The Crossroads by C.J. Box

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on February 24, 2026

Allegations of corruption in Wyoming politics have been in the news lately. Political corruption may help explain why The Crossroads opens with the discovery of Joe Pickett’s bullet-ridden body in his SUV on a road that branches off to three different ranches. Or maybe the shooters had a grudge against Joe for other reasons.

A hunter phoned the police to report the shooting but had to flee from the scene when the shooters made him their target. Joe is still alive (barely) when the sheriff and Joe’s wife arrive on the scene. He’s flown to a hospital in Billings where a neurosurgeon will deal with the bullet that entered his head.

Joe is in a coma during most of the novel. Joe’s daughters carry the story, with series regular Nate Romanowski making an occasional appearance. Since Nate is a psychopath masquerading as a libertarian hero, I was pleased that he played only a limited role.

The three daughters — Sheridan (27), April (25), and Lucy (23) — converge on the family home as they await news of their father. The story follows the daughters as they investigate the shooting. They theorize that their father was driving to one of the three ranches. The McElwee sisters are fiercely protective of their privacy. Wild animals seem to get drunk when they visit the McElwee ranch. Michael Thompson, the wealthy owner of the Double Diamond, is involved in a secret project on his land, one that may require political influence (and Joe's help) to bring to fruition. John and Shelby Bucholz occupy the third ranch and seem to be hiding someone in a dilapidated cabin. Adding to the mystery is a helicopter that repeatedly flies over the ranches.

Joe’s daughters split up to interview the three ranch families. Each daughter forms the impression that the rancher she interrogated may be committing crimes that Joe was investigating. The daughters weave elaborate theories to tie each rancher to the shooting. The reader’s job is to decide which rancher hired the shooters.

The two dolts who shot Joe are featured in a few short chapters. Their appearances prove that trigger pulls are not fueled by brainpower. Fortunately, the shooters don’t spoil the mystery by revealing the mastermind behind the assassination attempt.

Occasional flashbacks show the reader what Joe was doing in the days before the shooting. Moving the spotlight away from Joe isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because Joe is the strong silent type with an emphasis on silent. If he can hold up his end of a conversation by saying “yup” and looking down, that’s what he’ll do. Joe’s personality might be described as stalwart, but that would just be a nicer way of saying that Joe is a boring guy. When C.J. Box writes a Joe Pickens novel that entertains, the entertainment comes from the plot or surrounding characters, not so much from Joe.

I appreciated Box’s decision not to have collateral characters gripe about cultural issues (Joe never indulges in controversial opinions). A character makes a predictable complaint about wind turbines, but a novel set in Wyoming wouldn’t be realistic if characters didn’t express their “it’s all about me” political philosophy. Those opinions have been distracting in some Pickett novels, but Box keeps his focus on the plot in this one.

The Crossroads is a solid entry in the Pickett series. The mystery is engaging and the resolution is credible. The evil ranchers are amusing. They each have a credible motive to put Joe in a grave. Box sprinkles in enough action scenes to keep the story moving but doesn’t try to turn the daughters into action heroes. Because the story makes few references to events that occurred in earlier novels, crime novel fans who haven’t tried a C.J. Box novel can easily read The Crossroads as an introduction to the series.

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