Book Review: Below Zero by C.J. Box

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Below Zero, number 9 in the ' Joe Pickett' series and he continues with a thrilling story resurrecting past mistakes made by Joe personally and by Agent Portenson of the FBI and others.

An old man, his adult son and a teenage girl head out of Chicago, 'they' go on a killing spree and Sheridan Pickett, the oldest of the Pickett girls starts to receive strange text messages.  

As usual, Joe, since losing the Saddlestring District at the hands of Director Pope, he is away from home and in the midst of another 'manhunt' trying to catch a crossbow killer elsewhere in the state, when he receives the frantic phone call from Marybeth about the messages opening up painful memories for the whole family...

Box continues to write clear and flowing narratives, jumping seamlessly between Joe out in the field and the family.  Old friends come back into play as do old enemies.  Issues of trust and mistrust are re-evaluated as Joe and Sheridan race across the state to find out if the person sending the text messages can possibly be who they think it is.  If it is, can they save her, does she want to be saved?   As the stories of the Pickett family move along in years, so Box keeps it up to date with texting, iphones and carbon pollution of the planet giving a contemporary feel to the stories and plots.

 

The Picket family is growing, Marybeth's business is growing and Joe is away from them for longer than he or they would want.  The strain is showing and teenage rebellion and angst is heavy in the air.

Nate Romanowski is still wanted by the FBI and Joe still won't tell them where his friend is.  Tension as usual from a writer who knows how to build it and then when you think all is going to be revealed your hopes along with those of the central characters, are dashed and lost and new anxieties are brought boiling to the surface.  Finally, Box uses the emotions built up in the previous pages to make you try and hold back tears of joy and sadness in a 'will it be all right in the end' conclusion.  Well, you are going to have to read it for yourself to find out my friends 

Book 1 - Open Season √
Book 2 – Savage Run √
Book 3 – Winterkill √
Book 4 – Trophy Hunt √
Book 5 – Out of Range √
Book 6 – In Plain Sight √
Book 7 – Free Fire √
Book 8 – Blood Trail √
Book 9 – Below Zero √
Book 10 – Nowhere to Run
Book 11 – Cold Wind
Book 12 – Force of Nature


Editing for Kindle /iPad: 5 out of 5
Reading Enjoyment: 5 out of 5
Page length on kindle /iPad: 342
Plot: 5 out of 5
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5