Barnes and Noble recently featured C.J. Box’s BELOW ZERO on its Spotlight page, saying that this latest Joe Pickett novel “could be the best one yet.” They call it “beautifully written and constructed, with an art that underplays its excitement and emotional strength.”

The Billings-Gazette chimes in with its own effuse praise:

Wyoming author C.J. Box had me hooked with the opening lines of “Open Season,” the first of his mysteries featuring game warden Joe Pickett.

The author’s skill at plotting, suspense and character were evident quickly in that first novel and have been honed over the years, with more Pickett books and the standalone novels “Three Weeks To Say Goodbye” and “Blue Heaven.”

And Box’s writing is razor-sharp in his ninth Pickett mystery, “Below Zero.”

Unpredictable and thought-provoking, this is the best Pickett novel yet and displays the rich fusion of message and entertaining mystery found in “Free Fire,” which was set in Yellowstone National Park.

“Below Zero” rivals “Blue Heaven,” which just won the coveted Edgar Allen Poe Award for best novel from the Mystery Writers of America.

Readers new to the Pickett series will best appreciate “Below Zero” if they first read “Winterkill” or, better yet, read the entire series in order. The characters grow throughout the series, and some of the humor and irony tie to earlier works.

But, just on its own, “Below Zero” is a standout mystery showing why Box has built a national and international fan base.

If you’re interested in learning more about the author and his latest book, C.J. Box talks about his use of Wyoming as a setting in the Austin American-Statesmen. There’s another discussion of the importance of place in his latest novel in the Chicago Tribune. The Lexington Herald-Ledger also examines the way Box addresses important environmental issues in his work.