Back of Beyond

A troubled cop seeks to save his son from a killer in the wilderness of Yellowstone. Back of Beyond is a gripping adventure from New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box, and the first book in the series that inspired hit TV show Big Sky.

Twilight falls on a cold, wet spring day in the mountains of Montana. A cabin smoulders in the forest. Its charred structure reveals the remains of a single body.

Detective Cody Hoyt investigates. A brilliant cop, Cody is also struggling with alcoholism and close to losing his job. It doesn’t help that the body in the cabin is his AA sponsor, Hank Winters. It looks like a suicide, but Cody knew Hank better than that.

Cody is determined to get justice for his friend. But when the clues lead to a company running wilderness adventures, he realises their latest trip, to Yellowstone National Park, is the very same one his estranged teenage son has signed up for…

Cody must trek deep into Yellowstone, America’s greatest wilderness, alone, in pursuit of his son – and the truth.

Reviews for Back of Beyond

‘Timeless, gripping. Resembles an Agatha Christie whodunnit but with horses, bears, wolves and hunting rifles.’ Sunday Times
‘A perfect introduction to the novels of C.J. Box.’ Booklist
‘Perceptive… smooth, muscular writing keeps the tension rising.’ Financial Times
‘One of the most suspenseful wilderness thrillers since Deliverance.’ Associated Press
‘Terrifically entertaining.’ Kirkus

Author Biography

C. J. Box is the author of twenty-two Joe Pickett novels, five stand-alone novels, and a story collection. He has won Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Barry Awards, as well as the French Prix Calibre .38. He has been a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, and his books have been translated into twenty-seven languages. A Wyoming native, Box has also worked on a ranch and as a small-town newspaper reporter and editor. He lives outside Cheyenne with his family.

Follow him on @cjboxauthor cjbox.net