by C. J. Box
Part of Joe Pickett, book 8
First published 2008
Joe Pickett arrives at a remote Wyoming mountain camp to find a hunter's corpse strung up and butchered like an elk. The victim has been gutted and flayed with methodical precision. Someone turned the tables on a man who came to hunt animals. Pickett must determine whether an extreme anti-hunting activist committed this grisly murder or if a psychopath with personal motives is responsible. The game warden faces pressure to solve the case quickly. More hunters remain in the area, and the killer could strike again. Pickett tracks clues through Wyoming's wilderness while the murderer stays one step ahead. The investigation forces him to navigate between hunting advocates and animal rights extremists, either group harboring potential suspects. As Pickett closes in, he realizes someone may have declared hunting season on humans themselves. The warden must stop the killer before more hunters become prey in their own game.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: cat-and-mouse, man-vs-nature
Setting: Wyoming
320 pages · Hardcover · G. P. Putnam's Sons
Content warnings: graphic-violence, violence