Anthony-winner Box's absorbing seventh crime novel, his best yet. Helped by astute park ranger Judy Demming and his antisocial pal, falconer Nate Romanowski, Joe gradually connects the murders to competition for bio-mining rights in Yellowstone's hot springs. Joe's often harassed family is on the sidelines, except for a startling appearance by his long-estranged father. Box skillfully weaves ominous scientific phenomena and legal loopholes peculiar to Yellowstone into his story of corruption, greed and deception. The author vividly evokes Yellowstone's natural beauty, but the book's real power emanates from Pickett's (and Box's) passion for preserving the wilderness and stopping those who would cynically destroy it. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Box set the standards so high with his Joe Pickett series that, once in a while, he's had a hard time getting over the bar himself, as with In Plain Sight (2006), where he just tripped it with his toe. In ree Fire, however, he gets over cleanly. Pickett, having been fired as a game warden, is working as foreman of his father-in-law's ranch when Wyoming's loose-cannon governor, Spencer Rulon, reinstates him--not to work his old district but to investigate, without official support, a crime in Yellowstone National Park. A lawyer has found a legal loophole that allows him to kill four campers and walk away scot-free, enraging Rulon. (A remote, uninhabited part of the park, soon dubbed the "Zone of Death," has murky jurisdiction and no residents to form a jury.) But, sure as Pickett is hard on government vehicles, there's something even more sinister than a twisted legal mind behind the murders. Box is a master at working New West issues into his stories--here it's something called biomining--exploring pro and con arguments without missing a storytelling beat. And, mining series gold, he's forged a perfect alloy of familiar and fresh. Though Joe's far out in no-man's-land, as professionally on his own as he's ever been, the family man's moral compass is as strong as ever. And setting the action in the bubbling Yellowstone caldera--which could blow sky high any minute, we're told--is a masterstroke, lending both urgency and the long view to the proceedings. Once again, recommended for practically everybody. Keir Graff
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition first Printing edition (May 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399154272
• ISBN-13: 978-0399154270
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

C. J. Box is the author of the award-winning Joe Pickett series of novels, including Open Season (2001), Savage Run (2002), Winterkill (2003), Trophy Hunt (2004), Out of Range (2005) and the upcoming In Plain Sight (May, 2006). He's the winner of the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 Award (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, the Barry Award, and an Edgar Award and L.A. Times Book Prize finalist. Open Season was a New York Times Notable Book and three of the novels have been Booksense 76 picks.


The novels have been national bestsellers and have been translated into 12 languages.


Box is a Wyoming native and has worked as a ranch hand, surveyor, fishing guide, a small town newspaper reporter and editor, and he co-owns an international tourism marketing firm with his wife, Laurie. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.


Box lives with his family outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Box continues to impress, May 10, 2007

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Free Fire (Hardcover)

When local attorney Clay McCann walks away scot-free after murdering four campers because of a loophole in the law governing Yellowstone National Park, maverick Wyoming Governor Spencer Rulon decides he needs to institute his own investigation into the matter. Rulon approaches former Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett (check out Box's previous novel OUT OF SIGHT for the details behind Joe's firing) with a simple proposal: he will reinstate Joe as a game warden if he agrees to look into things at Yellowstone. Depressed since losing his job, Pickett readily agrees.

Pickett throws himself headlong into the investigation, persevering despite the lack of cooperation from park residents and local law enforcement. Digging into the details, Pickett comes to realize that the campers' death was meant to hide a conspiracy to exploit natural resources unique to Yellowstone; he also realizes that the desperate conspirators will not hesitate to add to their kill count in order to conceal their perfidy.

FREE FIRE is a fascinating example of how an author takes an idea and turns it into a full-blown novel. The inspiration for the book came from, of all places, a Georgetown Law Review article by Michigan State law professor Brian C. Kalt. That piece, titled "The Perfect Crime", posited the notion that one could literally get away with murder inside the confines of Yellowstone National Park. The theory, picked up on by media outlets such as the BBC and NPR, was brought to author Box's attention by helpful readers and friends. He was immediately struck by the possibilities.

The desire to do a Yellowstone book had its origins in Box's deep affection for the park, a love which comes from a profound familiarity with Yellowstone and its origins. Box, who has been to Yellowstone over 50 times in his life, has hiked and fished all over the park, including some very remote locations. He's also gotten to know both park rangers and employees, and can thus appreciate their special bond and connection to Yellowstone.

Box's familiarity with the park certainly shows, as reading FREE FIRE is as much a learning experience as it is a wild thrill ride of a mystery novel. Besides the customary mayhem that can be found in a Pickett novel, readers learn, among other things, about Yellowstone's unique culture, and, surprisingly, that Yellowstone is actually a dormant volcano. They also learn of the research that Yellowstone has inspired in the biotech field--there are attributes and organisms in the park that have caught the attention of scientists around the world, although the uses Box posits in FREE FIRE are speculative.

Of course, when it came time to explore these ideas in a novel, it was natural for Box to use Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett as his fictional "point man." The star of a best-selling and critically acclaimed series that has now reached its seventh installment, Pickett is at heart a simple "everyman" who tries to do what is right, whether it be on the job or in his private life. The conflicts he faces on his job provide the meat and gristle for Box's hard hitting novels; the challenges he faces in his personal life give him a grounding and depth unique in mystery fiction. Combined, the conflicts and challenges provide for great reading from the pen of the self described "novelist of the contemporary west."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A+++ Love it!, October 21, 2010

By 

Misty (COLUMBIA FALLS, MT, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Free Fire: A Joe Pickett Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the first C.J. Box book that I had read, initially purchased because I love Yellowstone Park, as well as the fact that the author painted a picture in my mind that was one of reality, scenic splendor, humor, with a fair share of good ol mystery.

The author nailed down details that many would over look, however as a Montana native and someone who lives and breaths the outdoors and Yellowstone, it was a novelty to read a a story that was realistic. Box shares details of the park, Fish, Wildlife and Parks and local color all mixed into a story that holds your attention from the first page.

Joe Picket takes a job for the Governor, investigating a group of murders committed by a local lawyer in a section of the park that is not governed by normal laws. Joe, as usual, gets sucked into the murder and mayhem. Soon his friend Nate is on the scene to provide backup, humor, and the occasional violent out burst, such as removing ears! Armed with his enormous gun, Nate and Joe set out to make everything right again. Only first, Joe must deal with finding his father there, someone who he has not scene or spoken to in decades. It all comes to a climax at the amazing Old Faithful Lodge, were the author captures the lodges beauty and presence.

A must read! Even if you have never read another Joe Picket novel from C.J. Box. You will be hooked and find yourself online ordering the entire series. Having said that, I have purchased and read them all several times. This author writes in a timeless and flawless manor, you will find yourself right next to the hero, experiencing and seeing what he does.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New Fan of C.J. Box?, March 10, 2008

By 

Patricia Kramer (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Free Fire (Hardcover)

As a reader of Nevada Barr's books, I was interested to read a book by C.J. Box who also uses the National Parks setting. This was a quick read and I enjoyed it. He did highlight the park setting, especially the beauty and huge scale of the Mammoth Hotel and the Old Faithful Inn. It was fascinating learning about the geology of the area. I was taken aback by the ending of the book, it felt like it was cut short, but my interest has been sparked in learning more about bio-mining and microbes and coal seams. Maybe I will read a few more of C.J.'s mysteries.