Just a few days ago, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Books, released the details for C.J. Box’s 18th Joe Pickett novel, scheduled to hit bookstores on March 20, 2018.
Titled The Disappeared, the next installment of Box’s brilliant franchise is set to take Joe Pickett to a high-end guest ranch in Wyoming, where two visitors have mysteriously gone missing. Those who read this year’s Vicious Circle may remember that Joe’s oldest daughter, Sheridan, who is mostly absent in this year’s book, is said to be working at a high-end guest ranch.
Check out the plot details below:
“Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett has two cases to contend with, both of them lethal, in the electrifying new novel from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author.
Wyoming’s new governor isn’t sure what to make of Joe Pickett, but he has a job for him that is extremely delicate. Three British executives, all women, never came home from the high-end guest ranch they were visiting, and the British Embassy is pressing hard. Pickett knows that happens sometimes–these ranches are stocked with handsome young cowboys, and “ranch romances” aren’t uncommon. But three disappearances? That’s too many.
At the same time, with the help of his friend Nate Romanowski, he’s been called to investigate the killings of several bald and golden eagles–a serious federal crime. The more he investigates both cases, the more someone wants him to go away. Is it because of the missing women or the dead eagles? Or are they somehow connected? The answers, when they come, will be even worse than he’d imagined.”
I don’t think, at this point, that it’s any stretch of the imagination to assume the events of The Disappeared might be going down where Sheridan works. Especially since Box has always been really good about working characters who don’t get much screen time in one novel into a larger role in the next one.
In case that didn’t get you excited enough, the official plot details confirm that Nate Romanowski, Joe’s outlaw-turned-straight master falconer best friend, is also returning. In fact, the plot details seem to indicate that Nate could play a large role in this book after his screen time was cut way back in Vicious Circle, following his starring role in 2016’s Off The Grid.
It makes sense, really, when you consider two things. First, anytime anything strange is going on, Nate Romanowski–with his special forces background and his .454 Casull always at the ready–is definitely the guy you want to have around. Secondly, Nate has always shared a special bond with Sheridan, who at one time was his apprentice falconer.
It’s also worth noting that Box is once again serving up two storylines, or cases, for Joe to follow, something he’s always done really well. How the bald and golden eagles play into things are, obviously, yet to be seen–but Joe is, after all, a game warden, so it’s only natural that a plot involving animals makes it into the story. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s Joe Pickett’s magnet-like ability to effortlessly attract bad situations. He has a knack for always being in the right place at the wrong time, and something tells me that won’t be changing anytime soon.
We’re still a long ways out, but save the date…things are going to get Western next March when Joe Pickett rides back into bookstores in #1 New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box’s The Disappeared, now available for pre-order here.