Below Zero is the ninth book in author C.J. Box’s series centered on Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett. I will say there are a lot of plot points in this book that might be hard to understand if you haven’t read earlier books in the series. Box does a good job of refreshing that history, but I think my familiarity with those previous events helped me follow the story.

Six years before events in Below Zero, Joe and MaryBeth’s foster daughter, April, was killed following an FBI standoff with survivalists in a Federal campground. April’s mother had abandoned her, which is why she was with the Picketts. When she returned with the survivalists, they had no right to retain custody of her, and she took her back. April was believed to have been killed in the conflagration that followed the FBI raid. Joe and MaryBeth even had what they believed to be her body buried in a grave in town.

Their oldest daughter, Sheridan, begins receiving texts from someone who claims to be April. She’s skeptical, but there are a number of things that she answers Sheridan about that only April will know. Joe is dealing from lingering guilt of not having been able to save her, and sees the possibility of redemption. He takes Sheridan along with him to try to find out exactly what’s going on.

Joe must tread a line here. He takes leave from his job as a Wyoming Game Warden to dig into the past. At the same time, there is a series of mysterious murders occurring across the country. Thanks to some help from the FBI, Joe finds out that “April” is possibly involved. They use Sheridan to try to trace where April is when she texts her. At the same time, knowing the FBI was the problem six years ago, Joe wants to keep them at arm’s length. It’s a tightrope he’s trying to walk and feels like he’s failing April at every step.

I will say that as a parent who has lost a child, the “ghosts” are everywhere. You see someone in a crowd that resembles your lost child, and suddenly, everything seems like it was a big mistake. Of course, it isn’t, but the ghosts are there. This is not my favorite plot point because of that. That said, I thought Box did a good job with it. Joe has residual guilt he has never dealt with. What’s the point of being a law enforcement officer when you can’t even protect your own family? He blames himself for the loss of April, and this is his shot at redemption.

I liked how Sheridan accompanied him. She was kind of forced to because “April” was only communicating with her. Sheridan is growing up, and there are hints she might follow in her father’s footsteps, even though the life of a Game Warden is hardly glamorous. She has an affinity for wildlife and a caring nature, while at the same time being able to stand up to people when she believes they’re wrong. The bond between them is developing very well as they navigate her teen years and growing up. Sure, there are conflicts, but Sheridan knows her parents only want what’s best for her and give her the room to figure out what that is. Her being part of this investigation that hits so close to home might be clues toward that future.

The mystery here involves a radical environmentalist and his dying father. Stenko is a Chicago mobster who is looking for redemption before he dies. He sees April as the incarnation of the daughter he had who died very young. It’s frightening to read about this girl along with these two crazy men, but Stenko seems to care about her and wants to protect her. There’s a big twist at the end that I did not see coming, although I wondered how April would be able to rejoin the family after all of this.

Once again, the audiobook is narrated by David Chandler. He’s a great narrator as he manages to create voices for each character that feel authentic. The Chicago mobster does come off a bit as a caricature, but it’s excusable since he’s not an ongoing character. I like the breathy, rough voice he has for Nate Romanowsky in particular. The uneasiness of the discussions between Joe and Nate are handled well as Joe has difficulty as a lawman accepting help that is a bit outside of the law.

Any books after Below Zero will spoil this one, so this is my word of caution if you’re interested in picking up the series. Do so before you read any reviews of books beyond this one. You can probably guess what that means, but it’s a fair warning. There are some big changes in Below Zero that will impact the Picketts in the future. And yes, Nate Romanowski shows up once again to save Joe.

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