It's elk season in the Rockies, but this year a different kind of hunter is stalking a different kind of prey. When the call comes in on the radio, Joe Pickett can hardly believe his ears: game wardens have found a hunter dead at a camp in the mountainsstrung up, gutted, and flayed, as if he were the elk he'd been pursuing. A spent cartridge and a poker chip lie next to his body.

Ripples of horror spread through the community, and with a possibly psychotic killer on the loose Governor Rulon is forced to end the hunting season early for the first time in state history. Are the murders the work of a deranged antihunting activist or of a lone psychopath with a personal vendetta?

As always, Joe Pickett is the governor's go-to man, and he's put on the case to track the murderous hunter, as more bodies and poker chips turn up.

Bold, fast-paced, and with a controversial hookhunting versus antihunting activistsBlood Trail is proof that C. J. Box is an ever-rising talent.

The New York Times Book Review

"Box's absorbing seventh crime novel, his best yet. . . . Box skillfully weaves ominous scientific phenomena and legal loopholes . . . into his story of corruption, greed and deception."

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Box sets the standards so high with his Joe Pickett series. . . . Box is a master at working New West issues into his stories . . . exploring pro and con arguments without missing a storytelling beat . . . he's forged a perfect alloy of familiar and fresh. . . . Once again, recommended for practically everybody."

Booklist (starred review)