Below Zero

Overview

Award-winning and national-bestselling writer C. J. Box returns with a vengeance in this thrilling new novel featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett.

Below Zero begins with an unassuming phone message: "Tell Sherry April called." But Sherry--Joe Pickett's oldest daughter, Sheridan--and the Pickett family are shaken to the core. April, Pickett's foster daughter, was killed in a horrific murder and arson spree six years prior. To Joe, it doesn't seem even remotely possible that April could have survived the massacre described in Winterkill. He was there. But Sherry starts to believe there's a chance that April is still alive; the girl on the other end of the phone is able to recall family incidents that only April could know.

Joe, however, remains suspicious, especially when he discovers that the calls have been placed from locations where serious crimes have occurred.

At the same time, an older man and a much younger girl cross the country. The man is on a mission to repent for the crimes he's committed against the environment during his lifetime. He ultimately wants to offset each incident until he not only becomes carbon neutral, but actually drops below zero-- as if he's never existed. As the path of these travelers starts to intersect with the Pickett family's, the question is raised: Is this young girl April--or are Joe and his family the victims of the cruelest of hoaxes?

Editorial Reviews

Edgar-finalist 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 a horrific conflagration when overzealous FBI agents confronted a group of dissident survivalists (see 2003's Winterkill), still be alive? Pickett's 17-year-old daughter, Sheridan, begins receiving disturbing text messages from someone claiming to be her dead sister, and Pickett's entire family is forced to relive the tragedy. Even worse, whoever is sending these messages is traveling cross-country with suspected serial killers targeting people whose carbon footprint is too high. Still struggling with the guilt of not protecting April from her nightmarish fate in Winterkill, Pickett vows to save her this time, no matter the cost. Powered by provocative themes of environmental activism, this relentlessly paced powder keg of a thriller could be Box's best to date. Author tour. (June)

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Author Information

Bio of C.J. Box

C.J. Box is the author of eight novels including the award-winning Joe Pickett series. He's the winner of the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, the Barry Award, and an Edgar Award and L.A. Times Book Prize finalist. Open Season was a 2001 New York Times Notable Book. Box lives with his family outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Customer Reviews

• Very interesting plot line

  Posted October 04, 2009 by dwr, West Deptford, NJ

  Plot was interestingly different. Action was good. A quick, enjoyable read. Looking for more - Winterkill was as good, although different. Recommend both.

Additional Info

Imprint

Penguin

Filesize

1.76 MB

Number of Pages

352

eBook ISBN

9781101059531