Third Degree: A Novel | 
|  | | | Title: | Third Degree: A Novel | | Author: | Greg Iles | | Publisher: | Scribner | | Type: | Book / Hardcover | | Publication Date: | 06 November, 2007 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0743292502 / 9780743292504 | | List Price: | $25.95 | | You Save: | $8.82 | | Amazon Price: | $17.13 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
This novel takes place in the span of a single day, beginning when Elizabeth Pike, 35, awakes to find that her husband, Dr. John Pike, is not in bed with her. She rises, creeps out to the kitchen of their palatial suburban home, and sees him through the doorway of his study, pulling books from the shelves. She quickly returns to the bedroom and enters the beautiful master bath. There, she opens a box marked e.p.t., removes the testing stick, and urinates on it. After 30 seconds, the stick turns blue, and a digital readout on the stick says: PREGNANT. Liz closes her eyes as though absorbing news of a death, then quickly drops the evidence out the open window.
Seconds later, her husband walks into the bathroom looking deeply disturbed, his face pale, his eyes hollow. Two weeks earlier, John and his two partners were informed by the IRS that their medical practice was being audited, and John worries that one of his partners has evaded taxes in some way that could make their corporation liable for criminal penalties. For two weeks, the stress on the Pike family has steadily ratcheted up because of the audit.
For the past year, Liz has been involved with another man, a retired air force pilot of 48 named Daniel McDavitt. McDavitt is also married, and more important, he has two children, one of whom is autistic. Six weeks ago, when Liz realized that Daniel would never risk losing his autistic son, she ended their affair. The separation has been killing her, but now the pain of the past weeks seems as nothing. She is certain that she s pregnant by McDavitt.
Later that morning, following an upsetting encounter with McDavitt, Liz returns to her house and is surprised to find her husband's car still parked in the driveway. The house has a strange stillness to it. The air is dead, and there s no sound of a television or even a humming air conditioner. Strangely unnerved, she calls out her husband s name. After a moment, a soft reply comes from the den: I m in here.
In the den she finds John sitting on the sofa in the same clothes he was wearing that morning, which were the same ones he wore the previous day, she realizes. John has not shaved, and his eyes have a wild look. On the glass table lies a piece of notebook paper with green ink on it. In almost the same moment that she recognizes the note--a love letter from McDavitt that she'd hidden inside a book--Liz realizes that there is a gun in her husband s hand.
So begins a seven-hour siege in the heart of suburban America, a perfect house in a perfect neighborhood in a beautiful little town.
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Customer Reviews:
• Slips Past Mediocrity - Barely 13 April, 2008
SUMMARY: Laurel Shields, an unfaithful doctor's wife, wakes up one morning to her worst fear confirmed: she's pregnant and is unsure as to the father. Meanwhile, her husband Warren is undergoing his own dramatic trauma as his medical practice is the subject of intense scrutiny by the Attorney General's office. As Laurel watches as both her marriage and her husband's mental stability deteriorates, Warren takes drastic action to assert some control over his life.
WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT: Iles is a master of writing taut action scenes fraught with psychological suspense. That the book unfolds over the course of one day is ambitious, and he pulls it off. This feat is the only thing which saves this work. Iles manages to touch on some very topical and compelling issues (the dissolution of a marriage; the dissatisfaction with American healthcare; modern racism which is more subversive and, therefore, potentially more dangerous), albeit infrequently.
WHY YOU WON'T: As other reviewers have noted, the style of this book shifts drastically from Iles' norm. The plot has the potential to be intriguing, but falls flat as it is subsumed by melodrama typical of Lifetime movies. The characterization is spurious: Laurel is intended to be the heart (or heroine) of the book, but there's very little to like about her, save her desire to protect her children; that she actively opposes events and tries to avert them are points in her favor, but otherwise she's a shallow, vain woman with nearly no redeemable characteristics. She has no rooting value, but is too banal to be an anti-heroine. The supporting characters are stereotypes, and caricatures of them at that.
BOTTOM LINE: Iles is known for authoring complex psychological tales with multifaceted characters who have depth; this novel is an exception. Some parts were so pedestrian, I had to skim over them entirely, and found - rather depressingly - I missed nothing relevant to the overall story. This novel is still above much of what's currently released in the genre, but true fans of Iles would do better to avoid this, nor should new readers use this as a platform into exploring the author's (far better) offerings.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3O6IY4UKCMQHG
• Very Enjoyable Book 13 April, 2008
I definitely enjoyed reading this book. The plot is definitely believable. It's a story about a woman who has had an affair and the husband suspects that she has. But, he's dealing with his own demons and hiding it from his family. He didn't let anyone in on the fact that he had terminal brain cancer which changed his personality and made him out for revenge on the man who his wife was with.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1WR2APJSGP7WJ
• Want A Book You Won't Want To Put Down Til The End? 08 May, 2008
As always, Greg Iles delivers. His books are great. I always want to just sit and read from the start to the finish.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A27I14R6TNW7PD
• Fantastic 06 May, 2008
I have read all of Gregs books. I think this one is one of his best. This novel had believable people and kept you wanting to kno wwhat was coming. I was actually listening to this on CD and sat in the parking lot for 45 min to finish a CD. It is that good. You will relate to at least one of the people in the book. All in all, GREAT BOOK!!!!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2OXVPSPS9MLXW
• Unnecessary Detail Can Make You Crazy 14 April, 2008
This theme could have been a pretty good thriller, but the author rambles away for extended periods with details irrelevant to the story. Listening to the audiobook, I often found myself yelling "Who cares, hurry up and do something!!", while he dwelled on things that didn't matter. Taking out the pointless stuff, it would have probably made a decent Reader's Digest condensed book that didn't need to be condensed.
Add to that a "good" guy that was just a bit too perfect-superhero-like...war hero, aviator, sensitive, women all pursued him...enough to make you gag, and it's really not much of a thriller or story at all, just wastes too much time with too little of a story.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A84EHIBWRFLC
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