Three-Inch Teeth

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of animal death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What did you think about Joe Pickett, the hero of the novel and the series? In which ways could you identify with Joe?

2. Three-Inch Teeth is the 24th book in C. J. Box’s Joe Pickett saga. Have you read other books in the series? How do you think Three-Inch Teeth compares to those? Did you enjoy Three-Inch Teeth more or less than your reading of other works by Box? Why?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. At the end of the book, Joe agrees to the removal of Tisiphone’s identifying tattoo, even though this is illegal. Have you ever been forced into a similar dilemma in your personal or professional life? How did your choices compare with Joe’s?

2. Whether it be Dallas Cates, Nate Romanowski, or Joe Pickett, the characters in the book are driven to protect their families, albeit in different ways. Have you ever felt compelled to act to protect a loved one? How does your response compare with that of the characters in the book?

3. The book contains competing ideas about human-animal conflict. Joe believes that human lives need to be prioritized since nature is brutal, while Nate thinks that humanity is the biggest problem affecting the planet. Based on your personal experience and beliefs, which opinion appeals more to you, and why?

4. The novel contains many depictions of violence. Which affected you the most deeply, and why? Did you dislike any aspect of the text’s handling of violence?

5. What sort of a world does the text describe? Does Box’s depiction of contemporary rural and small-town America appeal to you? How does the fictional world compare with your reality?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Analyze the class conflict running throughout the novel’s world. Why do you think locals are wary of wealthy newcomers who move into their spaces? Do similar issues occur where you live?

2. How does the book’s setting of the natural landscape, wildlife parks, and small towns of Wyoming and Colorado affect the narrative?

3. Discuss how the book’s theme of the persistence of evil resonates within the real world. What contemporary evils does the novel highlight? How would you address them?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The book contains many references to falcons and falconry. Discuss how falcons work as a symbol in the novel. Which themes and characters do they represent?

2. The book is told from the limited perspectives of various characters. How did this narrative choice inform your reading of the book? Would the story have evolved differently if it were told entirely from Joe’s viewpoint?

3. Analyze the change in Nate’s character by the end of the book, examining the reasons for his transformation. How does the text foreshadow his transformation?

4. Examine the workings of Zeus II. Which themes and symbols does the mechanical bear illustrate?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Actor Michael Dorman plays Joe Pickett in the TV series based on the books. If you had to cast actors to play Joe, Nate, Marybeth, Cates, and others, who would you choose, and why?

2. Imagine that the Mama Bears discovered that the bear killed at the end of the novel was Tisiphone, as they had suspected. Now, write the story of Tisiphone’s hunt from the point of view of the Mama Bears. Which aspects of the bear’s story would you highlight? Who would the villains of the episode be in your telling?

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