Savage Run (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "ON THE THIRD DAY OF THEIR HONEYMOON, infamous environmental activist Stewie Woods and his new bride, Annabel Bellotti, were spiking trees in the forest when..." (more)
Key Phrases: exploding cow, stock detective, black pickup, Charlie Tibbs, Stewie Woods, Jim Finotta (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Laconic Joe Pickett returns to his slightly offbeat duties in Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains in C. J. Box's Savage Run. Joe is called to the scene when an exploding cow kills a famous ecoterrorist, Stewie Woods, and his bride of three days, who were peacefully spiking trees. A visit to the cow's pugnacious owner leaves Joe defensive, angry, and curious: Why doesn't the rancher ask any questions about the bizarre accident that happened on his land? Then Joe's wife, Marybeth, begins receiving phone calls from her high-school boyfriend—-the peculiarly healthy-sounding Stewie Woods. Stewie may or may not be alive, but his old pal Hayden Powell and other environmental activists are all turning up deceased in strange circumstances. As the body count climbs, Joe tries to sort out the bad guys, the good guys, and the truly dead guys in this sometimes funny, sometimes angry sequel to Box's award-winning first novel, Open Season. Box depicts the spare beauty and cussed individualism of the intermountain West with the sure hand of a seasoned writer. --Barrie Trinkle

From Publishers Weekly

Box's second novel offers more graceful writing than his overhyped debut, Open Season (2001), along with a little humor and a more fluid plot line. Wyoming Game Warden Joe Picket is still fallible, his strong sense of duty, honor and justice again naOvely running afoul of the greedy villains bent on misusing the exquisite, vividly described landscape. A pair of well-drawn, unconventional hit men, one a conscienceless killer, are murdering environmentalists. First, a powerful explosion blows up "infamous environmental activist" Stewie Woods and his new wife while they're sabotaging logging in the forest near Saddlestring, Pickett's headquarters. The sheriff thinks it was an accident, but Pickett is unsure. Then a proenvironment congressman, a writer, a lawyer and an animal-rights activist all die under questionable circumstances. When Pickett's wife, Marybeth, who grew up with Woods, receives mysterious phone calls from "Stewie," Pickett starts his own investigation. A spectacular chase through a treacherous, isolated canyon with a secret escape route is well paced and riveting. The suspense ratchets up another notch as Pickett and an unexpected ally confront the man who ordered the crimes. The author shows both sides of environmental issues - the activists' insistence on a pristine natural habitat countered by the Westerners' view of the land as their livelihood - and pulls no punches when describing how humans can brutalize one another. This fine follow-up reinforces Box's status as a first-class talent.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1st ed/1st printing edition (May 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399148876
• ISBN-13: 978-0399148873
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #492,027 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Falls short of Open Season, but still an excellent read, June 30, 2002

By	Andrea Wheeler (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

"Why is it that every time we find dead bodies strewn about you always seem to be standing in the middle of them!?" Once again Joe Pickett, the unsophisticated, straight-as-an-arrow game warden, will make sure that the worthless and possible corrupt sheriff overlooks nothing in this latest murder investigation. Initially it appears that a famous ecoterrorist has been killed in Saddlestring, Wyoming. As other famous environmentalists are picked off, rumors start that Stewie Woods has escaped death. Plus, he is a very old friend of Joe's wife. Joe must put aside his jealousy to help Stewie escape from a conspiracy of anti-environmentalists based right in his home town.

Like his first novel, Open Season, C.J. Box centers his story on a controversial issue in the West: this time on eco-terroristism. Box does a good job of presenting the good and bad sides of a difficult issue and weaving it nicely into the plot. Box also adds in the discovery of an old Indian site and the famous story of an 1880's hired hit man.

Box's writing is still enjoyable, western-edged prose. Joe Pickett remains one of the most interesting good guy characters in the genre (and yes, he gets his gun taken away from him again). Box has a lot of intriguing plot lines. However, these aren't developed to any depth; they are simply dropped into the story at the most convenient time. Box has the makings of a great book but, while it is an enjoyable read, it lacks the complexity and sophistication that made Open Season so good.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Runnin' Wild, June 21, 2002

By	sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

C. J. Box has more than lived up to his high promise of his debut novel "Open Season," This time out, the writing is more polished, graceful and the plotting is more tightly controlled. I also hereby award the author "The Best First Line Prize of 2002" I was hooked after this: "On the third day of their honeymoon, infamous environmental activist Stewie Woods and his new bride, Annabel Bellotti, were spiking trees in the forest when a cow exploded and blew them up. Until then, their marriage had been happy."
Hard to resist, right?

Joe Pickett is called in as game warden for a sighted "livestock slaughter." At the time, no one knew any humans were involved. This is not the story of golden haired environmentalists vs. evil developers. There is good, bad and sometimes just plain silly on both sides. But Joe gradually becomes aware that some seemingly unconnected deaths of major environmentalists have links with his cow explosion. The action is fast, the violence sudden and graphic and has a gratifying climax. I felt guilty about feeling satisfied, but I just couldn't help it.

The characterizations are extremely sharp. Though Joe has a very low opinion of his abilities, you have to listen how other people judge and estimate him to get a balanced idea of his true worth. Someone compared him to a Jimmy Stewart character and I think the comparison is apt. His wife Marybeth (the consensus is she's a "babe") is anything but a dim presence. She is Joe's other self, and sometimes the wiser one. The author handles the Wyoming scenery and ambiance like a master. You feel as if he has stepped on every foot of ground.

An excellent read, and I await my next meeting with Joe Pickett with pleasure.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I love Box, but I don't love this book, July 14, 2007

By	Steven M. Denenberg - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Savage Run: A Joe Pickett Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I *loved* Open Season, and I certainly like the way C.J.Box writes, and I also loved the first half of Savage Run. But, I'm sorry, the plot contained too many wildly unbelievable coincidences and dei ex machina for me. Amazon guidelines and common decency prevent me from listing them, but they caused my suspension of disbelief to disintegrate completely, and I was so disgusted that I could only skim the last bit of the book.
Having said all that, I'll still read his next book, because C.J. certainly has talent. But with this book I felt much the same frustration I feel after seeing a thriller movie that has so much promise and then tanks at the end: don't authors or screenwriters let someone read the book (or see the movie) before publication, so they can find out if the story seems to fall apart and become a comic book at some point? If you want us to suspend disbelief and be completely into the story, then the story must be believable on some level.
Box still gets three stars from me because I like his writing, but *please* work out the plots a little better!