St. Martin's Minotaur 2008

 

Bulgaria:  Hermes Publishing House

Mainland China: Tianjin Huawentianxia Books

Denmark:  Klim

France: Editions du Seuil

Germany:  Heyne

Hungary:  Victoria 

Italy:  Piemme

Japan:  Hayakawa Shobo

Netherlands:  The House of Books

Poland:  Wydawnictwo Albatros Andrzej Kurylowicz 

Sweden:  Forum Bokforlag

Taiwan:  Rye Field

Turkey:  Bilge Kultur Sanat

United Kingdom:  Head of Zeus

 

Book Club

Brazil:  Reader's Digest

Bulgaria:  Reader's Digest

Croatia:  Reader's Digest

Czech Republic:  Reader's Digest

Hungary:  Reader's Digest

Italy:  Mondolibri

Latin America:  Reader's Digest

Poland:  Reader's Digest

Portugal:  Reader's Digest

Romania:  Reader's Digest

Slovenia:  Reader's Digest

 

Audio

Macmillan Audio

France: Sixtrid

 

Film

Lila 9th Productions

 

Awards

Edgar Award for Best Novel, 2008

June 2008 Book Sense Notable

Elle Magazine Literary Award (France)

 

 

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Other Books by C.J. Box

Blue Heaven

Author: C.J. Box

A twelve-year-old girl and her younger brother go on the run in the woods of North Idaho, pursued by four men they have just watched commit murder — four men who know exactly who William and Annie are, and who know exactly where their desperate mother is waiting for news of her children’s fate. Retired cops from Los Angeles, the killers easily persuade the inexperienced sheriff to let them lead the search for the missing children.

William and Annie’s unexpected savior comes in the form of an old-school rancher teetering on the brink of foreclosure. But as one man against four who will stop at nothing to silence their witnesses, Jess Rawlins needs allies, and he knows that one word to the wrong person could seal the fate of the children or their mother. In a town where most of the ranches like his have turned into acres of ranchettes populated by strangers, finding someone to trust won’t be easy.

With true-to-life, unforgettable characters and a ticking-clock plot that spans just over forty-eight hours, C.J. Box has created a thriller that delves into issues close to the heart: the ruthless power of greed over broken ideals, the healing power of community where unlikely heroes find themselves at the crossroads of duty and courage, and the truth about what constitutes a family. In a setting whose awesome beauty is threatened by those who want a piece of it, Blue Heaven delivers twists and turns until its last breathtaking page.

Blue Heaven


Booklist (starred review):

Box deftly juggles a compressed time line and a large cast of characters that includes a good ex-cop who has followed the killers from California, the kids’ single mom, a banker with a bad conscience, and a grizzled rancher who becomes the kids’ protector. In some ways, this isn’t that different from a Pickett novel: set against a New West issue (rampant development), it features likably flawed good guys (the good cop grapples with fear) and springs the noble western archetypes at just the right moment to have us cheering (you just knew the rancher would saddle up his horse). So does this stand-alone stand on its own two feet? Hell, yes. If it’s a bit less introspective than a Pickett, it’s a bit more of a page-turner. And Box builds suspense so brilliantly that Blue Heaven could serve as a textbook of how to do it.

 

Kirkus Reviews (starred review):

Box alternates violence with surprising tenderness in a suspenseful tour de force.

 

The Boston Globe:

The new year gets off to an auspicious start with C. J. Box's Blue Heaven, a thriller set in ranch-country northern Idaho, where retired Los Angeles Police Department officers have found retirement nirvana. They live lavishly, isolated from their neighbors, hoping their pasts won't catch up with them.

The ranch setting, combined with a rich, complex story, gives the novel the flavor of a Western saga. Cliffhanger scene shifts, a ticking clock, and escalating danger lend it all the trappings of a suspense novel, but with characters that make the reader care. Against a backdrop of wilderness, rich with the scent of pine and cattle, there are strong elements of classic tragedy here as well, as yearning propels all of the characters, good and bad, into mortal peril. Blue Heaven is my favorite kind of thriller — one with a heart.

 

Charlotte Observer:

C.J. Box has stepped outside the world of Joe Pickett, the star of his highly acclaimed mystery series, to pen a stand-alone thriller that will grab you on page one. I suggest you make sure you have time to finish this one before you need much sleep again.

 

Toronto Sun:

North Idaho, as its inhabitants prefer to call it, is the rugged setting for this gripping new thriller from bestselling writer C. J. Box.

 

The Australian:

The master of the regional western thriller, C.J. Box departs from his irresistible Wyoming game warden series in this new stand-alone novel. And it's as classy, elegiac and as affecting as any of those wonderful Joe Pickett stories. Two children witness a murder in North Idaho at an idyllic place called Blue Heaven, named by certain Los Angeles cops ?because so many of them have retired there. Sixty-three-year-old rancher Jesse Rawlins, divorced and battling to hang on to his property but still the conscience of the valley, is their unexpected saviour. Heartbreak and redemption in a gorgeous western setting.

 

Omaha World-Herald:

A first-rate, edge-of-your seat read.

 

The Billings Gazette:

Box delivers surprises until the final page.

 

Rocky Mountain News:

If you've somehow missed reading Box, don't miss Blue Heaven.

 

The Cleveland Plain Dealer:

A page-turning, suspense-ratcheting success.

 

Bookreporter.com:

I had read only three pages of Blue Heaven by C. J. Box when life got in the way and I had to set it aside. It was a couple of days before I could pick it back up, but those parts stayed with me — heck, haunted me — throughout the intervening period. When I was able to resume reading the book, I consumed it in one extended, unbroken visual feast, tasting of heartbreak and violence, of tragedy and promise.

From its haunting cover to its poetic, bittersweet last paragraph, Blue Heaven is an unforgettable, powerful tale.

 

Madison County Herald:

For maximum enjoyment, Blue Heaven should be read over a weekend. It's a crime to put this superb real-time adventure down, if only to grab a warming tea or a bite of sustenance. C.J. Box treats readers to real heroes who keep fighting even when they're down and villains who blend right in to the scenery. Visit the picturesque wilds of Blue Heaven, but be sure to bone up on your survival instincts.

 

Scottish Daily Express:

Those who have encountered earlier novels by CJ Box will be in no doubt that he is one of the most talented thriller writers at work today and it's obvious the fulsome praise on the jacket from such luminaries as Harlan Coben and Tess Gerritsen is fully justified.

It's not just the mechanics of keeping the reader turning the pages that the author is so skilled at, it's the wonderfully rich characterisation of all the protagonists here, good and evil.

A sense of place leaps off the page but however beautiful the setting we are never allowed to forget the menace drawing ever closer to the desperate children. Blue Heaven is more than 400 pages long but you'll read it as quickly as a slim novella.

 

Harlan Coben:

Blue Heaven is a non-stop thrill ride — a provocative suspense novel that has you rooting for the characters every step of the way. C.J. Box knows how to craft a story that grips you and haunts you.

 

George Pelecanos:

The strengths of novelist C.J. Box — lyrical descriptions of the natural world, big moral choices by fallible human beings, and high-level suspense — are in full effect in Blue Heaven. An unusual, intelligent thriller that resonates long after the last page is turned.

 

Robert Crais:

Blue Heaven is a relentless thriller. C.J. Box sucked me in with good cops, bad cops, and missing money, then blind-sided me with unexpected twists and surprises in this novel of clashing cultures and dark secrets. Box delivers the goods!

 

Tess Gerritsen:

I can't remember the last time a book made my hands sweat and my heart pound this hard. Blue Heaven is one of the best thrillers of the year, and it kept me up most of the night, the way few books have ever done. C.J. Box owes me a night's sleep!

 

T. Jefferson Parker:

Blue Heaven is a first-rate thriller, peopled by complex characters and unpredictable action. I heard every tick of the clock as I read it, praying that the good guys would prevail. I love Chuck Box's vision of an idyllic small town in the clutches of a spiraling evil that threatens to ruin everyone. Don't miss it.