Customer Reviews

Three Weeks to Say Goodbye

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

In Denver Jack and Melissa McGuane were euphoric when the adoption was finally approved and baby Angelina made their family complete. They love their infant daughter, but nine months later the thirty something couple is shocked and dismayed. Julie Perala of the adoption agency informs them that Angelina's eighteen year old biological father Garrett, a Cherry Creek High School student, wants his daughter; he never signed the documents waiving his rights to her. His father is powerful Federal Judge John Moreland who demands his son raise his granddaughter.

Jack and Melissa love Angelina and want to do what is best for her. Thus they agree to meet father and son, but at the session, the McGuane's realize neither of their adopted infant's paternal side is interested in her welfare. They have a personal grudge agenda and little Angelina is the kickball. Worse the Judge uses his vast power, legal and otherwise, to wreck havoc on the McGuane's trying force them to surrender. However, the scenario is not as straightforward as the Moreland father and son insist; child porn, and murder turn the three weeks from that initial horrifying phone call into hell in Colorado and Montana where Jack's parents reside.

Leaving Wyoming and Joe Pickett with a breather, C.J. Box provides his fans with a great thriller starting with the premise of losing an adopted child to the biological parent. The story line is fast-paced from that opening phone call and never slows down as events spiral out of control. Fans will root for the "David" like couple to defeat the Goliath judge who has weapons on both sides of the law and uses them. With a strong support cast in both states and fully developed lead characters on both sides of the custody debate, readers will appreciate this terrific tale of suspense at its best.

Harriet Klausner

This is, quite simply, one of those books that you read books for.
I have appreciated the author's earlier works, but he just outdid himself on this one.
The basic lean, yet full plot, the characters, the flow of this book is just... on point. There isn't a false move, or a reason to pause, in the entire novel.
A straightforward, decent man is put into a situation with his wife and child he can't escape from. He does what he has to,with more than a little help from his friends.
I read quite a few books. Many tend to disappoint, just filling in what is expected from the author by his publisher that year.
Not the case here.
Enjoy.

Jack and Melissa McGuane were both thirty-four-years-old and were happily married. There was only one thing missing in their life... and that was a baby. After years of unsuccessfully trying to conceive a baby the old fashioned way... they went through a costly and complicated adoption process... but it seemed to be all worthwhile... with the arrival... of "their" gorgeous, precocious, daughter, Angelina. Little Angelina was the missing flower that made their personal love bouquet complete. Angelina was now nine-months-old... and Jack and Melissa's entire life orbited around sweet... gurgling... Angelina. Then the world as they knew it... came to an abrupt end. Out of nowhere... the adoption agency notified them that the teenage biological father didn't... and wouldn't... sign away the parental custody papers. The signing of this document was... per the adoption agency representatives... a foregone conclusion. A literal slam-dunk... not even worth mentioning as a possible problem. But it became more than a problem... it became a nuclear explosion... and that's where this gifted author spreads his literary wings... and takes the reader on a non-stop... heartfelt... journey... that starts in Denver and stretches all the way to Germany... Montana and back.

What is so spellbinding about this story, is that unlike so many other novels, where the protagonist is in law enforcement... the military... advertising... journalism... etc. Jack merely works for the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau... and Melissa quit her job to be a fulltime Mother. They can barely meet their bills... so if Jack can't work for even a short period of time... they'd lose their house and their ability to survive economically. As with any nuclear explosion... there is additional damage after the initial shock. The teenage boy... Garrett Moreland... not only wants his child back... but he is a certified sociopath as well... with ties to the Mexican Mafia. If that isn't enough... Garrett's Father is Federal Judge John Moreland... and the Judge makes it clear from the get-go... that Jack and Melissa have no choice but to give the baby back... and give her back in three weeks.

What follows is Jack and Melissa doing everything in their power to try to figure out a way to stop this nightmare... and keep their dream baby with them. Joining them in this near hopeless task are two of Jack's childhood friends from Montana... Cody Hoyt a hard drinking Denver cop... who is in the midst of being embarrassed by the same Judge Moreland in a giant pedophile court case... and Brian Eastman... a gay, successful real estate man... who bandies about in all of Denver's high society events. As the story unfolds the reader gets to know about their rural upbringing... and any reader who is a typical hard working family person... can't help but identify with Jack and Melissa's plight... even as dead bodies start to mount. In the midst of gang-banger intimidation... killing of pets... and help from a wild-shotgun-armed Uncle from Montana... the author never allows the violence to seem cartoonish. I can truly say... you won't be able to put this book down. Though the author has a number of previously released books... this is the first one that I've read. I was so impressed that I have already ordered his next book, which is scheduled for release in June... even though I don't know what it's about.

First Sentence: It was Saturday morning, November 3, and the first thing I noticed when I entered my office was that my telephone message light was blinking.

Jack and Melissa McGuane finally have the child they longed for having adopted Angelina nine months ago. Their dream has become a nightmare as they are told the baby's father never signed away his parental rights. It's not, they find, the boy who wants the child, but his father.

Judge John Moreland is wealthy, powerful and very connected in Denver and beyond. What he wants, he generally gets, and he has the law on his side. It is clear there is no way Jack and Melissa and fight Moreland within the system. With the help of two of his childhood friends, they find the son runs with gang members, the Judge is not as upstanding as he appears and the combination is very dangerous.

It is so frustrating when you are a fan of an author's writing, and then they disappoint. Box is a very good writer. His style was there; the ability to draw the reader in from the beginning, increasing the tension with every step and bringing it to a dramatic climax. The sense of place was strong and the dialogue worked.

What let me down; was the plot and the characters. Hackneyed and ludicrous are words that come to mind for the plot. The story was so contrived and I knew where it was going every step along the way. There were no surprises. The characters were black or while; there were no shades of gray at all.

They only thing that remotely saved it for me was the last chapter. If you are looking for an airplane book to distract you for a few hours, this will do. If you are expecting something up to Box's usual standard, I expect you will be very disappointed.

i stumbled upon this author by accident and since then have read most of his books. i have greatly enjoyed all of them especially this newest one.. the boostarts quickly and does not slow down until the last sentence. i would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good fast paced novel.

If you listened to John Bedford Lloyd's narration of Box's previous novel, Blue Heaven, you know you're in for another splendid reading with Three Weeks to Say Goodbye. If you overlooked Blue Heaven, don't miss this one!

Lloyd is a gifted film and television actor who won a Publishers Weekly "Listen Up" Award for the best audios of the year, and his outstanding delivery continues. Lloyd's voice is deep, rich and his reading is perfectly paced to reflect the tension in Box's story of a young couple fighting for their only child.

Jack and Melissa McGuane are an honest, hardworking husband and wife who would very much like to start a family but have not been able to do so. Their happiness is complete when they adopt a baby girl, Angelina. Regrettably their joy is short lived when a brief nine months later they learn that due to a glitch at the adoption agency Angelina's teenage father never signed away his parental rights. Now, he wants his baby back.

The boy is worse than a ne'er-do-well, he verges on being sociopathic. Jack is determined to protect Angelina but matters become even more complicated when he learns that the boy's father is a prominent Denver judge who sides with his son. It soon becomes apparent that neither the boy nor his father want Angelina because they love the child. Their motives are much darker, so black that Angelina's life might be in danger. But how can Jack fight a wealthy man, a powerful political machine, and a deranged teenaged boy?

One more spine-tingler from Edgar Award winning C. J. Box and read by the gifted John Bedford Lloyd.

I'm a huge fan of the crime fiction genre, and was looking forward to checking out Box's work afer hearing good things. It was a massive disappointment. The dialogue was sappy and contrived, and the plot was pedestrian. There's much better work out there(Richard Lange, George Pelecanos), I pray that this dumbed down framework isn't the future of crime fiction.

First, let me say I have never read any books by CJ Box before, so I have no point of comparison. It was recommended to me by a friend after I have become completely disappointed in James Paterson who is just pumping out garbage he doesn't seem to even write himself anymore. Anyway, I digress, I was instantly captivated by this book and couldn't wait to find out what happened next. It reminded me of the early Patterson books I loved so much. While the subject matter can be dark, it also does not seem to go to that explicit graphic place many thriller books can go to. I would highly recommend this book for anyone seeking a new mystery/thriller to read!

After struggling to conceive, Jack and his wife Melissa are thrilled with their adopted baby girl. Just as they are a family, the baby's birth father comes forward and wants to take their daughter back. Jack and Melissa are determined to keep their family together, but the law is not on their side since the birth father's father is an influential judge.

When they learn of the birth father's gang associations and suspect that he is vandalizing their property, Jack and Melissa turn to their friends for the kind of help that the legal system will not give them.

Three Weeks to Say GOodbye is a suspenseful thriller, with many Harlan Coben-like plot twists. It is also very violent, and the actions of some of the good guys (let alone the bad guys!) will make your stomach churn. However, Box does such a good job of engrossing the reader in Jack and Melissa's family that he or she will keep reading anyway. Highly recommended for those who enjoy gritty thrillers with just the right amount of humanity.

I would be tempted to think that this was a first novel that was stuck away in a drawer for years, and then pulled out only after the author had several other books published . . . but it doesn't even read like the same author to me as the person who wrote the Joe Pickett books. I just finished reading that series, and I really enjoyed it. C J Box made me care about the main characters and want to find out what happened to them throughout the series. I really didn't like the characters in this book, and the writing seemed really awkward to me. I am a reader who usually hates to see a book end, and I found myself skimming the last half of this book and really glad when I reached the last page. I am still looking forward to more Joe Pickett, though.