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Vicious Circle

C.J. Box

Over the course of 17 novels about Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, author C.J. Box has developed the series in real-time — meaning Pickett and his fully-fleshed-out family and best pal Nate Romanowski continue to age and deal with aggregate cause-and-effect happenings. This time out, violent ex-rodeo star Dallas Cates is out of prison after nearly killing Joe's daughter April. At the same time, Joe exacted justified punishment on Cates' family of career felons — and Cates and two fellow ex-cons/surrogates will stop at nothing to get back at the Pickett clan. Tense, violent, heart-searing and with plenty of humanity to go along with the evocative landscape, "Vicious Circle" is a wonderful book.