Stone Cold is the 14th book in C.J. Box’s series centered on Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett. I do think at this point it’s kind of hard to pick up the series if you haven’t been reading it all along. There are many things about the various characters that come from previous novels, which can make it hard to follow.

Joe is back working for the Governor, a deal he had to agree to in order to keep his job. He knew the time was going to come when the Governor would call on him to check out something the Governor didn’t want his name associated with. In this case, he wants Joe to go up to Medicine Wheel County in the northeast corner of Wyoming under the guise of helping out Jim Latta, the Game Warden assigned to that district, with public access issues. The real reason, though, is to investigate Wolfgang Templeton. Templeton showed up a while ago and purchased a ranch, and has been spreading money throughout the county. No one is sure just where his money comes from, and another investigator sent by the state died under mysterious circumstances after being sent there. Joe is supposed to just observe the area and report back to the Governor.

However, that’s the last thing on Joe’s mind once he learns his old buddy Nate Romanowski has fallen in with Templeton. Joe hasn’t seen or heard from Nate in quite some time, and having him turn up here presents a big problem.

Not that it stops Joe from being the usual Joe. You’d think with the caution from Governor Rulon, as well as the knowledge that the last person sent up there by the state was killed, he would be careful not to draw a target on himself. Joe Latta is skittish about having Joe there. He knows Joe is a straight arrow and is soon trying to stop Joe from enforcing game laws. It turns out that Latta’s daughter needed an operation, and Templeton paid all of the hospital bills that weren’t covered. It seems he has everyone in the county under his thumb, one way or another.

Nate and Joe actually don’t encounter each other until the end of the book. Before that, we get the story from each of their perspectives so we can see how they arrived at this moment. Nate has always operated a little outside the law, which was fine with Joe as long as he didn’t know about it. This time, though, if Nate is involved, Joe can’t look the other way. Joe also isn’t sure that Nate is still his friend or if he’s now on his own.

C.J. Box has managed to keep Joe Pickett interesting through 14 books, not an easy feat. Stone Cold is another great story with plenty of action and suspense. Joe has to keep his wits about him as he’s up to his armpits in corruption, all the while trying not to get himself killed. He’s also been counseling his oldest daughter, Sheridan, who is an R.A. now at college. There’s a student in the dorm she’s responsible for who’s troubling her. Joe is torn between his job and being there for Sheridan, even as he knows that he can’t fix everything for her. Joe is also relying on MaryBeth, his wife, for information. She can find things out on the computer like nobody else, and it’s helping them act more as a team even when Joe is far away.

There wasn’t really a mystery in Stone Cold, but more of a thriller to see how everything was going to resolve. The characters are all interesting and written with depth, even the ones I first got to meet here. There was only one part of the story I felt was unlikely and out of left field. I won’t spoil it, but it did catch me by surprise, and I just found it a bit too coincidental. There are people in life who always seem to come out on top no matter what happens to them, and that’s the case in some parts of Joe’s story.

The audiobook is narrated by David Chandler, who has narrated all of the audiobooks in this series that I’ve listened to. I like him a lot as a narrator, although some of the voices he uses are a bit off-putting. There are times when a character is not likable, and he tries to give the character an unlikeable voice or tone as well. I could do without that. Otherwise, I do enjoy his narration.

If you’re this deep into the series, Stone Cold is a great story. I don’t think it’s a spot to try to pick up the series. For me, it sent the story in a different direction, and I am eager to see how the next book handles it.

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