Greg Iles

Third Degree Greg Iles

Publisher Marketing: 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.... So begins the most terrifying day in the history of a marriage, one that in less than five hours will make the Shields house the vortex of a nerve-wracking siege. While a nervous ring of armed men awaits its chance to storm the suburban home, inside the house the clock ticks down on exposure of Laurel s terrible secret. But she is not alone in her lies. Before the siege is through, this terrifying drama will pull in desperate characters from the town and drive Dr. Shields, his wife, and her lover to the very brink of sanity and survival." Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 12/24/2007 pg. 50 (EAN 9781423318033, Compact Disc) Library Journal Prepub Alert 07/01/2007 pg. 56 (EAN 9780743292504, Hardcover) Booklist 08/01/2007 pg. 10 (EAN 9780743292504, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 10/15/2007 pg. 41 (EAN 9780743292504, Hardcover) Booklist 11/01/2007 pg. 6 (EAN 9780743292504, Hardcover) - *Starred Review Romantic Times 01/01/2008 pg. 76 (EAN 9780743292504, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2008 pg. 46 (EAN 9780743292504, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2010 pg. 397 (EAN 9780743292504, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2014 pg. 481 (EAN 9780743292504, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Iles, Greg Greg Iles spent his youth in Natchez, Mississippi. His first novel, Spandau Phoenix, was the first of fourteen New York Times bestsellers, and this trilogy continues the story of Penn Cage, 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 two children. Contributor Bio:  Colacci, David David Colacci has been an actor and a director for over thirty years, performing coast-to-coast in lead roles of plays by a variety of playwrights. He has worked as a narrator for over fifteen years. He has won AudioFile Earphones Awards, earned Audie nominations, and been included on Best of Year lists by such publications as Publishers Weekly, AudioFile magazine, and Library Journal. He currently lives in New York with his wife and children.