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."

Box sets a tranquil stage for an elderly couple ready to dine at a South Dakota camp site. But the "gawkers" who stop to see the couple's huge RV are bent on environmental "good" at the cost of human life.

And the tranquility is quickly shattered.

Meanwhile, in Wyoming, Pickett's satisfaction at finally snaring a poacher called the Mad Archer vanishes with a simple phone message to his teenaged daughter: "Tell Sherry April called."

But April, his foster daughter, has been dead for six years. Pickett witnessed the fiery death himself in the earlier novel, "Winterkill."

Is someone cruelly impersonating the girl whom his family still mourns or could she have survived the massacre at the compound of the survivalist Sovereigns?

The possibility revives Pickett's deep guilt at not having been able to save her.

Box adeptly weaves the three plot lines together in a fast-paced hunt across northeastern Wyoming that those familiar with the area will especially enjoy.

The Chicago mob, a dying man's quest to erase his carbon footprint, a fugitive falconer and Pickett's gold-digger mother-in-law seem an odd mix. But Box writes with the tightness and descriptive abilities of a former journalist.

As in his other novels, he blends hot topics, humor and explosive mystery.

His skill at creating characters shines in Stenko, whose care for a runaway teen reveals a sliver of humanity behind the cold-blooded killer.

Stenko's four-word greeting lets readers almost hear his disgust for the thieving Leo: "Let's go inside, Hoss."

Pickett's love for his family, compassion for animals, respect for the environment and willingness to use his own methods to protect them have been hallmarks of the character from the start. And he continues his earnest, sometimes-bumbling, not-by-the-book battle in "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.

Contact Chris Rubich at crubich@billingsgazette.com or 657-1301.