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- Title: Endangered
- Author: C. J. Box
- Narrator: David Chandler
- Length: 10:24:00
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 10/03/2015
- Publisher: Recorded Books
- Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Horror, Detective Stories
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
The first time I heard David Chandler’s gravelly voice narrating C.J. Box’s Endangered, I was driving through the Wind River Range in Wyoming – a landscape as rugged and unyielding as Box’s protagonist, game warden Joe Pickett. There’s something about listening to a Wyoming-set thriller while actually seeing those endless skies and jagged peaks that makes the experience visceral. It reminded me of those evenings in Oaxaca, where stories weren’t just told but lived through the narrator’s inflections – and Chandler delivers that same raw authenticity.
Box’s 15th Joe Pickett novel finds our moral compass of a game warden facing every parent’s nightmare when his ward April is found barely alive in a ditch. The story unfolds like a high plains storm – building slowly with atmospheric tension before unleashing its full fury. What makes Endangered particularly compelling is how Box explores the concept of family loyalty taken to dangerous extremes through the Cates clan, who make the Corleones look like amateurs in the family business of violence.
Chandler’s narration is a masterclass in understated intensity. His voice carries the weight of Wyoming’s high country – weathered, no-nonsense, with just enough gravel to make you feel the dust in your teeth. He perfectly captures Joe’s quiet determination and the barely-contained rage simmering beneath his professional exterior. The way Chandler handles dialogue, particularly the Cates family’s casual menace, sent chills down my spine during a particularly lonely stretch of Highway 287.
As someone who’s spent years documenting human stories in remote places, I was struck by Box’s authentic portrayal of rural Wyoming’s social dynamics. The scene where Joe navigates small-town politics while trying to investigate April’s attack reminded me of similar tightrope walks I’ve witnessed in isolated communities from Patagonia to the Australian Outback. Box nails that delicate balance between neighborliness and suspicion that defines rural life.
The audiobook’s pacing (just over 10 hours) mirrors the deliberate rhythm of Western life – moments of quiet observation punctuated by sudden violence. Box’s descriptive passages about the landscape benefit tremendously from Chandler’s delivery; you can practically feel the bitter wind cutting through your jacket during the winter scenes. The production quality from Recorded Books is excellent, with crisp audio that maintains consistency even during Chandler’s more intense moments.
While the mystery plot is compelling, what elevates Endangered is Box’s exploration of moral ambiguity. Joe’s usual black-and-white worldview gets shaken as he confronts uncomfortable truths about the people he’s sworn to protect. This theme resonated deeply with me – I recalled interviewing a Peruvian village elder who similarly had to reconcile his community’s dark secrets with his role as its moral center. Chandler’s voice carries that same weight of hard-won wisdom throughout the narration.
If I have one critique, it’s that some secondary characters verge on caricature, particularly the rodeo-obsessed Cates family. But Chandler’s nuanced performance helps ground even these broader characters in reality. His ability to differentiate voices without resorting to over-the-top accents is particularly impressive in crowded scenes like the tense confrontation at the Cates’ ranch.
For fans of Craig Johnson’s Longmire series or William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor novels, this audiobook delivers that same perfect blend of rugged setting and complex morality. But Box’s particular gift for crafting pulse-pounding action sequences (the climactic showdown in a blizzard is breathtaking) sets this apart. Chandler’s narration during these high-tension moments had me gripping my steering wheel so tightly my knuckles went white.
What makes this audiobook special is how it transports you completely. As I listened during that Wyoming road trip, the line between Box’s fictional Saddlestring and the real towns I passed through blurred deliciously. When I stopped for gas in Lander, I half-expected to see Joe Pickett’s green game warden truck parked outside the diner. That’s the magic of great audiobook storytelling – it doesn’t just accompany your journey, it becomes part of it.
Endangered works beautifully as a standalone, but longtime fans will appreciate how Box continues developing Joe’s relationship with his family and his own moral code. There’s a particularly moving scene where Joe reflects on his failures to protect April that Chandler delivers with heartbreaking restraint. It’s these quiet character moments, as much as the thriller plot, that linger after the final chapter.
Happy trails and even happier listening, Marcus
Marcus Rivera
