This book finds Joe being sent to Jackson Hole to fill in for game warden Will Jensen who has been found dead from a self-inflicted gun shot. Joe heads to Wyoming and finds himself in the middle of a mess. A group of millionaries need his okay to begin a development for people who want to be able to raise and kill their own meat, even though this might endanger other wildlife who travel through area. Then there is Smike Van Horn who leads outfitters into the wildlife so they can nag an elk. Smoke is observed buryung salt licks the attract the elk by Joe. When confronted, Smoke ends up dead after a shot out with Joe. Then there is his investigation into why Will killed himself. We find that Will was being drugged thru the water from his faucets and his truck was bugged so his whereabouts and conversations were always known. Then Joe finds himself under these same conditions. It is only by luck he is saved from the same result. A good story. Kirkus: Crime-fighting Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett outdoes himself during a temporary transfer from sleepy Saddlestring to fashionable Jackson Hole.Will Jensen, the Jackson game warden, was a great guy and a model warden, but once his wife left him six months ago, he spiraled into madness and suicide, and now Joe?s been called to replace him. The transition is anything but smooth. There?s no question of Joe?s family coming with him, so he?s reduced to hoping he can get a signal for the cell-phone calls he squeezes into his busy schedule. En route to his new posting, Joe has to pursue a marauding grizzly. He arrives to meet a formidable series of challenges. Cantankerous outfitter Smoke Van Horn wants to go on attracting elk with illegal salt licks without the new warden?s interference. Animal Liberation Network activist Pi Stevenson wants him to publicize her cause and adopt a vegan diet. Developer Don Ennis wants to open a housing development for millionaires who like their meat free of additives. Ennis?s trophy wife Stella simply wants Joe¥and he wants her back. As he wrestles with these demands, and with a supervisor riled over Joe?s track record of destroying government property in pursuit of bad guys (Trophy Hunt, 2004, etc.), Joe slowly becomes convinced that Will did not kill himself.Joe?s fifth case is his best balanced, most deeply felt and most mystifying to date: an absolute must.

(2005)Joe Pickett is sent to Jackson Hole & the Tetons to take over a game warden for his friend Will Jensen, who committed suicide. Joe's job is to be the interim warden, but he wants to find out why and if Will did kill himself. He is drawn into local disputes including a housing development run by Don Ennis. Turns out Ennis poisoned Jensen and this forced the suicide. Then to cover it up apparently kills his wife Stella. All of this brings tension to Joe's shaky marriage. Joe is able to bring Ennis down but in the process is suspended by the service but he does appear to be making amends at home. Good bookKIRKUS REVIEWCrime-fighting Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett outdoes himself during a temporary transfer from sleepy Saddlestring to fashionable Jackson Hole.Will Jensen, the Jackson game warden, was a great guy and a model warden, but once his wife left him six months ago, he spiraled into madness and suicide, and now Joe's been called to replace him. The transition is anything but smooth. There's no question of Joe's family coming with him, so he's reduced to hoping he can get a signal for the cell-phone calls he squeezes into his busy schedule. En route to his new posting, Joe has to pursue a marauding grizzly. He arrives to meet a formidable series of challenges. Cantankerous outfitter Smoke Van Horn wants to go on attracting elk with illegal salt licks without the new warden's interference. Animal Liberation Network activist Pi Stevenson wants him to publicize her cause and adopt a vegan diet. Developer Don Ennis wants to open a housing development for millionaires who like their meat free of additives. Ennis's trophy wife Stella simply wants Joe¥and he wants her back. As he wrestles with these demands, and with a supervisor riled over Joe's track record of destroying government property in pursuit of bad guys (Trophy Hunt, 2004, etc.), Joe slowly becomes convinced that Will did not kill himself.Joe's fifth case is his best balanced, most deeply felt and most mystifying to date: an absolute must.

This series continues to entertain. Pickett is evolving as a character, which is necessary in a serial detective series.

The setting changed a bit for this book and took him to the larger town of Jackson Hole, which is miserable with money, politics, and celebrities. Like Joe, my inner reaction to it is oh, hell, no. Except that Joe takes the temporary job. And we wouldn't have a book if things didn't fall apart for him. So it goes. Fun for us, not so fun for Joe. ( )

A solid Joe Pickett story involving the death of a fellow park service employee and people willing to do anything for a cause. ( )

Very good ( )