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archergal's review against another edition
3.0
If you like your heroes mean, violent, drunk, unethical, and a smoker crazy for nicotine, this is the story for you. Cody Hoyt is not a nice guy. He's kinda crazy, and has been thrown off a previous police force, and he's in big trouble with his current one. He's also looking for the person who killed his good friend and AA sponsor.
What follows is a moderately complex story involving a crashed plane, a trip on horseback to the back of Wyoming, and corruption at various levels.
Not a great story, I guess, but an entertaining enough way to spend a couple of afternoons while spinning.
What follows is a moderately complex story involving a crashed plane, a trip on horseback to the back of Wyoming, and corruption at various levels.
Not a great story, I guess, but an entertaining enough way to spend a couple of afternoons while spinning.
cpriley401's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
smashingreads's review against another edition
3.0
BLUF: I really enjoyed certain aspects of this book, but, as a whole, the book didn‰ЫЄt do much for me.
Back of Beyond is the first in the Cody Hoyt series. Cody Hoyt is your typical, angry lone wolf who doesn‰ЫЄt play well with others. I‰ЫЄve been having a hard time with this type of character lately, but, for whatever reason, came to an acceptance with Hoyt after he exposes that he‰ЫЄs a recovering alcoholic. (This may have to do with the last book I read, whose main character was presumed guilty after a relapse from alcoholism, but was a very caring family-oriented man.)
I‰ЫЄm not sure what went wrong with this book, but it lost me when Cody jumped from the murder of his mentor to the idea that the murderer now journeyed on a pack trip with his son and was, somehow, an imminent threat. This was too far of a stretch for me. While I understand that no one wants their child on a trip with a murderer, I don‰ЫЄt understand how a threat was felt so instantly after the determination that the murderer was on the same trip, especially when the murderer‰ЫЄs victims were all alcoholics ‰ЫТ not teenage boys.
In all, I enjoyed the interactions between characters, but wasn‰ЫЄt fond of how the mystery unfolded
Back of Beyond is the first in the Cody Hoyt series. Cody Hoyt is your typical, angry lone wolf who doesn‰ЫЄt play well with others. I‰ЫЄve been having a hard time with this type of character lately, but, for whatever reason, came to an acceptance with Hoyt after he exposes that he‰ЫЄs a recovering alcoholic. (This may have to do with the last book I read, whose main character was presumed guilty after a relapse from alcoholism, but was a very caring family-oriented man.)
I‰ЫЄm not sure what went wrong with this book, but it lost me when Cody jumped from the murder of his mentor to the idea that the murderer now journeyed on a pack trip with his son and was, somehow, an imminent threat. This was too far of a stretch for me. While I understand that no one wants their child on a trip with a murderer, I don‰ЫЄt understand how a threat was felt so instantly after the determination that the murderer was on the same trip, especially when the murderer‰ЫЄs victims were all alcoholics ‰ЫТ not teenage boys.
In all, I enjoyed the interactions between characters, but wasn‰ЫЄt fond of how the mystery unfolded
mizele20's review against another edition
3.0
The main character has almost no redeeming characteristics except a dogged determination to solve crimes and to protect his son--at almost any cost. He is an alcoholic who has not mastered sobriety and a smoker intent on his next stick. The story is compelling enough but the characters aren't really fleshed out. Reading the next in the series....we shall see.
holl3640's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
bwkramer's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
alliepeduto's review against another edition
4.0
This was even better than I was hoping for! I’m not a huge fan of the alcoholic divorced cop trope, and I haven’t read any CJ Box yet, so this was a big mystery (pun!) going into this. And honestly, the main reason I picked it up was that it was set in Yellowstone, which I where I spent the weekend.
But wow, was I on tenterhooks reading this! It was a well done mystery that blended traditional cop drama/investigation with other perspectives, and included what is fast becoming a favorite setting of mine: backcountry isolation. It’s almost like an extension of the locked room mystery, but instead the killer is in a specific camp group.
I definitely want to continue the series, and I might even go back and read Joe Pickett since I’ve heard great things! Plus, apparently Big Sky is based on this series, and I love a TV tie in.
But wow, was I on tenterhooks reading this! It was a well done mystery that blended traditional cop drama/investigation with other perspectives, and included what is fast becoming a favorite setting of mine: backcountry isolation. It’s almost like an extension of the locked room mystery, but instead the killer is in a specific camp group.
I definitely want to continue the series, and I might even go back and read Joe Pickett since I’ve heard great things! Plus, apparently Big Sky is based on this series, and I love a TV tie in.