Bookworm: Joe Pickett – Readers may be up in arms

“Three-Inch Teeth: A Joe Pickett Novel”

• By C. J. Box
• c. 2024, Putnam
• $30, 371 pages

Don’t run with scissors. Be careful with that pocketknife; it’ll cut you. That kitchen cleaver will slice your finger. So will paper, for that matter, but you never give it the same respect you do with something, as in the new novel, “Three-Inch Teeth” by C.J. Box, that sports a serious blade or sharp points.

Wyoming Game Warden Joe Pickett was glad his daughter, Sheridan, had no plans on marrying Clay Hutmacher Jr. – not that he didn’t like Clay, but he knew Sheridan had big plans for her own future. She said later that if Hutmacher Jr. had asked, she would have been uncomfortable having to say “no” to the proposal. But that was something she never had to do, because young Hutmacher was killed by a grizzly bear before he could even ask.

Despite the activists who lobbied for the bear’s life, the animal had to be dispatched. Twelve Sleep County couldn’t afford to have a murderous grizzly bear running around at the beginning of elk hunting season and Joe Pickett knew it, much as he hated to kill the animal. A rogue bear would attack again, if it could.

And so would Dallas Cates, now that he was out of prison.

One by one, Game Warden Pickett had caused the deaths of each of Cates’ family members in the worst way, and Cates had gotten prison tats to remind himself of his final mission in life: to get revenge. Pickett, his family, and more than a few people in Twelve Sleep County would die this week, but Cates needed to do it in a way that wouldn’t lead back to him. He reached out to the man he’d protected while they were both in prison.

Lee Ogburn-Russell was probably insane. For sure, he was something of an inventor with a murderous streak and he had an idea in mind that would kill in an instant.

And no one would ever connect him, or Dallas Cates ...

For sure, you can say that “Three-Inch Teeth” is innovative. Other adjectives you might use: silly and far-fetched. Fantastical. Eh.

Without being a spoiler – although you’ll probably have everything figured out quickly and early –  author C.J. Box introduces readers to a mad inventor and what is basically a deadly toy made with little more than fangs, baler twine, and old wire. Yes, one of readers’ favorite bad guys is back, but so is a new murderous maniac. Problem is, the latter is a caricature and he belongs more in a steampunk novel than the thriller you’ve come to expect – and on that note, well, there’s not more than a page or two of thriller. Instead, gruesomeness seems to replace it inside the plot, the end of which may have readers up in arms. Heavy sigh.

If you’re new to the Joe Pickett novels, “Three-Inch Teeth” is one hundred-percent absolutely not the one to begin with. The best advice for long-time fans, in fact, is to find this book on your TBR pile and cut it.

“Life After Power: Seven Presidents and their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House”

• By Jared Cohen
• c. 2024, Simon & Schuster
• $32.50, 512 pages

To be continued ...

Argh, you just finished part one and now you have to wait a week, a month, an entire season or even a year before you know what happens and the cliffhanger is solved. Part One had you on the edge of your seat. But as in “Life After Power” by Jared Cohen, just wait til you know the next half.

Americans are living longer, which is good news for retirees: it gives them a chance for a second career or a dream job after they’ve officially quit working. It’s an idea that U.S. Presidents had, starting centuries ago.

Take, for instance, Thomas Jefferson.

After eight years in office, he graciously stepped away to found a university and to finish other long-dreamed projects. Still, says Cohen, “Jefferson knew that America would have a reckoning over his legacy and over slavery.”

John Adams, son of our second president, appreciatively traveled the world with his father during the elder’s presidency but Adams’ own term in office was an unhappy one. Fortunately, after Andrew Jackson took over, Adams’ contemporaries worked to give the former president a seat in Congress and, with no aspirations and no higher office in mind, Adams dared to ignore convention and speak passionately about subjects important to him. Says Cohen, he “was more decisive than he had been as president.”

Grover Cleveland had a second term four years after he left his first term – and he regretted it. Just as she always wanted, Nellie Taft landed in the White House but that wasn’t the dream of her husband, William. What he really wanted was a seat on the Supreme Court and he was delighted when it was offered. Herbert Hoover was “a hero” when he entered the office, and one of the most reviled men in America when he left it. Jimmy Carter left office in “humiliation,” but then made the world a better place. And George W. Bush literally brushed his term in the White House aside.

At this point, it seems like the next guy in the Oval Office will be there for a second term. So what about the candidate who doesn’t make it? If he knows what’s inside “Life After Power,” he’ll have some nice guidance.

And you’ll have an interesting look at a part of the presidents’ lives, in a way that’s often ignored in historical accounts. Author Jared Cohen gives readers a detailed backstage peek at the months after the election, and it’s not always the smooth ride you might imagine. The life of a former president, with his pension and security, is not necessarily one of leisure; in fact, Cohen shows how troublesome it can be for someone with unfulfilled vision. Aspiring politicians, please note: you may want to take Cleveland’s advice to young Franklin Roosevelt ...

Certainly, “Life After Power” is for anyone who imagines what next spring will look like for the guy who doesn’t get the votes. And if you love presidential history, you won’t be able to part with it.

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The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer. She has been reading since she was 3 years old and never goes anywhere without a book. Terri lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 11,000 books. Read past columns at marconews.com.