Book Review: Tenure 3, Extra Credit, By Baron and Pardoe
Vengeance for Peanut
In the first book, Braxton Knox lost everything to the woke mob, to corrupt cops who bent over backwards to do their bidding, and even his job helped destroy his world.
Book two saw Knox and his new team destroy the people who wrecked the business of a Christian baker who didn’t want to bake a cake.
Now, Knox has a new target: New York.
The Story
When a man’s pet fox and raccoon are taken and killed by the New York state police, in a livestreamed SWAT raid that lasted for hours, Braxton Knox is pissed off. It was clearly cruel, and unnecessary. Since the only thing left of Braxton’s family is their own family pet, and having lost his daughter to a police raid, he knows what the owner and his wife are going through. It’s time to deliver a little vengeance.
But when the owner’s home is firebombed by eco-freaks, this might get a little messier than Knox thought it would.
Tenure 3 is very much a character driven thriller. Mike Baron and Blaine Lee Pardoe get into the heads of everyone involved, from the heroes to the antagonists. Granted, the antagonists’ chapters feel like we’re reading profiles out of a John Douglas book on the psychopathology of serial killers. Then again, Pardoe did help catch a serial killer, so that tracks.
I’ll admit, Tenure 3 is straightforward compared to the last novel. We know who the targets are going in. Only the complication this time is that there are corrupt cops involved, some of whom are gleefully executing the whims of their political masters. Not only do they have to tackle an entire team of corrupt cops, they have to work their way up the foodchain. That doesn’t even include the eco-terrorists playing wild cards.
Despite the concept of “the Punisher targets the woke,” Knox and his coconspirators investigate every level of the crime to see what level of punishment to meet out. After all, the mission “is justice for those that can’t get it for themselves.” As tempting as it is to just kill everyone involved, Knox is more balanced and has more restraint than that.
About half the book is just digging into the mechanics of what happened during this raid, because intelligence is ammunition. But investigating alone might get them killed. It’s very methodical. And they start public and aboveboard … until things go kinetic. Because even recon can get you shot.
We have a lot of little details on how things get done, from getting a clean car, to delivering poison ivy. Heh. That was fun. It’s the little touches.
Characters
Tenure 3 studies more character development for our heroes. Since this is only their second missions together as a team, the dynamics are still being pounded out and the team is still evolving. Protocols and precautions are not fully established. This is still a work in progress.
The reporter Faye is the front for the group, asking questions and filing FOIA requests, and she needs to balance her job versus the needs of operational security. Ronin is the tech master, still learning how to defend himself in the real world. Knox is the shooter, and the brains behind the operation.
Even Knox’s family dog has a character arc, mostly through flashbacks as Knox relives moments with his wife and daughter. It’s quite moving.
The chapters for the antagonists … well, we’ve covered that above. We’ve got some raging psychos in this one. Even the professional criminals are a little more professional than some of these crazies. Especially the members of HAAM (Humans Against Animal Mistreatment, or HAAMsters)
However, no one here is stupid. Our heroes have some smart, quick analysis. And our antagonists are vicious, and some of them also have a brain.
The World
Oh, this is very much our world, ripped straight from the headlines. Unlike the original incident, where cops killed a raccoon and a squirrel named Peanut, the fictionalized owner in Tenure 3 is a little bit more political, a culture author for “really not Breitbart, honest.” The motives for this raid make a little bit more sense than the one in real life—critique the government, the government will find an excuse to come get you, and get some clicks along the way.
Politics
So much politics. Pardoe and Baron target eco-psychos, literal woke cat ladies, online woke mobs, and cops acting as political kneebreakers. And then we get into their heads and profile the little bastards. They tackle people driven to suicide by this crap. And we have a little bit of Ayn Rand on the government making everyone a criminal … or was it Orwell?
While we’re at it, there are a few swipes at civilian disarmament along the way.
Content Warning
None, really. I think I’ve used harsher language in this review than was used in the book.
Who is it for?
This is for fans of Burn Notice and The Punisher, with some Tom Clancy domestic villains thrown in (most of the Clancys I remember had at least one political antagonist driven entirely by their own power fantasies)
Why buy it?
Tenure 3 is a refreshing change from the headlines, where justice never happens