Back of Beyond

Some of Oundle Crime were already familiar with C.J. Box’s ‘Joe Pickett’ series when we were lucky enough to be chosen to receive copies of this to read and review. (Our thanks to publishers, Head of Zeus.)

First published in 2011 it's the first book of a series featuring Detective Cody Hoyt (and later, Cassie Dewell). The books are set in Montana and were turned into a TV series called ‘Big Sky’, which ran for three seasons between 2020-2023. Now 'Back of Beyond' has been re-published in the UK as a paperback.

Cody Hoyt is a troubled man – an alcoholic, separated from his wife and son, and holding onto his job by his fingernails. The story starts with Cody investigating the death of his AA sponsor, whose body has been found in a burned-out cabin. The death looks as if it could be suicide and only Cody is convinced it is murder. The sheriff is gearing up for his re-election campaign and is keen that nothing should rock the boat, so Cody has to navigate local politics, lack of physical evidence and suspicious colleagues to get things on track.

His persistence pays off when his friend, Larry, the other local investigator, realises Cody is right about murder vs suicide and together they follow some very tenuous connections, which lead them to a wilderness pack-trip in Yellowstone National Park. In fact, the plot pivots on a small clue which sends Cody to follow the pack-trip into Yellowstone. The investigation is complicated by the fact that (a) by now Cody has now been suspended from his job (b) he’s realised that his teenaged son is on that particular pack-trip, and (c) neither he or Larry understands exactly why the murderer is heading into Yellowstone at all.

We all enjoyed reading Back of Beyond, even though it’s a pretty straightforward story that sometimes felt a bit ‘old hat’. But C.J. Box knows how to bring landscape and nature to life. As soon as the mystery moves into Yellowstone it becomes a different novel entirely and the reader really gets a sense of the big outdoors. The descriptions are so engaging we weren’t surprised it had been made into a TV series.

Cody’s efforts to keep sober and functioning are well-described, and they help the tension of the investigation to build as he and Larry piece things together. They know a little bit about everyone who is on the pack-trip, but not much. The reader is getting to know them rather better than Cody ever will, because the narrative now includes the voice of Gracie, a 14-year-old girl who is on the trip and who is an acute observer of what’s happening in the group.

The founding principle of Oundle Crime is that life is too short to read a book you don’t enjoy, so the fact we all finished this should tell you what you need to know. We liked it. And even if some don’t continue with this series, everyone is going to take a fresh look at C.J. Box and read some of the Joe Pickett books.

And what about our ratings? Well, it got 5-Stars from one of us, who loved this so much she plans to re-read it. The majority gave it 4-Stars and there was one each of 3- and 2-Stars. But, even better, the book generated a great discussion at our meeting about description, landscape and setting, so our thanks again to Head of Zeus. We are voluntarily giving an honest review.
Review by Oundle Crime