What do you think?
Rate this book
Third Degree
Sometimes the gravest dangers -- and the darkest souls -- live right beside us....
In the span of twenty-four hours, every-thing Laurel Shields believes about her life and her marriage to a prominent doctor will be shattered -- if she survives a terrifying ordeal. The day begins with the jarring discovery that, soon after ending an affair, Laurel is pregnant. But when she returns home to find her husband ashen, unkempt, and on the brink of violence, a nightmare quickly unfolds. In the heart of an idyllic Mississippi town, behind the walls of her perfect house, Laurel finds herself locked in a volatile standoff with a husband she barely recognizes. Confronted with evidence of her betrayal, she must tread a deadly path between truth and deception while a ring of armed police prepares a dangerous rescue. But Laurel's greatest fear -- and her only hope -- lies with her former lover, a brave man whom fate has granted the power to save both Laurel and her children -- if she can protect his identity long enough....
In the span of twenty-four hours, every-thing Laurel Shields believes about her life and her marriage to a prominent doctor will be shattered -- if she survives a terrifying ordeal. The day begins with the jarring discovery that, soon after ending an affair, Laurel is pregnant. But when she returns home to find her husband ashen, unkempt, and on the brink of violence, a nightmare quickly unfolds. In the heart of an idyllic Mississippi town, behind the walls of her perfect house, Laurel finds herself locked in a volatile standoff with a husband she barely recognizes. Confronted with evidence of her betrayal, she must tread a deadly path between truth and deception while a ring of armed police prepares a dangerous rescue. But Laurel's greatest fear -- and her only hope -- lies with her former lover, a brave man whom fate has granted the power to save both Laurel and her children -- if she can protect his identity long enough....
385 pages, Hardcover
First published November 6, 2007
About the author
Greg Iles
103 books6,879 followersGreg Iles has spent most of his life in Natchez, Mississippi. His first novel, Spandau
Phoenix, was the first of seventeen New York Times bestsellers. His Natchez
Burning trilogy continued the story of Penn Cage, the protagonist of The Quiet Game,
Turning Angel, and #1 New York Times bestseller The Devil’s Punchbowl. Iles’s novels have been made into films and published in more than thirty-five countries. He is a
member of the lit-rock group The Rock Bottom Remainders, lives in Natchez with his
wife, and has three children.
Phoenix, was the first of seventeen New York Times bestsellers. His Natchez
Burning trilogy continued the story of Penn Cage, the protagonist of The Quiet Game,
Turning Angel, and #1 New York Times bestseller The Devil’s Punchbowl. Iles’s novels have been made into films and published in more than thirty-five countries. He is a
member of the lit-rock group The Rock Bottom Remainders, lives in Natchez with his
wife, and has three children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 950 reviews
November 12, 2008
Not sure I really liked this one, but I had to finish reading it. Sometimes, however, I'm not convinced that male authors actually have any concept about what women are really like when it comes to sex and porn. I think they (male authors) tend to create women like they WISH women were. In other words, I didn't find the lead female to be especially convincing. The lead female -- school teacher secretly having an affair and watching porn on her laptop. Disgruntled husband: doctor in a practice that was defrauding the government. Paramour: veteran, older man, in unhappy marriage. Office secretary: smart, white-trash leading not-too-smart doctors into white collar crime. Police department: not-too-smart, good ole boys ready to shoot anything that moved. In fact, all the characters were pretty 1 dimensional to say nothing about them being cliche. Any story that tries to make marital infidelity seem like the best choice isn't real high on my "oh-my-gosh-I-have-to-read-this" list.
January 9, 2008
Definitely not Iles's best work. I got interested in the fraud sub-plot (since I work Medicaid fraud investigations), and that's probably why I kept interested (kept hoping they'd revisit that issue). Otherwise I basically knew how the book would end about half-way through. The book takes place over 24 hours or so, which to me just made it seem even more drawn out. By the end, I was ready for it to just be over, already!
July 10, 2016
I’ve seen a wide range of reviews for this book, and I think I understand why. I had no respect for any of the main characters. Laurel and Danny are cheating on their respective spouses, and Warren is not only holding his family hostage, he’s been cheating the government through his business. There were frustrations, like why didn’t Laurel fight harder? Why did they insist on keeping the affair a secret, even after discovery? That’s probably the point I found most ridiculous... that as Warren found out secret after secret, Laurel still admitted nothing — much to her detriment, and the detriment of her children.
But despite all this, I found myself actually leaning forward in my seat as I listened, completely caught up in the suspense. Turns out, I don’t have to like the characters to like the story! I was engaged and anxious throughout the whole thing, because you know there will be no happy ending for everyone... and perhaps for no one. So, if you don’t care about the morals of your protagonists, I recommend this as a good read. Otherwise... you should probably skip it.
But despite all this, I found myself actually leaning forward in my seat as I listened, completely caught up in the suspense. Turns out, I don’t have to like the characters to like the story! I was engaged and anxious throughout the whole thing, because you know there will be no happy ending for everyone... and perhaps for no one. So, if you don’t care about the morals of your protagonists, I recommend this as a good read. Otherwise... you should probably skip it.
May 15, 2017
I got through about a hundred pages of this book and realized I really didn't care what happened to this characters and I was totally uninterested in 'toughing it out' to get to the end (there are too many other good books to read to invest in something I'm not enjoying). I've enjoyed Mr. Iles books before, but this one didn't grab me at all. I even flicked forward a few hundred pages to see if there was any indication of the situation getting better only to be greeted by a story which did not seem to advance all that much during those hundred or so pages. The characters acted strangely as well, with Laurel (the protagonist) making ridiculously convoluted decisions in order to get herself in danger for the sake of the story, which made it very difficult to empathize with her.
It's very possible that I just wasn't in the correct mind frame to enjoy this book as well, but honestly I did not find it up to par with Iles prior works.
It's very possible that I just wasn't in the correct mind frame to enjoy this book as well, but honestly I did not find it up to par with Iles prior works.
June 3, 2022
A very compelling read! I couldn't put it down. Definitely a page-turner.
October 24, 2008
Unforgiving ... In more ways that one.
Laurel Shields’s day turns into a nightmare from the moment she got out of bed. First, an E.P.T. Pregnancy test turns out positive, her husband had never came to bed and seems frantic while trashing the great room. Obviously, he’s looking for something. What, she doesn’t know. The problem is: she doesn’t know who the father is. Her husband Warren’s, or Danny McDavitt, the man with whom she’d had a year-long affair with that recently ended.
Even though she feels a migraine coming on, she still goes to the school where she teaches special needs children. Her migraine becomes full-blown when it’s Danny who shows up for the parent-teacher meeting, not his wife.
She returns home for medication for her migraine only to have her husband confront her. Seems he found a letter, hidden in one of her favourite classic books, from an unknown man. She denies it, but he doesn’t believe her. Now a gun comes into the picture, and Warren is now holding her hostage, determined to find out who she was having an affair with.
Meanwhile, Warren has a secret he’s been keeping from Laurel. He’s sick, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. And he’s known about his condition for a little over a year. And to boot, the IRS is coming to audit him and his partner, Kyle Auster. Seems Auster has been defrauding the government, and while Warren kept his business out of it, he’d started partaking, when he found out about his condition.
Things escalate from there.
This is the first Greg Iles novel I’ve read. Some reviews are saying it’s by far not his best work. What do I say to that? Thank God! Maybe I’ll give him another go.
It felt like a bad scene from a made-for-TV-movie, where everything gets out of hand in a big hurry.
Yes, Laurel finds out she’s pregnant. She’s positive that Danny is the father. Meanwhile, while Warren holds her hostage, all he wants to know is for her to admit to her affair and who the man is. But she denies it - denies it right up until the end - even when the proof is flashed between the three of them.
The whole scenario, within a what, 8-hour span, was blown way out of proportion. You get to understand why, because of steroid use and unexplained bouts of anger and violence are a side effect. But until you find that out, it just seems to drag.
It gets to be repetitive, and in some places, information, details and explanations are drawn out and are unnecessary. Bad enough that I started skimming pages to get passed explanations that had absolutely nothing to do with the situation. For the first time I read anything by this author, that, from me, is considered a bad sign.
And the characters… good lord, where do I start? I was upset with Laurel right from the beginning. No matter how bad a marriage is, there is no excuse to stray. If you aren’t in love anymore, it’s called DIVORCE! Sit down and talk to your spouse. Lack of communication upsets me greatly - because there is no excuse for it (I do hope that I don’t offend anyone ~ that’s my opinion, with a story of fiction or not, cheating on your spouse, to me, is unexcusable)! Warren: I can understand his excuses for not telling anyone about his cancer. I’m sure I’d feel the same way. But again, if he doesn’t want anyone to know, that’s fine, but as his wife and mother of his children, she had a right to know what was going on. And then he drags the children into the middle of their fight - lucky I can’t jump into a book; I might have beat the crap out of him myself.
Vera and Auster are completely selfish with utter lack of any morals whatsoever. I can’t stand people like that in real life. I hate finding it in a book, fiction or otherwise. Some of the cops shouldn’t even be cops, let alone part of the county’s SWAT team. Danny seemed to be the only one worth his salt. He tried to talk Warren down, tried to get him to understand that, no matter what Laurel did, whether she cheated or not, it’s still no excuse for the way he’s acting. Tried to get him to stop. Even though he was lying to Warren himself, that was the smallest of indiscretions that didn’t bother me. He was trying to stop anyone else from getting killed, period.
The biggest problem, for me, with this book was the repetitiveness and the unnecessary details. It made the book drag. It wasn’t until the second half of the book where the story really started to get interesting.
Laurel Shields’s day turns into a nightmare from the moment she got out of bed. First, an E.P.T. Pregnancy test turns out positive, her husband had never came to bed and seems frantic while trashing the great room. Obviously, he’s looking for something. What, she doesn’t know. The problem is: she doesn’t know who the father is. Her husband Warren’s, or Danny McDavitt, the man with whom she’d had a year-long affair with that recently ended.
Even though she feels a migraine coming on, she still goes to the school where she teaches special needs children. Her migraine becomes full-blown when it’s Danny who shows up for the parent-teacher meeting, not his wife.
She returns home for medication for her migraine only to have her husband confront her. Seems he found a letter, hidden in one of her favourite classic books, from an unknown man. She denies it, but he doesn’t believe her. Now a gun comes into the picture, and Warren is now holding her hostage, determined to find out who she was having an affair with.
Meanwhile, Warren has a secret he’s been keeping from Laurel. He’s sick, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. And he’s known about his condition for a little over a year. And to boot, the IRS is coming to audit him and his partner, Kyle Auster. Seems Auster has been defrauding the government, and while Warren kept his business out of it, he’d started partaking, when he found out about his condition.
Things escalate from there.
This is the first Greg Iles novel I’ve read. Some reviews are saying it’s by far not his best work. What do I say to that? Thank God! Maybe I’ll give him another go.
It felt like a bad scene from a made-for-TV-movie, where everything gets out of hand in a big hurry.
Yes, Laurel finds out she’s pregnant. She’s positive that Danny is the father. Meanwhile, while Warren holds her hostage, all he wants to know is for her to admit to her affair and who the man is. But she denies it - denies it right up until the end - even when the proof is flashed between the three of them.
The whole scenario, within a what, 8-hour span, was blown way out of proportion. You get to understand why, because of steroid use and unexplained bouts of anger and violence are a side effect. But until you find that out, it just seems to drag.
It gets to be repetitive, and in some places, information, details and explanations are drawn out and are unnecessary. Bad enough that I started skimming pages to get passed explanations that had absolutely nothing to do with the situation. For the first time I read anything by this author, that, from me, is considered a bad sign.
And the characters… good lord, where do I start? I was upset with Laurel right from the beginning. No matter how bad a marriage is, there is no excuse to stray. If you aren’t in love anymore, it’s called DIVORCE! Sit down and talk to your spouse. Lack of communication upsets me greatly - because there is no excuse for it (I do hope that I don’t offend anyone ~ that’s my opinion, with a story of fiction or not, cheating on your spouse, to me, is unexcusable)! Warren: I can understand his excuses for not telling anyone about his cancer. I’m sure I’d feel the same way. But again, if he doesn’t want anyone to know, that’s fine, but as his wife and mother of his children, she had a right to know what was going on. And then he drags the children into the middle of their fight - lucky I can’t jump into a book; I might have beat the crap out of him myself.
Vera and Auster are completely selfish with utter lack of any morals whatsoever. I can’t stand people like that in real life. I hate finding it in a book, fiction or otherwise. Some of the cops shouldn’t even be cops, let alone part of the county’s SWAT team. Danny seemed to be the only one worth his salt. He tried to talk Warren down, tried to get him to understand that, no matter what Laurel did, whether she cheated or not, it’s still no excuse for the way he’s acting. Tried to get him to stop. Even though he was lying to Warren himself, that was the smallest of indiscretions that didn’t bother me. He was trying to stop anyone else from getting killed, period.
The biggest problem, for me, with this book was the repetitiveness and the unnecessary details. It made the book drag. It wasn’t until the second half of the book where the story really started to get interesting.
December 6, 2007
Greg Iles at his best - I could NOT put this book down.
The whole story takes place in one 24 hour time period.
Warren Shields discovers, through an anonymous tip, that his wife has been cheating on him. He cannot guess the identity of her lover so he takes her hostage until either she reveals the name or he can access her Hotmail account and find out the name for himself.
While being held hostage, Laurel discovers the reason for her husband's recent bizarre behavior and it has a direct impact on what his plan is.
Can't reveal anymore without this becoming a spoiler so check it out for yourself - if you love a great thriller, I promise you won't be disappointed!
The whole story takes place in one 24 hour time period.
Warren Shields discovers, through an anonymous tip, that his wife has been cheating on him. He cannot guess the identity of her lover so he takes her hostage until either she reveals the name or he can access her Hotmail account and find out the name for himself.
While being held hostage, Laurel discovers the reason for her husband's recent bizarre behavior and it has a direct impact on what his plan is.
Can't reveal anymore without this becoming a spoiler so check it out for yourself - if you love a great thriller, I promise you won't be disappointed!
October 24, 2020
This book was EXCRUCIATINGLY BORING. One of my biggest pet peeves is picking up a book only to find that there is not ONE likable character. The main characters are cheating on their spouses, but somehow this is okay because their spouses just don’t “get them” or “understand who they reallyyy are”. Maybe it’s the loyalist in me, but cheating main characters will never be likeable to me. Especially, when Danny married Starlette for her looks and Laurel never sounds like she was ever in love with Warren. She sounds more like she married him to just have someone to provide for her .... and spoiler... in the end she still is pining for someone to “take care of her.”
She constantly puts her baby girl in harms way, even using her to keep the identity of her lover a secret. And this whole ridiculous and petty hostage situation takes over 400 pages. 400 pages of Warren yelling, “Tell me who your lover is!!!!” And Laurel being all, “Never! Murder me in front of our daughter first!!!”
I’m exaggerating, but believe me I am not far off. Everyone in this story was both boring and one dimensional. I kept giving Greg Iles a chance because I LOVED the book Turning Angel, but this is the fourth book of his I have bought and I think I am finally willing to accept that Turning Angel was a fluke and he just isn’t the author for me.
She constantly puts her baby girl in harms way, even using her to keep the identity of her lover a secret. And this whole ridiculous and petty hostage situation takes over 400 pages. 400 pages of Warren yelling, “Tell me who your lover is!!!!” And Laurel being all, “Never! Murder me in front of our daughter first!!!”
I’m exaggerating, but believe me I am not far off. Everyone in this story was both boring and one dimensional. I kept giving Greg Iles a chance because I LOVED the book Turning Angel, but this is the fourth book of his I have bought and I think I am finally willing to accept that Turning Angel was a fluke and he just isn’t the author for me.
June 7, 2009
Too long, and seemed really rushed and drawn out at the same time. Rushed bc you don't ever find out what happens to most characters, and drawn out bc there was TMI in other parts. And lots of unnecessary information, too. Like all the hoopla about porn and cracking the password...weird book.
January 7, 2019
Me ha tenido suficientemente entretenida como para pensar en seguir leyendo y no aburrirme si bien es verdad que como siempre el final es muy flojo y predecible.
No va a ser una lectura para recordar pero el objetivo de mantenerte en tensión lo tiene.
El personaje femenino principal Laurel no me ha gustado.conseguía enfadarme con sus decisiones absurdas pero en general tiene una buena construcción de argumento.
No va a ser una lectura para recordar pero el objetivo de mantenerte en tensión lo tiene.
El personaje femenino principal Laurel no me ha gustado.conseguía enfadarme con sus decisiones absurdas pero en general tiene una buena construcción de argumento.
May 11, 2011
Third Degree has lots of action, suspense and an intelligent plot. It also features strong, well-developed characters and is set in American south (as usual in Iles books). Yet, Greg Iles also uses this thriller (about a woman terrorized by her jealous, mentally unstable husband) to pose a highly relevant question: How well do we actually know the people who populate our daily lives? This question is masterfully played out in Third Degree, a book perfectly suited for evenings on the patio.
March 12, 2019
Again an exciting novel of unexpected adventure. In this one we have a husband thinking his wife has been unfaithful. They have two children. He kidnaps his wife and questions her to find out who she has been unfaithful with. The children become involved and things get worse as guns and murder are brought into play. Only Greg Iles could make a super mystery out of a bad marriage.
April 22, 2019
Laurel Shields, thirty-five and mother of two, awakens to find that her husband, Warren, a prominent local physician, is not in bed with her. Creeping out to the kitchen of their palatial home, she sees him through the doorway of his study, wildly pulling books from the shelves. Two weeks earlier, Warren and his partner were informed by the IRS that their medical practice was being audited; since then the stress on Dr. Shields has steadily ratcheted up.
But Laurel has problems of her own. Quickly returning to the bedroom, she locks herself in the master bath, opens a home pregnancy testing kit, and fearfully tests herself. PREGNANT, announces the digital readout. Laurel closes her eyes as though absorbing news of a death, then quickly hides the evidence. She is not sure who the father is. Summoning all her strength, she walks into the kitchen to carry out the acting performance of her life.
Later that morning, Laurel returns home and is surprised to find her husband's car still parked in the driveway. The house has a strange stillness to it. In the den, she finds Warren sitting on the sofa in the same clothes he wore the previous day. His face is pale and unshaven, his eyes hollow with fear. Then, in come the children, innocent of it all....
But Laurel has problems of her own. Quickly returning to the bedroom, she locks herself in the master bath, opens a home pregnancy testing kit, and fearfully tests herself. PREGNANT, announces the digital readout. Laurel closes her eyes as though absorbing news of a death, then quickly hides the evidence. She is not sure who the father is. Summoning all her strength, she walks into the kitchen to carry out the acting performance of her life.
Later that morning, Laurel returns home and is surprised to find her husband's car still parked in the driveway. The house has a strange stillness to it. In the den, she finds Warren sitting on the sofa in the same clothes he wore the previous day. His face is pale and unshaven, his eyes hollow with fear. Then, in come the children, innocent of it all....
April 13, 2019
Zufälle, Missverständnisse und Untreue. Nicht schlecht aber nicht sein bestes Buch.
Laurel kommt nach Hause, wo ihr Mann bereits auf sie wartet. Er ist aufgebracht, sie denkt es liegt an der bevorstehenden Steuerprüfung in seiner Arztpraxis. Aber das ist es nicht. Nicht nur. Er hat einen anonymen Liebesbrief gefunden und weiß von ihrer Affäre, er weiß sogar mit wem.
Der 12-stündige Albtraum beginnt, er nimmt sie und die Kinder als Geiseln.
Was er nicht weiß, ist das sie schwanger ist und selbst nicht sagen kann ob das Kind von ihm ist oder von Danny, ihrer Affäre. Was sie nicht weiß ist, dass er den falschen verdächtigt.
Durch ständige Wechsel der Szene und Perspektive herrscht hier schnell eine beklemmende Atmosphäre und es ist spannend erzählt. Der flüssige, gute Schreibstil, von Iles macht es auf jeden Fall lesenswert.
Aber Manche Szenen sind zu vorhersehbar, andere wieder unglaubwürdig.
Und wegen Wiederholungen und vielen Details zieht es sich ein bisschen. Dazu sind Laurel, Warren und Danny gut gezeichnete Figuren, die anderen aber schon etwas klischeehaft.
Das Ende ist super, der Epilog hat mir aber nicht gefallen. Unterhaltsam ist es aber kein Muss.
Laurel kommt nach Hause, wo ihr Mann bereits auf sie wartet. Er ist aufgebracht, sie denkt es liegt an der bevorstehenden Steuerprüfung in seiner Arztpraxis. Aber das ist es nicht. Nicht nur. Er hat einen anonymen Liebesbrief gefunden und weiß von ihrer Affäre, er weiß sogar mit wem.
Der 12-stündige Albtraum beginnt, er nimmt sie und die Kinder als Geiseln.
Was er nicht weiß, ist das sie schwanger ist und selbst nicht sagen kann ob das Kind von ihm ist oder von Danny, ihrer Affäre. Was sie nicht weiß ist, dass er den falschen verdächtigt.
Durch ständige Wechsel der Szene und Perspektive herrscht hier schnell eine beklemmende Atmosphäre und es ist spannend erzählt. Der flüssige, gute Schreibstil, von Iles macht es auf jeden Fall lesenswert.
Aber Manche Szenen sind zu vorhersehbar, andere wieder unglaubwürdig.
Und wegen Wiederholungen und vielen Details zieht es sich ein bisschen. Dazu sind Laurel, Warren und Danny gut gezeichnete Figuren, die anderen aber schon etwas klischeehaft.
Das Ende ist super, der Epilog hat mir aber nicht gefallen. Unterhaltsam ist es aber kein Muss.
December 24, 2007
I was looking for a fast-paced crime/suspense story. Judging from the press, Iles earns at least one thumbs-up for that genre. The story has an interesting premise - a wife hiding an affair, a doctor husband finding out and holding her hostage and a backdrop of medical insurance fraud. BUT...I hated reading every nitpicking idea that a character had as he/she thought out all of the options EVERY time he/she made a move. Call me a book snob but I prefer to hash out those possibilities in my own mind as I learn about a character in a book by an author that doesn't feel compelled to spell it all out for his/her reader. The other thing that bothered me was the roughness of the language and situations. I don't shy away from vivid language and sexuality but this writing felt contrived and forced for effect. Decided not to finish this book -- life is too short. Mr. Iles' rendition of crime/suspense is NOT for me.
April 17, 2011
Disappointing. I have read the first two of Iles' Penn Cage books, both of which I really liked, was set to read the third (The Devil's Punchbowl) and discovered that a character from Third Degree makes an appearance in that book. Being the borderline obsessive-compulsive that I am, that meant I had to read this book first. Big mistake. None of these characters are especially likable, and I can't summon one iota of sympathy or goodwill for any of them (okay, maybe a little bit of goodwill for Carl). The whole thing seems really contrived, and wow, does it go on and on. I felt like Iles could have accomplished the same objective much more realistically in half the length.
June 4, 2010
I was plodding on by the time I have gone through a third of the book, hoping the torture would be over soon. It's hard to feel sympathy for an adulterer, or the greedy doctors, or the bumbling law men, federal and local. Now that it's over, what's the point of the story?
August 27, 2014
THIRD DEGREE (Pub. 2007) by Greg Iles is one of the best stories I've read in some time. It's a good measuring stick, the way great books are enjoyable no matter when they were published. This one is an easy 5-stars because it quickly sucks the reader in, even though there isn't a lot of physical action until mid way, then it comes non-stop right up to the end.
Isles does a great job of keeping our pulses high and our fingers greedily turning the pages. The relentless pace and what's-gonna-happen-next vibe is spot-on for a thriller, but it's the nagging questions to underlying issues that really pulls us along.
The story opens with upscale housewife, Laurel Shields, lying in bed next to her doctor-husband, while trying to hide a decoy cell phone from him. It looks just like her everyday phone, but only one person has the number, and it's not Laurel's husband. When the home-pregnancy stick turns blue, her world starts to crumble. Then she goes downstairs to find her husband tearing the house apart -- he's told her the IRS is auditing his practice, but it turns out to be much worse than that. Before the day is over, Laurel's life will be upended, and everyone's secrets come spilling out.
It's incredible how well this story keeps the pulse up -- in spite of the plot mostly unfolding within the Shields' million-dollar home. Hollywood should snatch THIRD DEGREE up, and maybe already has, between its true thriller capacity, and the 'locked-room' set economics it provides it's a perfect fit. Action junkies will be surprised just how enthralling this story is.
Isles masterfully winds us through the landmines between husband and wife, the husband and his medical practice partner, and the many secrets they all are keeping from one another. The questions and tension keep coming right up to the end, which brings satisfying closure to the questions and dramatic events in play.
THIRD DEGREE easily goes on my top-ten stories shelf for 2014.
Isles does a great job of keeping our pulses high and our fingers greedily turning the pages. The relentless pace and what's-gonna-happen-next vibe is spot-on for a thriller, but it's the nagging questions to underlying issues that really pulls us along.
The story opens with upscale housewife, Laurel Shields, lying in bed next to her doctor-husband, while trying to hide a decoy cell phone from him. It looks just like her everyday phone, but only one person has the number, and it's not Laurel's husband. When the home-pregnancy stick turns blue, her world starts to crumble. Then she goes downstairs to find her husband tearing the house apart -- he's told her the IRS is auditing his practice, but it turns out to be much worse than that. Before the day is over, Laurel's life will be upended, and everyone's secrets come spilling out.
It's incredible how well this story keeps the pulse up -- in spite of the plot mostly unfolding within the Shields' million-dollar home. Hollywood should snatch THIRD DEGREE up, and maybe already has, between its true thriller capacity, and the 'locked-room' set economics it provides it's a perfect fit. Action junkies will be surprised just how enthralling this story is.
Isles masterfully winds us through the landmines between husband and wife, the husband and his medical practice partner, and the many secrets they all are keeping from one another. The questions and tension keep coming right up to the end, which brings satisfying closure to the questions and dramatic events in play.
THIRD DEGREE easily goes on my top-ten stories shelf for 2014.
March 5, 2009
The book kept my interest enough to keep reading to the end. But...there was one review in the front of the book that claimed Laurel Shields was "the most sympathetic adulteress since Hester Prynne" (or something like that). I'd hardly say that's the case; at one point Laurel is comparing herself to the TSTL -- too stupid to live -- women in horror flicks, and tells herself to not be like that. But in my eyes, I'd say she very nearly falls into the TSTL category. She doesn't seem to have any consistent motivation. I think Iles was trying to write her as a "realistic" woman, but honestly, I'd have preferred someone with a clearer sense of herself, even at the expense of "realism."
Her husband isn't worth mentioning. He's barely even two-dimensional, and his death was about as anticlimatic as you can get. It was too neat and tidy, and it felt like the only witness to it even realized how dumb it was.
Danny McDavitt -- Laurel's former lover and the probable father of her child -- is probably the most interesting character. I almost wish the book had been about him instead of trying to be about Laurel and Warren. He's actually fleshed out, more human and less caricature than pretty much anyone else in the book.
I picked this book up from my mom, looking for something a little different from my usual SFF or the occasional thriller. Now I remember why I don't generally bother with this type of book.
Her husband isn't worth mentioning. He's barely even two-dimensional, and his death was about as anticlimatic as you can get. It was too neat and tidy, and it felt like the only witness to it even realized how dumb it was.
Danny McDavitt -- Laurel's former lover and the probable father of her child -- is probably the most interesting character. I almost wish the book had been about him instead of trying to be about Laurel and Warren. He's actually fleshed out, more human and less caricature than pretty much anyone else in the book.
I picked this book up from my mom, looking for something a little different from my usual SFF or the occasional thriller. Now I remember why I don't generally bother with this type of book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2009
Our main character learns she is pregnant on the same day her husband is stressed about a big audit at work. Unfortunately, she doesn't know if he's the father since she's been having an affair. Her husband has some secrets too, and all these secrets lead to a tense hostage situation in their home.
Greg Iles paints such a detailed picture of the many flawed characters that you may find yourself torn about which ones you should be actually rooting for as I did. The one complaint I would have about it is the book suffered from a severe case of product placement (Imitrex! Razr! Sony Vaio! EPT!) which not only was terribly distracting, but also likely dated the book for future readers. Other than that, the pace and tension of the book made it a really good read for me.
Greg Iles paints such a detailed picture of the many flawed characters that you may find yourself torn about which ones you should be actually rooting for as I did. The one complaint I would have about it is the book suffered from a severe case of product placement (Imitrex! Razr! Sony Vaio! EPT!) which not only was terribly distracting, but also likely dated the book for future readers. Other than that, the pace and tension of the book made it a really good read for me.
January 12, 2011
I loved this book! At first I was not sure, but then as I continued reading, I was pulled into the plot. what a twist! He was looking for clues to save himself and his business from the IRS and found a love letter addressed to his wife. Which changed the priorities in his life. Instead of trying to save his job/freedom he started looking for clues to save his marriage or to end it. I wanted her to get caught, because she was wrong for cheating on her husband. Because she should have left her husband. She should have noticed that her lover was not willing to leave his son to have her in his life there was always an excuse why he couldn't. Her husband was CRAZY!!!!! She should have left him instead of cheating on him, it would have saved her a lot of pain. THE BOOK IS GOOD!
December 2, 2015
I was looking for some reading material for my husband when I ran across this 2007 thriller and it caught my attention. Briefly....in one terrifying day, Laurel Shields, mother of two, finds out she is pregnant but she's not sure who the father is. Her physician husband is totally stressed out because his practice is being audited. More secrets are exposed, complications develop, and the result is a nerve-wracking hostage situation.
I have read other reviews of "Third Degree" and many readers did not like it nearly as well as I did. But it grabbed me from the word go and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I'm not insisting that it's perfect....I'm just sayin' that in my opinion it was terrific!
I have read other reviews of "Third Degree" and many readers did not like it nearly as well as I did. But it grabbed me from the word go and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I'm not insisting that it's perfect....I'm just sayin' that in my opinion it was terrific!
June 22, 2018
I didn't really enjoy anything about this book. The characters were unlikeable and I could not relate to a single choice that Laurel made. No mom would be so careless when her children's lives were in jeopardy. They would fight much harder. And why is she so dead-set on denying the affair? I kept thinking, "You're busted, just come clean and go protect your kids you idiot". Bad characters making bad choices and no one to root for besides the poor kids who are put in danger due to silly, selfish parents. If you're a male author trying to create a believable female character, do some research because Laurel was superficial and unrealistic.
November 13, 2007
Greg Iles writes the best mysteries except this one...this one centered around Laurel who is married to a doctor named Warren. Warren finds out Laurel is having an affair and Warrens business partner has the office under investigation for Medicaid fraud. There in turn, he takes Laurel hostage in their fmaily home. There is no climax,& the ending is just as you would expect. No suprises and left me with too many questions & thinking what a waste of time.
October 26, 2011
There was just one turn after another with this book. It was an exciting ride. There were many parts I couldn't even imagine were happening. Not that the writing was unbelievable but... I was just thinking wow! Did that really just happen?! This is the second book I've read by this author but... I'm hooked. I like his style.
April 3, 2020
A true, heart wrenching story that could happen in our reality. The emotion of love has a twisted way of bringing everyone together in their truest form, but also ripping and destroying the life you have known and created. The story ended on a high note after it lagged some. Great read, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see what love really can do.
January 13, 2008
a friend recommended this author to me-he reads alot of suspense, like me. I discussed it with him-he hadn't read it yet...we decided maybe it's "Iles done Lite"!! I found it predictable and was disappointed by the simple "happy ending". May try again-friend says earlier works are better.....
September 1, 2020
Great book
In reading this book I kept looking for clues how everything would turn out at the end of each chapter. Boy was I wrong on all counts. There is plenty of big action along with subtle currents running all through this book.
In reading this book I kept looking for clues how everything would turn out at the end of each chapter. Boy was I wrong on all counts. There is plenty of big action along with subtle currents running all through this book.
August 22, 2024
This had a slow start for me with some complaints. Let's get those out of the way so you know what you are getting into but then I will share why I think you might like this book as I did.
1. Some of the paragraphs were longer than they needed to be. If some of the set up was shortened and we could get to the good part quicker, that would have helped me get into the book more quickly.
2. Written in 2007 some parts were dated. The main character had a Razr phone. I remember those. I think if it just said cell phone we would have been good. At one point the MC burned up a note using the cigarette lighter in her car and burned it in the ashtray. She had an AOL e-mail with a back up hotmail account. And then the regrettable use of the R word. Not anymore, folks.
3. Some of the word choices were as if he was trying to prove how smart he was (the author) and I looked some of them up for examples:
Her father's peripatetic lifestyle (he was a preacher and roamed around a lot)
Lagniappe - huh? It means a little something extra on the side similar to how you go to a book store and they give you a free bookmark or at a restaurant they serve a popover at no charge.
"His orbits, almost black from lack of sleep, gave him a desperate mien."
"Stupid mating rituals of the cro-magnon man" Learning man new words. That is essentially a neanderthal but from a different era.
It was a "Kafkaesque" scene - the adjective describes a situation that is difficult, surreal, and nightmarish, often with a sense fo absurdity and beaurocracy. Doubt I will ever use that in a sentence.
OK now on to the good stuff. This book was really a page turner once it got cooking. The book starts with a wife secretly taking a pregnancy test while her husband is out in the main room tearing the house apart for some reason and is in a mood. We later learn that she was having an affair for nearly a year, she ended it 5 weeks prior when the man wouldn't leave his wife, and she wasn't sure who was the father. As the husband is tearing apart the house, he finds a love letter she had hidden in a book. He goes over the edge and having not slept for nearly two days he gets a little unpredictable, taking her hostage in their home until she will tell him who the man is.
There is a lot of action and drama which made the book something I did not want to put down. Reading 150 pages on a weeknight? That doesn't happen often! I would read one of Greg Iles' books again - once I got past the rocky start, it was very good if you like this genre.
1. Some of the paragraphs were longer than they needed to be. If some of the set up was shortened and we could get to the good part quicker, that would have helped me get into the book more quickly.
2. Written in 2007 some parts were dated. The main character had a Razr phone. I remember those. I think if it just said cell phone we would have been good. At one point the MC burned up a note using the cigarette lighter in her car and burned it in the ashtray. She had an AOL e-mail with a back up hotmail account. And then the regrettable use of the R word. Not anymore, folks.
3. Some of the word choices were as if he was trying to prove how smart he was (the author) and I looked some of them up for examples:
Her father's peripatetic lifestyle (he was a preacher and roamed around a lot)
Lagniappe - huh? It means a little something extra on the side similar to how you go to a book store and they give you a free bookmark or at a restaurant they serve a popover at no charge.
"His orbits, almost black from lack of sleep, gave him a desperate mien."
"Stupid mating rituals of the cro-magnon man" Learning man new words. That is essentially a neanderthal but from a different era.
It was a "Kafkaesque" scene - the adjective describes a situation that is difficult, surreal, and nightmarish, often with a sense fo absurdity and beaurocracy. Doubt I will ever use that in a sentence.
OK now on to the good stuff. This book was really a page turner once it got cooking. The book starts with a wife secretly taking a pregnancy test while her husband is out in the main room tearing the house apart for some reason and is in a mood. We later learn that she was having an affair for nearly a year, she ended it 5 weeks prior when the man wouldn't leave his wife, and she wasn't sure who was the father. As the husband is tearing apart the house, he finds a love letter she had hidden in a book. He goes over the edge and having not slept for nearly two days he gets a little unpredictable, taking her hostage in their home until she will tell him who the man is.
There is a lot of action and drama which made the book something I did not want to put down. Reading 150 pages on a weeknight? That doesn't happen often! I would read one of Greg Iles' books again - once I got past the rocky start, it was very good if you like this genre.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 950 reviews