BELOW ZERO

In C.J. Box’s tenth novel in her Joe Pickett series, the game warden’s daughter hears a voice from the past in a message on her cell phone. It seems to be April, her stepsister, who has been presumed dead for six years. Narrator David Chandler keeps the story flowing smoothly as Pickett's search for April turns into an FBI manhunt. The plot expands when he discovers that the father and son who have made off with April are carrying out a mad green vendetta. Chandler's character transitions are slight and definitive; he’s most effective when juxtaposing a manic young murderer and a gravelly voiced environmentalist. With its myriad twists, Box's novel is kept vibrant by Chandler's well-paced narration. D.P.D. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2010]