Long Range by C. J. Box. G.P Putnam’s Sons 2020. 356 pp.
The main character in this mystery is Joe Pickett. He is a Wyoming game warden and good at his job. He is also a good and honest man, unlike many of the other characters in the book.
The mystery begins when a local judge is shot at through his dining room window just as he is sitting down to eat. The bullet Is from a very powerful rifle from a long distance away which indicates that the shooter is an expert marksman. The judge moves just as the bullet starts to fly, and Sue, his wife is hit and seriously injured. The local sheriff, in Joe’s opinion is not very competent and when some evidence is found in Joe’s friend Nate’s barn he is immediately arrested and put in jail even though there is so reason to think he had any kind of a vendetta against the judge.
And there were other things going on such as someone trying to kidnap Nate’s wife and baby. It did seem to go off in a number of other directions which could be little confusing. If you like westerns and mysteries I think you will enjoy this one.
C.M.
Ragtime in Simla by Barbara Cleverly. Carroll & Graf Publishers 2003. 287 pp.
The main character in this book is Joe Sandilands, an English detective. The story begins in 1922 when Joe travels to India. When he arrives, he will travel up into the Himalayas to Simla where he will be a guest of the governor. On his way up one of his companions is shot and killed. He will become involved in this murder investigation which becomes extremely complicated owing to a number of unsolved killings and is a little confusing.
This book is fascinating and hard to put down. The characters are very real and believable, the good ones and the bad ones, even though it doesn’t make me want to visit India.
P.M.