Breaking Point: A Joe Pickett Novel Book 13

By: C. J. Box

Narrated by: David Chandler

The recipient of Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity Awards, New York Times best-selling author C. J. Box has won almost every honor in his field. In Breaking Point, Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is glad to catch up with old friend Lyle Pendergast, but then the man goes missing and is named a suspect in the death of two EPA employees. All signs point to Lyle’s guilt, but the more Joe digs into the case, the more he realizes he’s stepped into the middle of a deadly power play.

©2013 C.J. Box (P)2013 Recorded Books

Good Writing, Morally Ambiguous Ending

With friend/fugitive Nate sidelined for nearly the entire story, Joe had to grin and bear it through this interesting tale of corruption in an US Government Agency, murder, and persecution setting the scene for a manhunt that includes even Joe's archenemy, the ex-sherriff.
Joe is pushed to his seemingly bottomless limit of patience, but preservers against tremendous, some might say 'overdone', odds to emerge unemployed but victorious. Box writes cluttered novels that stretch plausibility, but entertain very well.
I often feel like I am running out of quality authors in the mystery genre, but Box has made the cut as I near the end of this series quite satisfied.
note: Publisher's Note is full of discrepancies and errors. Don't they proof-read their own stuff? Seriously embarrassing!

Joe Pickett Rides Again

Another good Joe Pickett adventure. We have read all the books in this series and felt like this one quit a chapter or two too early, with many loose ends for the next book to resolve. Anyone reading this book would certainly be left wondering what happened to key players. This book ends like a "soap opera". However, the reader was excellent! and I will be waiting for the continuing saga.

Return to Savage Run?

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes. Box is always entertaining. This book was not his best book, although it was interesting. It lacked the usual imagination shown by Box and the "return to Savage Run" seemed to indicate Box has run out of things to write about or imagination to think new things up. The river scenes could have been set in any canyon.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Breaking Point: A Joe Pickett Novel Book 13?

The reveal at the end was, as usual, amazing.

Which scene was your favorite?

The trip down Savage Run

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably not. There is no theatre where I live and no movie is worth driving 80 miles over the continental divide to see it.

Any additional comments?

This book was pretty predictable. It was pretty easy to guess what Butch's connection to Baptiste was. It mischaracterized the Sackett decision, which had solely to do with procedural matters. And the book was predictable in other ways, too. You knew the moment you read it, the main plot event was 'too bad to be true,' as well as impossible. SPOILER ALERT: The EPA does not engage in fugitive hunts. This would have been the sheriff's case. If federal law enforcement was involved, it would have been the FBI or the US Marshal's service. The shooting of the two agents at the beginning of the book was self-defense, from any point of view, so why did the protagonist go to jail? A hell fire missile on a Predator drone? The military wouldn't give him an armed drone for fear he'd do what he did and make the military look like idiots. I'll bet the EPA wishes they had the resources they have in the book. The whole concept of using a hell fire missile to take out one guy, based on a cell phone signal, is so absurd it passes into the realm of fairy tales.

Lyle Pendergast?

The description reads that Joe has a run-in with his old friend Lyle Pendergast, but it's Butch Roberson, not Lyle... Careless error.

good one

I liked all the action,, good story line,, wish the bad guys really get the punishment

The best Joe Pickett book

I've listened to several Joe Pickett books, all of them very good to great, but this one is the best! Also, I wasn't familiar with the series and therefore listed to the most recent book first. I loved the characters, setting and story. I worried however that my enjoyment of the previous books would be diminished since I started with the most recent. I have not found this to be the case. I've enjoyed all of them, and didn't listen in any particular order.

Watch out for the surprise ending.

Loved the book, recording skips in a couple places, but overall it was great. One of the best.

Joe does it again!

Great story and narration. Really enjoy the Joe Pickett novels. looking forward to the next. And David Chandler is a great narrator.

Interesting

Always enjoy Joe. This one had some twists that were interesting. The narrator is great.

Engaging Story

This was one of my favorite Joe Pickett novels. The narration was outstanding; voices were clearly differentiated. The story line was clever, and I couldn't guess where it was going until it all came together at the end. Some very exciting scenes. I found it completely engaging and entertaining. I understand that others may be upset at the negative portrayal of a government agency's personnel, but I didn't see it as a "political comment." All agencies have their problem people and can run amok, and this was just a story.