• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2004 May #1
  Box, whose superb Joe Pickett series has nailed some great western issues (ecoterrorism, endangered species, survivalists), here draws a bead on one out in left field: cattle mutilations. When the Wyoming game warden finds a mysteriously mangled moose, he is unnerved. When cows and even humans turn up the same, he finds himself a reluctant member of a special task force. County residents think aliens are responsible and start wearing aluminum-foil hats and finding crop circles in their backyards; Pickett calls the theory "woo-woo crap." This has all the elements that made the first three Picketts so pleasurable: Pickett himself, a bad shot but a good man; a strong supporting cast, especially his family; an inventive plot; and Box's own well-reasoned grasp of the issues. If this one works a hair less well, it may be because of the woo-woo crap itself. Although there's a believable motive behind some of it, there's also a touch of the supernatural that doesn't quite fit. Still, there's nothing wrong with being merely excellent instead of state-of-the-art once in a while. ((Reviewed May 1, 2004)) Copyright 2004 Booklist Reviews.

C. J. Box is the author of five Joe Pickett novels, and has won the Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Barry awards. He has also been an Edgar Award andLos Angeles Times Book Prize finalist. A Wyoming native, Box serves on the board of directors for Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo.