OPEN SEASON by C.J. BOX

"...The book is set in the mountains of Wyoming, where we meet Game Warden Joe Picket and his family. I’m a big fan of books set in the great outdoors of the USA, being a long time James Lee Burke fan and following John Sandford’s ‘Virgil Flowers’ as he heads into the country, so it was no surprise to me that I liked this particular setting. I guess what did surprise me was just how much I liked it! Whether it was that sense of escapism (I think I’ve always wanted to live in a cabin by the woods), or it was the way that Box wrote about Picket and his young family, it just seemed to resonate with me on some level ..." "Open Season is the first of C.J.Box's "Joe Pickett" series, and the second that I've read - having been attracted to Free Fire after reading an article on the real-life virtues of the plot. If you like crime thrillers, a taste of the old west, and nature - then the Joe Pickett books are for you! In Open Season, Joe Pickett is a Wyoming game warden preparing for the start of antelope season. As he prepares pancakes for his pregnant wife and two daughters, his eldest tells him of the monster she saw in the yard during the night. In an attempt to show her nothing is there, Joe discovers the dead body of a shady outfitter and an empty cooler that clearly contained an animal of some kind..." "　ワイオミングの雄大な自然を背景に、自然を愛し、家族を大切にし、信念と良心に忠実な狩猟監視官Joe Pickettが、ピックアップトラックと馬に乗って颯爽と登場です。　釣りや狩りが趣味や生活の中心となっている保守的だが平和な土地で、狩猟シーズンの始まりとともに、殺人事件も幕を開けて・・・。
　主人公はなんといっても、大自然とアウトドア男の魅力です ..." "... クルーガーのコークのシリーズと共に、アメリカ、サスペンス、ピックアップトラック、大自然、田舎の悲哀って感じが好きです。しかも主人公が少しおっちょこちょいで、その点で最後までそわそわします ..."

주인공 Joe Picket는 Game Warden( 수렵구 관리인 ) 인이다. 어릴 때부터 꿈꾸던 일이기에 만족하기도 하지만 경제적인 이유로 이직을 고민하는 인물이다. 마지막 장면을 제외하고 전반부에 묘사되는 주인공은 성격이 평면적이고 뭔가 액션을 기대하는 독자들에게는 기대에 못 미치는 그런 인물이다.  사실 다 읽은 후에도 주인공에 대한 큰 매력을 느끼지 못했다. 다만 이 책이 Joe Picket 시리즈의 첫 번째 책이기 때문에 그런 게 아닐까 하는 생각을 해본다. 두 번째 책부터 인물들에 대한 방향이 좀 더 구체화되지 않을까 생각한다.  아름다운 자연을 배경으로 하지만 인간들의 탐욕, 살인, 배신 등 어두운 면을 잘 보여주고 있는 범죄 스릴러이다. 자연에 대한 묘사나 인물 간에 나타나는 심리적 묘사들은 좋은 편이다. 책의 페이지수에 비해서 잘 넘어가는 책이다.