Book Review: Battle Mountain by C.J. Box

Published in 2025. Mystery/Thriller. Game Warden Joe Pickett is called upon by none other than the Governor of Wyoming, and it’s not official business. The Governor’s son-in-law is a tenderfoot and has never been out in the wild. The Governor encourages him to learn from the best, and sends him to Spike Rankin, a hunting guide. But now, the Governor’s son-in-law is missing. No one has heard from him in days, so the Governor asks Joe to find him. All he knows is that the hunting guide works out of the Battle Mountain area in southeastern Wyoming. Joe doesn’t know the area well, but he meets up with the local game warden, Susan Kany.

Meanwhile, Nate Romanowski, the falconer, is on the hunt for Axel Soledad, the man who murdered his wife. He meets up with Geronimo Jones, and together, they hunt down Soledad, only to find him neck deep in a plot to murder the leaders of the military-industrial complex in the United States, who are meeting in Wyoming at a local dude ranch.

This was one of the best books I’ve read in a while. I could hardly put it down. The author has written dozens of books, and this is one of my favorites. I love how he handles the falcons and their handlers.