Free Fire

A thrilling read set in the American West from New York Times bestseller C.J. Box, award-winning author of the Joe Pickett and Cassie Dewell series, now adapted into the hit TV shows Joe Pickett and Big Sky.

Joe Pickett, fired from his job as a Wyoming game warden, is working on his father-in-law’s ranch when he receives a visit from Governor Rulon. The governor – a devious but down-home politico – has a special request, one Joe knows he can’t refuse. Lawyer Clay McCann slaughtered four campers in a far-off corner of Yellowstone, then immediately turned himself in at the nearest ranger station. Seemed like a slam-dunk case for law enforcement… except that the crimes were committed on a sliver of land with zero residents and overlapping jurisdictions, the so-called free-fire zone. McCann has taken advantage of an obscure loophole in the law: neither the state nor the federal government can try the worst mass murderer in Wyoming history for his crime. Rulon, sensitive to the rising tide of public outrage, wants his own investigation into the murders and will reinstate Joe as a game warden if he’ll go to Yellowstone ‘without portfolio’ to investigate. Joe, happy to get his badge back, even under these circumstances, agrees. It quickly becomes clear that McCann is deeply involved with some illegal activity taking place in the park – something tremendously lucrative and unusually dangerous. As Joe and his associate Nate Romanowski search for the key to the murders, they discover that it may be hidden in the rugged terrain of the park itself.

Reviews for Free Fire

‘Absorbing… his best yet.’ Publishers Weekly
‘The setting, action, new characters and old favourites join together to enrich this compelling tale.’ Denver Post
‘Delivers like a well-oiled rifle taking down its trophy elk at three hundred yards.’ Madison County Herald
‘A splendid thriller, deftly plotted and skillfully executed.’ San Diego Union-Tribune