Book nine in the Joe Pickett series by C. J. Box starts with our Wyoming game warden in exile after the conclusion of the last book, Blood Trail. But when his eldest daughter Sheridan is supposedly contacted by the foster daughter they buried six years ago, he races back home to try and uncover what’s going on. Could April really still be alive? And how is she related to the string of violence that seems to be making the same journey across the country.
Although this story takes place outside of the hunting season, with the wildlife taking more of a back seat, the Wyoming setting is still brought to life as Joe, Sheridan and Nate travel through power plant country, to legendary cowboy hideouts, and away from the Bighorns into the Bear Lodge Mountains. Below Zero alludes to previous books in the series (Winterkill, to be specific), but is accessible to new readers without over-repetition for those that have read the back catalogue. With strong environmental themes and signature twisting and teasing narratives, this thriller will have you hooked until the final pages
Box's ninth novel to feature Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett begins with a bombshell: could Pickett's foster daughter, April, who apparently died six years earlier in Winterkill, still be alive?
"Tell Sherry April called." A simple phone message that shakes Joe Pickett's oldest daughter Sheridan and the rest of the family to the core. To Joe, it doesn't seem even remotely possible that April could have survived the massacre described in Winterkill six years before. He was there, and he was unable to save her. But Sheridan starts to believe there's a chance that April is still alive, and her suspicions are confirmed when the person sending texts to her cellphone is able to recall family incidents only April could know.
Joe, however, remains wary of the messages. But when the texts start to refer to "bad things," and when Marybeth discovers they come from locations throughout the West where vicious murders have taken place, alarm bells go off. Desperate to discover if April is still alive and to save her from possible danger, Joe, Sheridan, and Nate Romanowski take to the road to connect the texts with the crimes.
Meanwhile, a dying Chicago mobster named Stenko and a much younger girl cross the country. He's on a mission to reconcile with his extreme environmentalist son before he dies. His son is less interested in reconciliation than in getting his father to repent for the environmental crimes he's committed during his lifetime. He wants his father to become not just carbon neutral, but to reduce his carbon footprint to below zero - as if he'd never even existed.
As the path of Stenko and his companions starts to cross with Joe, Sheridan, and Nate, the question is raised: Is this young girl April or are the Picketts the victims of a cruel hoax?
'C. J. Box is a great storyteller.' - Tony Hillerman
Author
About C. J. Box
C. J. Box is the winner of an Anthony Award, the Prix Calibre .38, the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, the Barry Award and the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Novel. His novels are US bestsellers and have been translated into 21 languages. Box lives with his family outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.
