I read one of C.J. Box's Pickett series and thought to myself that the shooting and 'endurance' scenes were so exaggerated that it detracted from the entire book. I then read the second to confirm my opinion. I also thought that Box's idea of deductive detective work was extremely weak. I was so offended by the gross exaggerations and use of 'chance' in the plot that I will not read anything else by Box.
So, what do you think of Tony Hillerman's Navajo cop books?
Lt. Joe Leaphorn is okay, but that younger cop who wants to be a shaman got to me at times. The female lawyer he liked was too PC for me.
Hillerman knew very little about guns, so no joy there. He used to be a reporter before becoming an author and very few reporters know guns well at all.
Neither does C.J. Box, whose only gun may be his Remington M-870, like Joe Pickkett favors because he's fairly inept with his handgun.
Joe isn't seen hunting. Box told me that that would upset the animal rights people. Bear in mind that most publishers are New York liberals. Even Robt. A. Heinlein had run-ins with his publishers for being pro-gun in his books.
Box seems awfully nice and I like what I know of his family. He's a good author, but lacks real police experience, and Joe was sometimes naive in his thinking. But I've really enjoyed the books. He does bring a fine sense of place to his settings, and his state politics that affect Joe are plausible and entertaining.
)
