When Earl Alden is found dead, his wife Missy is arrested. Unfortunately for Joe Pickett, Missy is his much-disliked mother-in- law. All signs point to her being guilty as sin. But then things happen to make Joe wonder if everything is as it seems. He has the county DA and sheriff on one side, his wife on the other, and some powerful interests breathing down his neck. Whichever way this goes, it's not going to be good.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett must try to prove that his despised mother-in-law, Missy Alden, isn't guilty of murdering Earl Alden, her fifth husband, in Box's searing 11th Joe Pickett novel (after Nowhere to Run). Pickett's gruesome discovery of Alden's body is followed almost immediately by the stage-managed arrest of Missy by Sheriff Kyle McLanahan. Both Missy and Earl have done plenty to earn the enmity of their neighbors, so Missy's arrest benefits McLanahan's bid for re-election, but Pickett is surprised to find county attorney Lisa Rich already convinced the case is solid. Pickett could use the help of his friend Nate Romanowski, but they are on the outs. Meanwhile, Romanowski, hunted by the widow of a man he killed, finds his withdrawal from the world has endangered others. Box parlays a heady mix of Wyoming politics and the advent of wind power into a deadly brew. This engaging series just keeps getting better with each new entry. Author tour. (Mar.)
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From Booklist
When Joe Pickett's mother-in-law is accused of murdering her latest husband, there's a part of him that can't believe his good luck: the social-climbing harpy has had it in for him ever since he married his beloved Marybeth. Unfortunately, it's hard for him to believe she's guilty. Could a petite woman in her midsixties really hoist a body to the top of a wind turbine and chain it to the spinning blade? What's her motive, anyway? Reluctantly, the dogged Wyoming game warden begins his own investigation, one that seems to ruffle the feathers of just about everybody involved. The eleventh installment in Box's superlative series returns Pickett to his old stomping grounds, Twelve Sleep County, and spins a complicated mystery that entangles familiar series characters in new and surprising ways. Despite Joe's guess that 'things are going to get real Western,' they end with a courtroom surprise ('like fuckin' Perry Mason!' as one old-timer observes). But a closing scene promises plenty of action in the next book, featuring fan favorite Nate Romanowski. Box's many fans won't be disappointed. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The 75,000-copy first printing may or may not cover all the devoted fans of Box's long-running series. --Keir Graff