Badlands
by C. J. Box brings back the exciting character, Cassie Dewell,
who can best be described as a female Joe Pickett. Readers
are wondering if Box is creating another suspenseful and riveting
series. As with all his books he allows the Western landscape
to become almost a supporting character.
The plot highlights Grimstand, North Dakota, a booming oil
town similar to the Old West during the Gold Rush. Readers
become acquainted with this town when Cassandra (Cassie) decides
to accept the job here as the chief investigator for Sherriff
Jon Kirkbride. She is looking forward to starting a new life
and to put behind the hurtful memories of Montana, and losing
her husband, a soldier killed in Afghanistan. The new job
entails leading an investigation to find corrupt cops, while
at the same time finding out what is behind a fatal car crash.
Along with these duties she must deal with a war between a
motorcycle gang and the Salvadorian MS-13. She must navigate
a murderous enemy, a key witness, Kyle Westergaard, and swarming
single men. The details, about the oil shale industry (fracking),
are intertwined in the plot through the various investigations.
He noted, “I wrote Cassie’s husband as a soldier
killed in Afghanistan. I want Americans to understand the
anguish of a war widow, and a son who never will have met
his dad. I think many times those fighting the War on Terror
are overlooked. Many of us can name battles of World War II,
but I doubt many civilians can name a battle from Afghanistan.”
With the Kyle character Box gives a shout out to mentally
challenged individuals. Kyle is a twelve year old who is considered
slow, almost invisible to the rest of the town. Having fetal
alcohol syndrome he talks very little, and has a hard time
pronouncing his words. But he is the key to the plot with
his tenacious and loyal attitude. When the story is told through
his point of view it gives the readers a different perspective.
Box commented, “Over the years I had a lot of kids in
books and wrote from their point of view. I realized in my
stories I never had boys, only girls. I guess that was because
I have only daughters. One of my daughters works for family
services so I asked her for help about writing a character
with fetal alcohol syndrome. I found out there are children
who suffer from mild to devastating symptoms. I wrote Kyle
with a mild case although he is still over looked by the townspeople.
Yet, in his own way Kyle is sharp and can connect the dots.”
The main character, Cassie, is gritty, intelligent, tough,
determined, and willing to take risks. She is not the typical
hero in that she is plump, a widow, and a mother. She must
prove herself since people consider her a diversity hire by
a department that needed more women. But she is also very
talented and will not hesitate to bend the rules to get answers.
Badlands is part stand-alone, and part sequel to
The Highway. Although the main piece of Badlands
has its own storyline, there is a continuation of the plot
from The Highway. Cassie is still after the serial killer
known as the Lizard King who preys on girls at highway rest
stops.
C. J. Box is one of those authors who turn all books into
gold. He writes thrilling and captivating stories that are
fast-moving and riveting. Along with his descriptive settings
and compelling characters the plots are always page-turners
that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Fans might
be able to see his characters and stories on the TV screen
since David E. Kelly is taking the pilot script for The Highway
to Amazon and/or Netflix while Robert Redford is shopping
the Joe Pickett series to Hallmark and the National Geographic
Channel.
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