Nowhere to Run is the tenth book in author C.J. Box’s series centered around Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett. I do think you need to have read at least some of the books prior to this to get a feel for why Joe is where he is at this point in time, both physically and mentally. Plus, there are relationships that might be harder to understand if you haven’t read earlier books in the series.

In the previous book, Below Zero, we learned Joe had been sent to one of the worst areas a Wyoming Game Warden could be sent. It’s a small town in southern Wyoming, close to the border with Colorado, where not much happens. You’d think Joe would relish the peace and quiet, but he’s looking forward to being back in the district where he lives normally. During a last canvas of the area on his horse, Joe runs across a man fishing without a license. What seems like a small violation soon has Joe running for his life from two men determined to keep their existence a secret.

As usual, Joe stumbles across something that is bigger than he realizes. As the story goes on, Joe remembers all the stories about this area, including the disappearance of a young woman, Diane Shober, who was training for the Olympics. Trying to uphold the law nearly costs Joe his life once again, but when the local sheriff sends in men to locate the men responsible, they find no trace of anything Joe describes. Now it’s not simply a matter of justice, but also proving that he’s telling the truth.

There are a lot of good character moments in Nowhere to Run. Joe’s wife, MaryBeth, is tired of him risking his life in service to the law. She urges him to let the matter drop, and for a while it looks like he will. However, once it becomes clear that the woman he encountered while on the run from the men might be the missing Olympic runner, MaryBeth understands why he feels the need to rescue her. The title is a bit of a metaphor for Diane as well as Joe and “the brothers Grimm,” as the men he encountered call themselves. Everyone is running from something, and there’s nowhere left for them to go. Joe must face his fears to do what he feels he must do. The brothers were thought to have disappeared from those who were pursuing them, but there was only so long their presence wouldn’t be felt as they eked out a living in remote areas of the mountains. Diane seems to be running from her own destiny as well as the past.

The way C.J. Box describes Joe’s initial escape from the Grimms is harrowing. Joe survives what should not be survivable, even as the reclusive woman he stumbles upon takes pity on him because she knows he has family waiting for him. I see this as making normal human beings almost into superheroes. It does get old after a while, but I’ll admit Box does a great job ratcheting up the tension with this one. I knew Joe would survive – there are many more books in the series, after all – but the way he survives it is fascinating. This kept me on the edge of my seat as I listened to the audiobook.

Events that took place in Below Zero are still affecting Joe and his family as well. Although April is back, she’s not the same little girl they knew. Sheridan is not getting along with her all that well. This is hard for MaryBeth to deal with, especially since she’s basically a single parent. It’s one of the reasons she wants Joe just to stop trying to take on all of the bad guys he encounters. Once again, she has come close to losing him, and she doesn’t want to single-handedly raise their girls. There’s friction between her and her mother, Missy, that seems to have become worse following Missy’s latest divorce. MaryBeth and Joe liked Bud Longbreak, her ex-husband, and find it hard to let go of what Missy did, even though she’s family.

Joe’s decision to go back after the brothers Grimm and possibly rescue Diane has ramifications for him and Nate Romanowski as well. It’s no surprise that Joe asks his friend to accompany him to search for them. The problem is, when they do, Nate finds he has more in common with the brothers than he does with Joe. Their philosophy for why they reject government authority is perfectly understandable, even to me. They were given a raw deal by the government and now just want to be left alone. I think even Joe commiserates with them on a certain level, but to him, the law is the law. Nate doesn’t see the world the way Joe does. This will change things between them going forward.

Once again, the audiobook is narrated by David Chandler. He does his usual great job with the characters while not going overboard, particularly with the female ones. Each character is distinctive without feeling cartoonish.

I loved Nowhere to Run. It was a thriller with plenty of action while at the same time being character-driven. The villains aren’t quite the villains we think they are at the beginning, although their attempt to kill Joe, as well as what they do to his horses, will spark outrage among many. I know they had to be dealt with because of what they’d done, but at the same time, I could sympathize with them. I liked that Joe’s home life wasn’t all sweetness and light after bringing April home, too. It will be interesting to see where the series goes from here.

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