"Author C.J. Box is Mystery's Newest Hit"

If Nevada Barr were a guy, she might write like C. J. Box. Two things the authors do have in common is their love for the great outdoors and memorable protagonists. While Barr shifts her locales with every novel, Box has the Wyoming Territory to explore.

As of last winter, Mr. Box was gaining fast in the popularity department.

For the past couple of years, I've encouraged mystery lovers to get hooked on Box. Now the proof is on the paper. Box's debut novel, "Open Season," racked up three (count 'em, three) mystery awards! The first-ever simultaneous winner of The Anthony, The Macavity and The Barry Award. Open Season was also a finalist for the Edgar Award and the L.A. Times Book Prize. In one fell swoop, Box was golden.

Now you have a chance to get in while the fire's still hot and only three Box books are in the mix. With Winterkill, Mr. Box delivers his best prose yet, taking more risks than ever and putting his hero in a very dark, very cold place.

Game Warden Joe Pickett hasn't had it easy since he took over the duties of the long-time (and well-liked) former warden. It didn't help when Joe gave the governor a citation for an expired fishing license. Or had his gun accidentally taken away by a poacher. Joe, wife Marybeth, and their two daughters cohabit a government issue cabin barely big enough to support a single resident. Add to the family young April, unofficially adopted after her lowlife mother abandoned her in book one.

But Warden Pickett always manages to beat the odds, surly sheriff O.R. "Bud" Barnum and his deputies, and whatever villains who might gunning for him. A Gary Cooper righteousness and a stubborn streak make Joe a real American hero. Just don't back him in a corner. Things could get real Western.

Winterkill contains one of the most absorbing first chapters I've read in a while. A nasty winter storm is approaching the forest edging Battle Mountain in Twelve Sleep County. Pickett's on patrol, ready to head home with his dog, when he runs across a lone shooter. Elk are being senselessly slaughtered in a bloody snowfield. Joe catches up with the rifleman, Lamar Gardiner, a wimpy federal bureaucrat, who's completely lost it. In the ensuing arrest, Gardener handcuffs Pickett to his steering wheel and escapes. By the time Joe reaches him, Gardener is impaled to a tree, riddled with arrows.

Against the odds, Joe lugs the body back, wondering if he'll get the next shaft. The storm settles in, as does Marybeth's overbearing mother. After several days being snowbound, the county digs out and the murder investigation heats up. It's headed by psycho-bureaucrat Melinda Strickland, who changes her hair color and emotions with each passing day.

Strickland is fawned upon by journalist Elle Braxton-Howard. Elle's writing the profile of her career while getting in everyone's way.
Just outside the town of Saddlestring, a convoy has come to camp. The Sovereign Citizens, a collection of Waco-type survivors, has taken over the local national park. They're ready to fight for their site. One of the Sovereigns is a familiar face: April's long lost mom. And she wants the Pickett's newest family member back.

As more witnesses die, Joe also has to deal with the abduction of April. The trail leads to the Sovereign's camp, and the outcome won't be pretty. Joe teams up with an unlikely ally to bring down the killer and the forces who don't want him to discover the truth.

While both Open Season and Savage Run are superlative reads, Winterkill is the jewel in C. J. Box's writing crown. Get all three and see why Mr. Box has so many awards on his mantle.

By JC Patterson-special to the CL