Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 5/30/2018 + 1183 more book reviews

I generally prefer novels to short stories; however, this collection was great from start to finish! I have read all of Box's novels including the entire Joe Pickett series and the Highway quartet, as well as the other stand-alone novels. I enjoyed all of them. That left me with this collection of stories and I wasn't sure if I would like Pickett's world in small doses. But I was very pleasantly surprised. All of these kept me engaged and were thoroughly enjoyable!

The book collects 10 stories by Box. Four of these featured Joe Pickett and/or Nate Romanowski. The others either took place in Pickett's West or the characters were from there (one actually takes place in Paris). I especially enjoyed "One Car Bridge" which featured Joe Pickett and an ornery ranch owner; "The End of Jim and Ezra" about two trappers stuck in the high wilderness for the winter and how they really get on each other's nerves; "Pronghorns of the Third Reich" which was a really offbeat story based on an incident in the 30s when antelope fawns were sold to Nazi Germany; and "Shots Fired" where Joe Pickett is up against a meth head who fired on some hunters from an old sheep wagon.

Well, I have now read all of Box to date (5/29/18) and will be anxiously looking out for his next published work!

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