Matthew's Reviews > The Bitterroots

Box’s latest entry into the Cassie Dewell series is very good. I still have not got as into any of them as I have the Joe Pickett series, but that is kind of comparing apples to oranges. While they are both mystery series that take place in the Rockies, the characters and the scenarios feel so different. I find the Dewell series to be much darker and more brutal – which may be saying a lot and Pickett has his share of dark and brutal, too!

I found the mystery and the twists and turns in this book to be unique and creative. That is a great thing to find in a genre where most scenarios have been used already. While it is still likely that a storyline is going to have shades of a previously used scenario, as long is you don’t feel like you are dealing with something that is blatantly rehashed, that is a success. Box seems to always approach his stories with a fresh eye and adds in twists you never see coming.

For this one, I did not go the full five stars because it was good, but I cannot avoid comparing those apples to oranges in my head. With how strong several of the recent Pickett titles have been, I must put Dewell in second place . . . at least for now. Maybe her next adventure will move her to the top? That is a race I am greatly enjoying being a part of!