Review: Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box

It is a beautiful Wyoming mid-October day as Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Novel by C.J. Box by begins. It had been beautiful, until it was marred by tragedy. Clay Hutmacher JR., who had planned to ask Sheridan Pickett to marry him that night, was violently killed by a grizzly bear. It came after him in the river he was fishing in and attacked him without provocation. Not only was the attack savage, there are not supposed to be grizzly bears in this part of Wyoming. It will take 24 hours before his dad finds what is left of his body in the waters and bank of the Twelve Sleep River as it cuts through the Double Diamond Ranch.

 

In response to a devastated phone call from the dad, Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett comes to Clay Hutmacher out at the ranch and sees the same horrible scene. No father should ever have found his son the way he did. It is also clear to Joe that a grizzly is responsible. Even though there are not supposed to be any grizzlies in the Bighorn Mountains of North Central Wyoming.

 

Joe Pickett starts calling in folks and activating resources. That includes “The Predator Attack Team.” Even though Joe is an auxiliary member, he is onsite, so he will be fully involved. This is a designated team of game wardens that have specialized training to deal with large carnivore attacks. Their mission will be to hunt down the bear and kill it.

 

First it has to be found. That proves to me far harder than it would be in a normal situation.

 

What follows is a complicated and fast-moving tale as a succession of what seems to be random bear attacks occur locally as well as across the region. Is it really a grizzly bear? Or, is it something else and far worse? Could it be both?

 

That is up to readers to discover in Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Novel by C. J. Box. Not only is the latest installment of the series a good one, politics are minimized in this read. Unlike the last novel, Storm Watch, the read here returns to the roots that made this series so good from the first book. The focus in Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Novel is on apex predators and staying alive in a read that only partially ties everything up. It is a good one and well worth your time.

 

 

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3HXGe3M 

My reading copy came from the publisher, G.P. Putnam's Sons (Penguin Putnam Group), through NetGalley with no expectation of a review.

 

Kevin R. Tipple © 2024