Three Weeks to Say Goodbye

Nine months after adopting their daughter, Jack and Melissa receive a phone call from the adoption agency, telling them that the baby’s father wants her back. They reveal that he never actually signed away his parental rights, and now he’s come forward, there is nothing they can do.

This makes for an interesting start to a book, and in the hands of different authors, I could imagine it taking many different paths. Three Weeks To Say Goodbye is a thriller, so instead of exploring the legal and emotional issues, it takes a different turn.

It appears that the baby’s father isn’t actually that interested, and it’s the grandfather who’s pushing for the child – and John Moreland is a well connected federal judge, who will stop at show more nothing to get his own way.

Most of the action, however, takes place outside the court. Jack realises that he can’t fight this the usual way, and so in his desperation, looks for alternatives. He’s helped by two loyal friends, and Cody soon became my favourite character.

For me, this made a welcome change to the usual crime thrillers – the main character isn’t a detective or policeman, but rather a travel development specialist! It shows the extremes a father could go to, although they are probably a little more violent than most would manage. There’s also a deeper story to uncover – the reason for Judge Moreland’s obsession is what makes this a thriller.

Recommended for crime fans looking for something a little different! show less

I have not read any of C J Box’s long-running Joe Pickett series (primarily because I just don’t have the energy to launch into yet another series where I might be compelled to start at the beginning) but I am fast becoming a fan of his standalone thrillers. This one has a very good hook and kept me gripped right to the end. Jack and Melissa McGuane receive the worst news possible: their adopted daughter’s biological father, Garrett Moreland, never officially relinquished his parental rights and he, or at least his father, wants nine-month old Angelina. Garrett’s father is a well-respected Judge in Denver and has the law, money and considerable influence on his side. On their side the McGuanes have two old friends, Cody who is a show more detective with the Denver police and Brian a wealthy property developer, along with a fierce love for the daughter they have raised. Judge Moreland, claiming a desire to ensure his tearaway son accepts his responsibilities, offers the McGuanes a final three weeks to spend with Angelina before taking the baby into his own family. The mystery component to the story surrounds the McGuane’s growing belief that there is a more sinister reason for Judge Moreland’s demand to have Angelina.

The story is told in the first person from Jack’s point of view. This is a good voice for such an emotional story as it allows the raw frustration and impotence that Jack feels at not being able to save his family to really shine through. I’m sure the temptation would have been to tell this kind of story from the mother’s point of view but I think it was probably stronger for being told from the father’s perspective. The downside of using a first person narrative is, as always, that there are times when action is taking place that Jack can know nothing about and as a reader you do feel that at a couple of points that Jack is mulling over his situation again while the real plot is advancing elsewhere.

While the bad guys in this novel were pretty much rotten to the core the good guys offered more depth. The character of Cody for example was used to good effect to depict an ever-present tension between following the letter of the law and achieving justice which, as most of us probably believe, are not always the same thing. The slow disintegration of both Melissa and Jack in terms of their willingness to consider increasingly risky and illegal behaviour is also interesting if not always entirely believable in Jack’s case.

I did find the ending of the story a bit over the top and the very last chapter lost the book half a point on my personal rating scale for being just too cute and ‘preachy’ but overall I was entertained by the novel and was definitely rooting for the McGuanes. I am a bit weary of the crime and thriller genres being so dominated by series books so am pleased to have found another author who, at least every other year, is prepared to offer a story that can be read within the confines of a single book. show less

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 show more paternal side is interested in her welfare. They have a personal grudge agenda and little Angelina is the kickball.

I won't say that there's not a need for suspension of credibility looking back from the finish of this story. Some of the events that propel the book's characters to the closing are a bit dodgy. But you don't really care about that as you're racing through the story. For me, this has always been the attraction of Box's novels. They grab you in the early chapters and don't let up until the denouement. show less

This is one of the titles that has been sitting on my Kindle for a number of years. C.J. Box is one of those authors I have heard mentioned often - he has captured many awards - but I have never read anything by him. THREE WEEKS TO SAY GOODBYE is a standalone.

The central theme is why would the federal judge who is the biological grandfather want to take on a baby when his son has no interest in the child. Why is he fighting so hard to get her?

This scenario truly would be the worst nightmare of adoptive parents who think they have everything sewn up, and who have fallen in love with their adopted child. Then add in friends and relatives who are literally prepared to do anything to help, and the mix becomes explosive.

For the most part the show more book held me. However the plot does illustrate how the most peaceful of people can be driven to violence when pressured. In a way the final stage of the plot was inevitable and logical, considering all that happened, but somehow I was disappointed.

The book has whetted my appetite for more by this author. show less

Stand alone thriller that was a fun read. Every parent should be chilled by the prospect of a powerful person, with a gang ridden, sociopath son gone bad--in your life. The characters are well done and the reader sympathizes with the actions of the offended parents. The parents draw in some western characters that could never exist in the East. The plot winds together and there doesn't seem to be any hanging strands. But, you wonder what happens when the baby grows up to be an adult...or a teenager!

This book was a big disappointment. Hackneyed plot, cardboard characters, very thin gruel indeed. C.J. Box is an incredibly talented writer, so the book is capable of pulling you in based on its excellent suspense mechanics and the heartbreaking premise. But at the end, it's like eating second rate junk food -- leaving you looking for some much higher quality brain nutrients.

Jack and his wife Melissa, having been unable to conceive a child of their own, adopt Angelina, a beautiful little girl whose mother chose them personally. AllI is well in their lives until the birth father, 18 year old Garrett Moreland, suddenly decides he wants his daughter back. What Jack and Melissa can't understand is why.

Garrett's father, Judge John Moreland, is behind Garrett and is an influential man. In any case, the law is on their side and so Jack and Melissa find themselves with, as the title indicates, three weeks to say goodbye to their daughter.

What follows is a very fast paced and exciting thriller, as Jack, Melissa and their close friends try to find out what is motivating Garrett and the Judge, as they know it isn't show more love for Angelina.

I absolutely loved this book. It's so easy to read. I got through it very quickly, and it's certainly an absorbing thriller. The narration is by Jack throughout the novel, and I wouldn't say there is a lot of depth to the writing, but this book does what it says on the tin, and it's nice to have a thriller based around such an emotive and different subject.

I think this would appeal to fans of Linwood Barclay, as I found the style very similar. I note that other reviews of this book are not so complimentary, but take it at face value, and don't question it all too much and you've got a great read ahead of you. I had never heard of C.J. Box before, but would definitely read abother of his books. show less