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A review by lynguy1
Badlands by C.J. Box
4.0
Badlands by C.J. Box brings combines a crime thriller with a police procedural. There’s plenty of suspense and action in the third book in The Highway Quartet series. Sheriff’s office Chief Investigator Cassie Dewell has a new job in Grimstad, North Dakota where an oil boom has jumped the size of the town from 12,000 to 65,000. With this increase has come an increase in crime. Twelve-year-old Kyle Westergaard wants a better life away from the town. One morning on his paper route, he witnesses a car accident and finds a bundle to money and white powder. Will this enable him and his mom to leave the town?
Cassie is hard working, straight-forward, does her research, and can be tenacious when she’s pursing an investigation. However, she also seems to make errors in judgment and easily jumps to conclusions. At times she seems to be reticent and at other times aggressive.
The story has a continuation of a backstory as well as the new cases from Cassie’s North Dakota job. This adds suspense and some turmoil to the somewhat straightforward crime spree there. Readers quickly learn who the bad guys are so it’s a matter of solid investigative work for Cassie and her colleagues to catch up with us.
There is plenty of violence in this one. Additionally, there's a case of child endangerment that I felt was unrealistic. There are spoilers in this book for previous ones so the series is best read in order. Some scenes seemed unrealistic about riding a bicycle in extremely cold weather and snow. Despite these quibbles, I enjoyed the story and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Themes include drugs, violence, murder, family, and much more.
Overall, this novel was engaging and thought-provoking. It was descriptive without slowing the pacing and readers can easily feel they’re experiencing winter in North Dakota.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was July 28, 2015.
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My 4.19 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.
Cassie is hard working, straight-forward, does her research, and can be tenacious when she’s pursing an investigation. However, she also seems to make errors in judgment and easily jumps to conclusions. At times she seems to be reticent and at other times aggressive.
The story has a continuation of a backstory as well as the new cases from Cassie’s North Dakota job. This adds suspense and some turmoil to the somewhat straightforward crime spree there. Readers quickly learn who the bad guys are so it’s a matter of solid investigative work for Cassie and her colleagues to catch up with us.
There is plenty of violence in this one. Additionally, there's a case of child endangerment that I felt was unrealistic. There are spoilers in this book for previous ones so the series is best read in order. Some scenes seemed unrealistic about riding a bicycle in extremely cold weather and snow. Despite these quibbles, I enjoyed the story and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Themes include drugs, violence, murder, family, and much more.
Overall, this novel was engaging and thought-provoking. It was descriptive without slowing the pacing and readers can easily feel they’re experiencing winter in North Dakota.
I purchased a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date was July 28, 2015.
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My 4.19 rounded to 4 stars review is coming soon.