But Joe is also a guy who sometimes gets things wrong, and this characteristic of messing up adds a dimension of humanity to the book. Like all the best mystery protagonists, Pickett is stubbornly ready to risk everything when his own personal sense of morality is at stake. Box's skill at plotting (the story of greedy business interests and local corruption is fine, but familiar), but rather the character of hero Joe Pickett, a Wyoming game warden, that makes this a series kickoff to remember. In advance reviews, Open Season has been pronounced "something special," ( Booklist), and it lives up to the billing. Exciting, because one may always be about to discover the next Hammett or Chandler (or so the copywriters and publicists would have us believe), and problematic because originality in such a well-grooved genre is becoming more and more at a premium. Penzler Pick, July 2001: Mystery debuts are both exciting and problematic.
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