CJ Box comes up with some bad, bad boys as villains. And, sometimes, they come back. Three- Inch Nails is a nail biter that starts off strong and suspenseful with a grizzly attack and, with the regular cast of characters, doesn't stop to breathe. The book is a perfect balance of authentic characters, the Wyoming setting and a gripping plot. I have been reading the Joe Pickett series since book 1, and they do not disappoint. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖-𝕀𝕟𝕔𝕙 𝕋𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕙
𝗖𝗝 𝗕𝗼𝘅
Murder Thriller
432 Pages

Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs
Joe Pickett puts his skills to use when numerous bear attacks happen within his county.

Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs
Three-Inch Teeth starts out strong with a grizzly scene; the kind that pulls your heart into your throat.

These jolts of exhilaration continue throughout the entire story. I was on the edge of my seat while trying to figure out what was actually happening.
Joe Pickett’s life continues to draw me in. I think his honesty, integrity, and zest for the truth are refreshing qualities. The beautiful Wyoming setting is a bonus.

I enjoy the blending of animal life and nature with the adventure and action of the fast-paced plot. Who isn’t afraid of a bear attack? I think that is what really blew me away as I read this.

💕Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

It is a fantastic story, exhilarating plot, well developed characters, and a well executed shocking ending. I read in one day, unputdownable and very addictive. Recommend to every thriller reader.

This is one of my long time favorite series and I’m always excited when a new book comes out. There was a lot going on in this book between the attack & then subsequent other attacks around the state, a pair of animal activists, Dallas being released from jail and his vow of revenge for Joe and others and how everything connected. I could not put this book down and loved every minute of reading it. This particular book starts right out with a shocking grizzly attack and the pace only escalates from there as the Predatory Attack Team is called in and starts investigating with Joe tagging along. If you’ve read my reviews before you know that a strong sense of place is one of my favorite parts of a novel. CJ Box shines in this area with the way he describes the rugged Wyoming wilderness. His vivid descriptions draw me in and make me feel like I’m back home in Wyoming, a place I spent most of my 20s & 30s. Combine the setting with amazing well-rounded characters like Joe, Nate Romanowski & Sheridan and a mystery so well layered it keeps you guessing the whole way.

A Grizzly bear is on a rampage. It has killed quite a few people and Joe pulls out all stops to find the bear. But, these attacks are weird. They are not staying in the same location. Joe is a bit baffled. But when he finds out Dallas Cates has been released from prison, he knows he is in danger and Joe knows how Cates is exacting his revenge.

I am in the minority on this one. Now, as I always say…read this yourself and form your own opinion. I have only read a couple in this series and enjoyed them. But this one…I don’t know, it just did not hit me like the others. I am sure it was just me. I have read quite a few thrillers back to back and I think I just need a break from this genre. Read it and let me know. It has some high star reviews. So, most likely, it is me!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Let me start by saying that I'm one of those people. You know, the ones who consider a 4-star C.J. Box book as a "weaker" entry in the story of Joe Pickett and his loved ones. I have been reading these books since before I could legally drink. And trust me when I say that they have NOT weakened over time, like some of Box's contemporaries. Yeah, I'm looking at you Jeffery Deaver and Lee Child.

C.J Box absolutely knocked it out of the park with Three Inch Teeth. There was action, there were mutiple storylines that were all relevant and interesting, and...there was emotion. Some of these deaths....ugh. They were rough. But I really love seeing the Pickett girls grow up, especially Sheridan. 5 stars all the way. If you need a fantastic read to get completely immersed in, this is it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

C J Box is one of my favorite authors, and having his books read by David Chandler is wonderful! This is book 24 in the Joe Pickett series. Having read all the ones before, it was no surprise that I would love this one as well. For those who like nature and settings like Yellowstone and Wyoming, this series is one you should check out! Box is the best contemporary “western” writer. Starting with book one is best so you meet the family and join them from the beginning. Set time aside to be sucked into the series, you’ll want to read them all. Thanks NetGalley for the free ARC, all opinions are my own.

C. J. Box weaves a page-turning tale involving a rogue grizzly bear and a man bent on revenge. Joe Pickett and Nate Romanowski at their most daring. Absolutely riveting. You won’t want to put it down!

C. J. Box continues to excite readers with unique crime thrillers that are full of suspense and action. The twenty-fourth book in the series featuring Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett is mostly set in October in Saddlestring, Wyoming. A rogue grizzly bear is on a rampage in an area where there aren’t supposed to be any. Additionally, Dallas Cates is released from prison and wants revenge on the people who sent him there and who he blames for killing his family. Meanwhile, Joe’s oldest daughter, Sheridan Pickett, takes on her first solo assignment as a master falconer.

The characters are well defined. Readers get a good feel for Joe, his wife Marybeth, and Sheridan. Their characters have depth, and by this time in the series, they feel like well-known friends. Joe is conscientious as always. Marybeth is inciteful and looks at situations very differently than Joe. Sheridan loves her job and is better with people than her boss Nate Romanowski. I loved seeing how Sheridan grew as the story unfolded. The author does a great job of capturing the various characters and the cultural lifestyles and differences.

The writing is fluid and descriptive which helps readers envision the scenes without disrupting or slowing the flow. There was a strong sense of place causing me to feel as though I was living the events alongside the characters. The dynamic plot has a tremendous amount of conflict and action that kept me engaged throughout. It is twisty and heartrending with exciting scenes, a murderous antagonist, and an incredible setting.

Box is an excellent storyteller who continues to bring suspense throughout this novel. Those who follow the series will enjoy learning more about Joe’s family. What an ending! I didn’t expect some of that to happen. The author surprised this reader with two unexpected twists and set the stage for the next book. This is an unforgettable novel with the devastating events that occurred. Coming to terms with them and understanding the fallout from the events will undoubtedly be threads readers will see soon.

Overall, this was intriguing, gritty, chilly, suspenseful, and action-packed with compelling characters that kept me turning the pages as I sat on the edge of my seat. With exciting scenes and fascinating story lines that converge, this fantastic crime thriller was intense and dramatic. It kept me on an emotional rollercoaster throughout the novel. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for February 27, 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

5 stars for the newest CJ Box book, starring Joe Pickett.
This adventure begins with a vicious, grizzly bear attack, putting everyone on high alert. After a second attack, in the same area, Joe and friends are on the hunt for said bear.
At the same time, convicted criminal, Dallas Cates, is released from prison, and immediately plans his revenge.
This is another excellent book, full of action, wildlife, and Joe Pickett ingenuity, insuring the safety of Wyoming!
Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.
My review is my honest opinion!

Some of the stuff mystery/thriller authors come up with is wild. Family and friends convening an intervention wild. Grizzly bear/s seem to be hunting people throughout Wyoming. As the kills mount up and evidence is compiled (no cocaine was found), new theories and ghosts from the past invade Joe Pickett and Nate Romanawski’s present and threaten their future.

C.J. Box’s Joe Pickett series is consistently great and Three-Inch Teeth is remarkably good. There are more than a few surprising developments. One was so out of the blue I gasped. Actually gasped. Like I have the vapors.

I resisted reading the series until book 16 or something. I didn’t think it would interest me. I don’t hunt, I’m not a cowboy, I’ve only rode a horse once and my idea of camping is staying in a crappy hotel. You wouldn’t think I’d be the target audience. Yet, I can’t get enough of Joe and Nate and all the rest.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Three-Inch Teeth!

Thank you @putnambooks for my gifted copy. My thoughts are my own.

In my opinion C.J. Box’s series based on Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is one of the best action/murder/suspense series out there! There are now 24 books in the series and I have loved every one! I have watched Joe’s young family grow up while Joe managed to fumble his way through many cases before he arrived at the right answer, often even before law enforcement!

In book 24, Joe is after a ROGUE GRIZZLY BEAR that seems to be targeting people Joe knows! Joe, with the help of his inquisitive wife Mary Beth, is quick to realize that the rogue bear is not acting like a normal grizzly bear. But can he get anyone else to believe him? The suspense builds with SEVERAL GRUESOME MURDERS throughout the book and soon, Joe becomes a target himself! The truly shocking conclusion hits close to home! I am already excited about book 25!

My father was an avid reader and we had lots of conversations about books. He kept telling me to read CJ Box and I put it off because I didn’t think I would enjoy a series based on a game warden. I finally read book 1, mainly out of respect for my father, and from that point on I was HOOKED! So, thriller lovers, I hope you will give this one a try. You can definitely read book 24 as a stand-alone, but then, trust me, you will want to binge-read the other books in the series! This one gets all the stars from me!

Three-Inch Teeth by CJ Box is the newest Joe Pickett novel. Joe Pickett is a great character. He is the steadiest fictional character out there. It’s all about his family and about following the law. He is taciturn and serious, with a deep love for few things: just his family and a few select friends. He has grown over the years and become an amazing character. Well done, Box. His wife, Marybeth, is intelligent, interested, and willing to go the extra mile. His children, except for Meredith, are not really part of this novel, even when the house was under siege. And his house is often under siege so they all know what to do. The man’s name is Dallas Cates. He was a rodeo star but got involved in the family business and sent to jail, as did his mother, where she died. The rest were killed, presumably by law enforcement. Now he was finally out. He found a will woman who would do his bidding, something he’d always been good at. She had a car and he sweet-talked her into going with him as he met people he’d met in prison who could do his bidding. He had a list of people who had to pay. His friends were both crazy, and it took Marybeth to put them on the right path. It was all complicated by a grizzly bear on the loose, who had killed several people.

What a good book! Carefully plotted, the release of information was slow and precise, keeping the reader fully engaged. So many of the people that were supposed to help, didn’t, or took advantage of their positions. Good, solid storytelling. Excellent characters. Situations. A taste of the wild country. Loving a character makes all the difference. Love Nate, too.Thanks, CJ Box!

I was invited to read Three-Inch Teeth by Penguin Group Putnam. All thoughts and opinions are my own. #Netgalley #PenguinGroupPutnam #CJBox #ThreeInchTeeth

In Three-Inch Teeth, author C.J. Box continues his Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett series. When a rogue grizzly bear kills his potential son-in-law, what is Joe Pickett to do? And at the same time Joe’s past nemesis, rodeo star Dallas Cates get’s out of jail and he is on a mission to hurt those who killed his family and put him in jail. And Joe is one of six people in Cates’ cross-hairs. This was a great continuation of the series. I have enjoyed all the books in the series. I would recommend this book. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A rogue grizzly bear has gone on a rampage—killing, among others, the potential fiancé of Joe’s daughter. At the same time, Dallas Cates, who Joe helped lock up years ago, is released from prison with a special list tattooed on his skin. He wants revenge on the people who sent him away: the six people he blames for the deaths of his entire family and the loss of his reputation and property. Using the grizzly attacks as cover, Cates sets out to methodically check off his list. The problem is, both Nate Romanowski and Joe Pickett are on it.

CJ Box continues to be one of my favorite authors. He knows the area where the books take place and describes them so that you feel like you are there. I had the pleasure of meeting him one time at our local Indie bookstore which makes the books come even more alive. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the newest book in the Joe Pickett series. Even though one book does build somewhat on the last, this is a series that you can read out of order as each book usually gives enough backstory so you don't miss anything. I highly recommend any of his books.

Another great addition to this series. I’ve loved it from the beginning and never tire of it. CJB has a knack of always keeping it a fresh storyline even this far into the series. Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

As I read C. J. Box’s latest Joe Pickett novel, “Three-Inch Teeth,” my mind wandered to the immortal words of Little Red Riding Hood, who said: “What big teeth you have.” Here, however, it isn’t a wolf with the big teeth. Instead, it’s a grizzly bear that fatally attacked a man near Pickett’s home. But that bear isn’t as dangerous a foe as a human enemy out for revenge who uses the bear attacks as camouflage for his deadly scheme. It’s another exciting installment in the author’s series that tells readers as much about the modern-day West as about the crime action.

Joe’s enemy in “Three-Inch Teeth” is Dallas Cates, a former rodeo champion who appeared in a couple of earlier Pickett books. Cates is out of jail and out for revenge against everyone who did him wrong, including Pickett. Before going on his killing spree, Cates looks up an old prison buddy with a mechanical bent. They rig up a contraption that simulates a bear attack on a victim, complete with a bite from the head of a museum grizzly Cates stole. (Here’s one place where the author takes advantage of the printed page, as he avoids showing exactly how Cates’s weapon works.) Cates’s deadly subterfuge works, as Pickett and the other authorities try to figure out how a bear travels hundreds of miles in a few days.

The author does an excellent job shifting among various subplots and storylines in “Three-Inch Teeth.” A few chapters follow Pickett’s daughter, Sheridan, who has her first solo job as a falconer working for Joe’s friend Nate Romanowski. Sheridan and her birds go to Colorado to rid a ranch of a starling infestation. A subplot like this would kill the story’s pace in many books. But I’d never heard of falconry as a pest-control business, and I was fascinated to see Sheridan in action. That’s C. J. Box’s gift as an author. He inserts local lore and flavor into his stories in a way that enhances rather than detracts from the plot.

Similarly, the efforts of Pickett and other law enforcement personnel to catch the killer bear are threatened by a highly unlikely opponent. They run into a pair of hard-nosed conservationists called the Mama Bears, whose mission is to protect the bears at all costs. This confrontation isn’t as potentially deadly as Pickett’s showdown with Cates, but just as entertaining.

While most of the action in “Three-Inch Teeth” is as straightforward as the original grizzly bear attack, the author throws in some plot twists and surprise revelations in the last few chapters. Unfortunately, these detract somewhat from a suspenseful ultimate confrontation between Cates and Pickett. I can’t go into too much detail here without spoiling the ending, but some events the author describes strain credulity a bit too much. The book’s last two or three chapters needed another draft to smooth some rough edges.

Still, I enjoyed “Three-Inch Teeth” a great deal. Although I’ve seen a season of the Paramount Plus T.V. series, this is the first Pickett novel I’ve read. I had no trouble picking up who the various characters were. The author knows just how much he needs to reveal about past events for the story to make sense for new readers without bogging down in needless backstory details. The author keeps the action going and creates an authentic Western atmosphere. This is the type of book readers will stay up well after midnight to finish. (I know I did.) I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the next Joe Pickett novel.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

I just finished this book and I’m not sure I have the words to express how pissed off I am without giving out spoilers. WTF? Not cool Mr. Box. Will that stop me from reading the next Joe Pickett book? No. I feel like I know these people. I’ve read every book and seen them grow up and evolve. Then this happens. Ugh! For anyone reading this review, all dogs are safe.
I can’t remember the last time a book affected me emotionally as much as this one did. I was happy, sad, horrified, biting my lip and of course, pissed off.
If you follow this series, prepare to be gutted emotionally. This was a tough one to read. Really not happy with Mr. Box right now but he definitely did his job well. Excellent writing. It was suspenseful. There were different storylines going on simultaneously and they all made sense.
I did receive this book as a free ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Three-Inch Teeth is the 24th book in the Joe Pickett series from CJ Box.

"A Rogue grizzly attacks and kills a young fisherman. Game Warden Joe Pickett and his team begin searching for the bear. Dalls Cates is released from prison with a list tattooed on his arm of the people who put him there and took away his family. He finds a way to use the bear attacks as cover as he starts working hos way through the list. Pickett can't figure out how the bear is travelling so far and fast. A shocking attack makes Joe wonder if he can stop Cates before anyone else is killed."

Box gives us a manipulative villain in Cates with an interesting past as a rodeo star. Box is not afraid to kill any main characters and I was surprised and shocked at what he wrote. Pickett is different than a lot of fictional main characters. There's always an undercurrent of insecurity and fear. He seldom seems totally comfortable (even after 24 books) His daughter Sheridan is grown up and working for Nate as a falconer so we still get some falconry story. There was an interesting part with Joe's estranged mother.
Wish there had been no loose ends but I'm sure they'll be part of the continuing story arc.

Fans of western novels should enjoy this one.