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    Three Weeks to Say Goodbye: A Novel
    Three Weeks to Say Goodbye: A Novel
    Three Weeks to Say Goodbye: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    Three Weeks to Say Goodbye: A Novel

    Written by C. J. Box

    Narrated by John Bedford Lloyd

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box's novels have been called "red hot" (Booklist) and "edge-of-your-seat read[s]" (Omaha World-Herald). Now he delivers a novel that will steal your sleep as much as it will wrench your heart. Three Weeks to Say Goodbye is a novel about something that could be anyone's worst nightmare. . .

    Jack and Melissa McGuane have spent years trying to have a baby. Finally their dream has come true with the adoption of their daughter, Angelina. But nine months after bringing her home, they receive a devastating phone call…

    Angelina's birth father, a teenager, never signed away his parental rights—and he wants her back. Worse, his father, a powerful Denver judge, will use every trick in the book to make sure it happens. The McGuanes attempt to meet face-to-face with the father and son…but soon it becomes clear that there's something sinister about their motivations—and that love for Angelina is not one of them.

    A horrifying game of intimidation and double crosses begins that quickly becomes a death spiral where everyone is suspect and no one is safe. Now Jack and Melissa will stop at nothing to protect their child—even though time is running out…

    C.J. Box has once again written a bone-chilling thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateJan 6, 2009
    ISBN9781427206183
    Three Weeks to Say Goodbye: A Novel
    Author

    C. J. Box

    C.J. Box is the New York Times bestselling author of fifteen novels including the award-winning Joe Pickett series. Box has won the Edgar Award for Best Novel as well as the Anthony, Macavity, Barry, and Le Calibre .38 awards. His novels have been translated into twenty-five languages. Box lives outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming. 

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    Reviews for Three Weeks to Say Goodbye

    4/5

    49 ratings16 reviews

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    • 5/5
      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 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.
    • 5/5
      Adoptive parents worst nightmare is realized with this story. Jack and Melissa McGuane adopted Angela. Nine months later we learn that the child's birth father never signed away his rights and the boys father wants his son to live up to his responsibility.When Jack and Melissa meet the father, Garrett, and his father, the judge, something seems eerie about the way Garrett stares at Melissa.The author is excellent with dialogue and the feeling of tension mounts as it looks as if the couple will loose Amanda and that she may be raised by Garrett and put at risk.The style is similiar to the naturalistic vien of Frank Norris. In his novels, "The Pit" and "A Deal in Wheat" fate transpires against the characters and there wasn't much they could do to escape their fate.In "Three Weeks to Say Goodbye" we again have fate playing tricks, from the birth father never signing the release, to the adoption agency not catching the discrepancy, to the birth father's father being an influential judge, to Jack having to go on a business trip to save his job. Each step puts a layer of victimology on the fate of Jack and Melissa.So much sadness only paves the way for what might follow. As usual Box tells an intelligent story that the reader will feel was time well spent.
    • 3/5
      Would have been an interesting plot if it weren't for some serious flaws in the storyline. The biggest drawback for me was the rogue character of the protagonists--out of control and totally unbelievable. After about the middle of the book, nothing rang true anymore and I was left disappointed. Probably won't give CJ Box another try.
    • 2/5
      I had high hopes for this book. It had what sounded like a great plot. Those hopes were dashed rather quickly. The characters were wooden, which made it hard to sympathize with and care about the good guys. The bad guys were two-dimensional. The reactions of the characters to certain situations bordered on ridiculous. This author has written some good books, but this isn't one of them.
    • 5/5
      This was such an excellent story, I could not put my audio device down! I felt like I was right there in the midst of all the drama! The story also exposed the evil that sometimes is prevalent in the political and judicial system! We have a real problem with pedophilia in our world today! A real indication of the evil that surrounds us, right in front of our eyes!!!
    • 2/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      good enough to keep me interested, quick read!
    • 5/5
      Amazing story! As always, Box, doesn't fail to engage his audience with a heroic protagonist.
    • 4/5
      This book is one of those that preys on every parent's nightmares. Silly mystery novel that made me cry.
    • 5/5
      His books always keep me waiting for the next turn. I love all his books and I listen to a lot of books. Love the readers , always.
    • 5/5
      Great book! CJ Box we need another book with Jack in it!
    • 1/5
      I know I'm in trouble when the author takes me out of the world of the book and jars me into consciousness with something he's written. In this case it was a phrase he used to describe both his boss and his wife, something along the lines of "I sensed her presence before she entered the room." Sorry, but for this reader things like that stand out, especially when used 2 pages apart. Unfortunately, not a good beginning to the book. I found the story pretty predictable. Maybe I've read too many books of its ilk lately but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.
    • 3/5
      Over the top crime/mystery thriller. Wonderful couple adopts wonderful baby only to have a powerful judge assert that the baby is his son's and that the son never signed away his rights. The perfect couple has three weeks to say goodbye to perfect baby. During that three weeks, dad discovers the judge has murdered his own parents and his first wife, and that he wants the baby so that he can turn her over to a pedophile who has been blackmailing him. Wow! The baby is nine months old but sometimes seems to be about four years old. Dad goes from being a timid bureaucrat to a wild man with a gun. Still, I finished it, so that means it moved along, if nothing else.
    • 2/5
      Disappointing. Plot unbelievable, characters were not fully developed, and the writing bland. The story moved well enough along so that I finished the book but it will be a long time before I pick up another CJ Box. This was the first of his books that I read.
    • 3/5
      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 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.
    • 3/5
      This is the 1st C.J. Box book that I have read and I think I will try another one. The book was a fast read and draws you into the story. Knowning many people, friends and family who have adopted; the thought of losing the child one day because the birth father didn't sign the papers would be the ultimate nightmare! I can truthfully say there were a few times I actually cried reading this book. But as one of the reviewer's noted, the book took a turn that was not really believable or conceivable. But..it was still a good read and I finished it and ended up enjoying it.