Review of "Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Thriller " by C.J. Box

In this 24th book in the 'Joe Pickett' series, the game warden has problems with a killer grizzly bear and an ex-convict. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the series is a bonus.

*****

Joe Pickett is a Wyoming Game Warden who's encountered all kinds of trouble in his district, Twelve Sleep County, a sprawling region of forests, mountains, rivers, flora, and fauna.



Twelve Sleep County once had big problems with the Cates family, all of whom were violent sociopaths. Now, the entire Cates clan is deceased except for Dallas Cates, a former rodeo star who's been in the Wyoming State Penitentiary for the last five years. Not for much longer though, since Dallas is scheduled for release.



Right around the time of Dallas's re-entry into society, a deranged grizzly bear goes on a rampage in Twelve Sleep Country. The bear kills a man who's fishing, and a Predator Attack Team is assembled to take down the grizzly.



Conversely, animal rights activists, who call themselves the 'Mama Bears', campaign to save the bear, whom they call Tisiphone.



Skip to Dallas Cates, who's just been released from the penitentiary. Dallas sees a news story about the bear attack in his old stomping grounds, and he gets an idea.



Dallas has a 'kill list' of people he blames for ruining his life, including a prosecutor, a judge, his lawyer, a prison guard, Joe Pickett, and Joe's friend Nate Romanowski - a tough outdoorsman who helped capture Dallas.



Dallas, who's psychotic but clever, plans to use the grizzly bear attack as a cover for his revenge plan. Dallas breaks into a small rural museum and saws off the head and paws of a huge stuffed bear, then burns down the building.



Dallas then assembles a group of ex-convicts, including his former cell-mate, who's good with mechanical devices. The criminals assemble a gizmo that can simulate a bear attack, and Dallas sets out to murder the people he hates.

Joe Pickett and the Predator Attack Team are puzzled by the bear attacks all over northern Wyoming, some of which are hundreds of miles apart. They can't figure out how Tisiphone is ranging so far and wide. In the meantime, Dallas Cates is getting closer and closer to the homes of Joe and Nate, whom he considers his #1 enemies.



As all this happening, we catch up with the characters' personal lives. Joe Pickett and his wife Marybeth are thrilled for Nate Romanowski, who's now married with a baby daughter.



This once would have been unimaginable for the 'mountain man', but Nate seems to be settling into family life and his falconry business. (FYI: Falcons are used to scare off birds that are damaging property, etc.)



As it happens, Joe and Marybeth's oldest daughter Sheridan, who learned falconry from Nate, now works for him as a Master Falconer. Sheridan goes on a job in Colorado, which has unusual repercussions.



Meanwhile, elections are coming up in Twelve Sleep Country and several candidates are running for sheriff. Politics in the region has often been rife with corruption, which has affected Joe's job, and Joe hopes that era is over.....but is it?





There are twists and surprises as the book reaches it's climax, which is edge-of-the-seat exciting.

C.J. Box always devises clever plots for the Joe Pickett books, and this novel is no exception. Highly recommended to fans of thrillers.

Rating: 4 stars