Third Degree: A Novel
by Greg Iles
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Book Reviews of Third Degree: A Novel
Book Review: Better than MOST thrillers--but not as good as most of Gregs other stuff
Summary: 4 Stars
I like to think of myself as one of Greg Iles' fans from literally the beginning. From the day I saw and bought 'Spandau Phoenix' back in 1994, I have followed and purchased and read literally everything he's written--and never once has he let me down. The thing about Greg Iles is that he is difficult to pin down as an author of just one particular genre. His first book was an amazing thriller based on a world-class 'What If' scenario. His follow-up was an historical thriller that took place (well almost entirely) during World War II (STILL ranks as one of my all-time favorite books). After that he has stayed mostly with contemporary thrillers, but with Quiet Game he gave us the best legal-thriller novel I honestly believe I have ever read. He has written a Supernatural Thriller as well which you can place on the shelf next to Stephen Kings best. He has even come close to sci-fi with The Footprints of God--although I suppose it was more of a really technical Techno-Thriller. So as you can see, he is difficult to pin down as an author of just one particular type of story.
One other thing to note: Greg Iles on his WORST day is still better than MOST thriller writers on their BEST. I say this because even though Third Degree was a very good, very entertaining thriller with genuine thrills, it ranks as maybe my least favorite of his books (with the possible exception of Mortal Fear, which I did not like simply due to its objectionable and graphic subject matter). Once again, please do NOT see this as a mark against Mr. Iles...instead, just realize that with him, you NEVER get a BAD book, just varying degrees of great, really great, Awesome and Fantastic.
The idea of a novel this big taking place over the course of pretty much one single day is certainly ambitious at best, and in the wrong hands certainly would've been daunting and likely more than a little boring. Not so with Third Degree...while I DO admit that some careful editing could have been exercised to trim some of the unnecessary fat here (and probably would have earned that additional fifth star, too), the REAL talent of Greg Iles is in how he takes us deep inside a disturbed situation, and instead of boring us with repetitive and useless drivel, helps us not only understand, but almost sympathize with the troubled characters--NOT an easy task to pull off I can assure you. Add into the mix the characters of Warren, his wife Lauren and the personal problems they BOTH have, blend thoroughly and watch as the tension mounts. Why has Warren been up all night searching for a paper he insists has to do with an IRS audit of his medical practice? What does Lauren have to hide in regards to her pregnancy? Is the child Warrens or is the father actually Danny, a man she has been having an affair with? Everyone has issues here it seems, and they are ALL pretty big. The exceptional talent of Mr. Iles is on full display as he simply ratchets up the suspense, page by page until you are virtually certain it simply cannot get any higher (you'd be wrong, too).
Some have noted that Iles never really delves into some of the reasons for WHY his characters performed specific things (I don't wish to give away any major details--and I HATE it when others do) and I must admit, I really DID want to know why Lauren made some of her unsavory decisions and same for Warren, and while I certainly won't lose any sleep over it, I do understand why some feel ALL the loose ends weren't entirely tied up as a result (on the bright side: most of them were, though). The ending will either appeal to you or not, and depending on who you are will depend on your overall opinion regarding the characters and the reasons behind what they did and did not do. For me, I felt that it could've been drawn out for a more complete closure, but again, it wasn't that big of a deal. Again, I really enjoyed Third Degree, just not quite as much as most of Greg's other books.
Book Review: Amazed how the characters drew me in given all their flaws..
Summary: 5 Stars
On my way back from a week-long conference, I did something I really didn't need to do... go into an airport bookstore to get something to read. I mean, I was only packing about seven books to start with, and still had about four I hadn't started. But I wanted some mind candy, something with action and suspense that would last just about the length of a cross-country flight. I picked up Third Degree with Greg Iles in paperback as the premise sounded interesting. And it worked perfectly... kept me turning pages, and I finished just about the same time as the plane landed.
Laurel Shields is living a life that appears to be one that anyone would love to have. Two great kids, a husband (Warren) who has a great job as a physician, and her teaching job at a local school, working with special needs kids. But that life holds a lot of secrets... Warren has become more controlling as the marriage has progressed, and Laurel is far from happy living in the small town where Warren grew up. All this dissatisfaction led to her having an affair with the father of one of the kids she teaches. Although she's deeply in love with Danny McDavitt (and he with her), he can't leave his wife as she'll take his son away from him. When Laurel wakes up on this particular day, she finds out something distressing... she's pregnant, and there's a very good chance it's Danny's. Warren seems to be having a melt-down in the study over something, and Lauren wonders if it's related to the tax issues she's having at his clinic with his business partner. The complete stress of the affair and the pregnancy sends her home early with the start of a migraine, only to find Warren still there... with a gun... and a letter from her lover that he found. Now he wants to know who she's been sleeping with, how long it's been going on, and he'll go to any length to find out. The next twelve hours is a fine dance between her repeated denials, his mental instability, McDavitt trying to rescue both her and her kids, and the police wanting to storm the house with guns blazing.
Normally in a novel like this, you have a set of good guys and bad guys. But here, everyone involved in the core story is flawed. Warren's psychotic, Lauren's been sleeping around on her husband, and Danny is the "sleepee". The only innocent ones are the kids who are caught in the crossfire. Even the people who work in the clinic with Warren are messed-up individuals trying to stay out of jail for their part in some illegal activities. But strangely, it's hard not to build up a great deal of empathy for Danny and Laurel and what they were trying to escape in their day-to-day lives. As the tension ratchets up during the standoff, McDavitt goes above and beyond to try and end the confrontation with everyone still alive at the end, including Warren. And there are a number of plot twists towards the end that change your whole viewpoint of exactly what has been going on.
Looking at some of the other reviews on Amazon, I see there's a huge spread in terms of whether people liked the book or not. It seems to be predicated on whether or not you've read Iles before and expect certain types of stories from him. Since it's been awhile since I've read any of his work, I wasn't preconditioned for anything in particular. And as such, I thought it was a great read...
Book Review: Taut, suspenseful a True Iles fan's Read
Summary: 5 Stars
As in 24 Hours, Iles takes his true fans on a taut suspenseful ride that begins with an innocent email warning to find something incriminating in prominent Dr. Warren Shield's home to BLACK CODE/THIRD DEGREE: Hostage situation with Fatality in the span of one day. Adultery, small town values, secrets, corruption, fraud, racism, and debilitating illness and betrayal thread this fast paced read while remaining an intimate story of a family's disintegration in an idyllic Mississippi town. Iles fleshes out his characters slowly, methodically and this reader came to like the fallen heroine, the demented physician, and the other man, amid numerous plot twists and turns that true Greg Iles fans expect.
Awaking in her beautiful home, Laurel Shields has a sense of foreboding. All is not right. Her husband Warren has been up all night frantically searching for a document for an IRS audit and is increasingly becoming more disturbed. An EPT test confirms what the special education teacher already knows. She's pregnant perhaps by the man she loves or by Warren. She stands before her mirror and shamefully realizes that she's become a stereotype the shallow Doctor's trophy wife before heading to school with her two children. Struggling between reassuring her children about their father's odd behavior and her own jarring secret, Laurel must prepare for her imminent parent/teacher conferences before a debilitating migraine headache incapitates her. During their interview about his autistic son Michael, Laurel struggles to tell her former lover that she is pregnant. After agreeing to meet Major Danny MacDavitt, Laurel rushes home to get something for her headache, but finds her husband ashen, unkempt and leveling a pistol at her, demanding to know who she has been having an affair with.
Laurel realizes the only hope she has to remain alive and protect her children is to refuse Warren the name her of her former lover as the dark obsessive side of the man she has lived with for 12 years intensifies. Amid gripping fear, Laurel knows that Major Danny MacDavitt will take care of her, her children, and his unborn child because she has a secret link to him and the ring of armed police outside her home as they prepare a dangerous rescue. That is until her 9 year old son, Grant returns back home through the same way he escaped to get help for his mom. Bullets ring out and Warren, Grant, and Danny speed away in the police helicopter. What happens next at the conclusion of the novel is just a tad bizarre, but somewhat predictible given Warren's condition and predicament.
Book Review: A seriously dysfunctional family
Summary: 2 Stars
This novel by thriller writer Greg Iles takes place in pretty much one location for the better part of the novel and involves the marriage of a teacher (Laurel) and a doctor (Warren), both of whom keep secrets from each other. Laurel is having an affair with a flight instructor, Danny McDavitt, and she is ready to leave Warren for him. However, Warren and his partner's shady business dealings have caught the attention of the local Medicaid fraud division and he's becoming mentally unhinged.
Warren finds a love letter from Danny to Laurel and he psycholocially and physically brutalizes her. Laurel makes several escape attempts and finally succeeds in getting the kids away from her increasingly distraught husband, who brandishes a gun in front of all of them. Laurel texts Danny about her situation and eventually the local sheriff and his good-ol-boy deputies arrive. The situation devolves from a simple marital spat to a potential hostage situation quickly. Meanwhile, Warren's practice is torched by one of the nurses, who is in on the scam with Warren's partner.
Everything escalates and seems to happen within seconds, which is how a lot of natural (or man-made) disasters do occur. People, including Warren's partner and a deputy are killed; others, like the nurse who torched the medical office, are injured. In between all of this are Warren and Laurel's two deeply confused and frightened children.
The plot takes off like a rocket and never stops, and this is the real strength of the novel itself; the characters aren't ones you'd warm to and seem dull and two-dimensional at times. Warren, in particular, comes across as a very unpleasant, cruel man. There's a subplot near the end where it's revealed that he has cancer, but this feels false here, as if the author's trying to turn Warren's life into a Greek tragedy. It doesn't work.
The book is very suspenseful and probably could be read in one sitting, but I came away from it feeling as though I'd read better books from Iles.
Book Review: When the truth can do more damage than lies
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my second time reading Iles and it certainly won't be the last, on the contrary, even though this wasn't the best book I've ever read I am drooling for more. He seems to be the master of writing the husband and wife scenarios gone terribly wrong. The one person you crawl into bed with every night, one person you think you know almost as well as yourself can always turn on you and shock you when something ticks them off. That something in this novel is an affair. Quite common theme even in today's world it gets a royal treatment once Iles gets done tinkering with it. I was flabbergasted at what was going on in the novel and couldn't wait till I got to the end.
One morning Laurel finds out that she's pregnant. No big deal it seems, she's thirty five, married to a doctor with two kids, living a comfortable life, only thing is that the baby is probably not Warren's (who's her husband). She breaks out in cold sweat and sees that her husband is acting bizarre, throwing books of the shelves, looking for something all night wearing old clothes and behaving strangely. After leaving of work her migraine rings her back home, bad mistake...what she doesn't know is that the one person she felt safe with is about to become her biggest threat. Prepare yourself for a twisted showdown between man and wife and his paranoia to get to the bottom of his wife's secrets no matter what the cost.
The book albeit little long, reads smoothly and almost feels like a movie. I plunged thorough the pages fast and was satisfied with the ending but the buildup was driving me crazy, as soon as I thought the coast was clear something would ruin chances of a happy ending. This was a fun little domestic thriller that was a nice change from the usual stuff I read.
- Kasia S.