I need to catch up on reading so I have more reviews for the blog, so I’m giving myself a couple days of time by using Kevin Tipple’s review of C.J. Box’s latest book, Battle Mountain. Thank you, Kevin!
Battle Mountain: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box is the latest in this
long running series. While Joe Pickett is certainly in it, this is more of a
Nate Romanowski novel. For very good reason as Nate is still on the hunt
and his quest for revenge though the trail has gone cold in more ways than
one.
Nate is still looking for Axel Soledad. An evil man who has done many
horrible things. Nate is going to get him, no matter what. Soledad killed
Nate’s wife, Liv, and must die. He knows it won’t bring Liv back. But, every
day Soledad breathes is another day that he has lived far too long.
The chase continues this early October as Nate is slowly getting closer and
closer to a showdown with Soledad. In a surprising turn of events,
Geronimo has found Nate high up in a mountain range as he contemplates
what to do. Geronimo also wants Soledad dead for going after his wife and
child. They survived. But, Geronimo thinks if he and Nate unite in the hunt,
they have a better chance of ending the evil man finally before he spills
more blood and hurts anyone else.
At the same time this is happening, Governor Rulon wants Wyoming Game
Warden Joe Pickett’s help. His son in law, Mark Eisele, has gone missing
as has the elk hunting guide, Joseph “Spike” Rankin. They were preparing
for elk hunting season in the vicinity of Battle Mountain in Southern
Wyoming. Spike was supposed to let the Governor know every day how his
son in law was doing as the man is an outdoor novice with no experience at
all. Not only is his daughter and wife starting to worry a little bit, Rulon does
not want the local sheriff involved as he is one of those Sovereign Nation
idiots, and does not want the media to get wind of anything. Rulon wants
Pickett to go down there and find the two men and do it as quietly and
discreetly as possible.
One can’t say no to the Governor. Not only is a force of nature, Pickett
owes him several times over for past situations. Saying no was never an
option.
The result is a fast paced read as various forces converge on Battle
Mountain. While you now know the two primary storylines, much more is
going on in the read that will culminate in a battle on the mountain. History
tends to repeat itself.
As always, politics is present in this read, though in this case it works better
for the story and is not so heavy handed as some of the recent reads in the
series have been. More than anything, Battle Mountain: A Joe Pickett
Novel by C. J. Box is an action adventure read with no character
development as the primary characters were fleshed out long ago. The
read also serves as a great escape from the world madness that infects our
lives on a daily basis now.
Strongly recommended.
My digital ARC came by way of the publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, through
NetGalley with no expectation of a review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
