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Third Degree (George Barnabas #3)

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 4,300 ratings · 400 reviews

From "New York Times" bestselling author Greg Iles comes his latest tour de force thriller -- an unforgettable plunge into a world of sex, violence, marital betrayal, medical malpractice, and Southern intrigue...all of which takes place in the span of one furious, terrifying day.In "Third Degree," Greg Iles takes us to the idyllic town of Athens Point, Mississippi, to prob...more From "New York Times" bestselling author Greg Iles comes his latest tour de force thriller -- an unforgettable plunge into a world of sex, violence, marital betrayal, medical malpractice, and Southern intrigue...all of which takes place in the span of one furious, terrifying day.In "Third Degree," Greg Iles takes us to the idyllic town of Athens Point, Mississippi, to probe beneath the surface of the modern American marriage -- where the appearance of perfection conceals a soul-searing conflict of unnerving intensity and violent possibility. Packed with the storytelling brilliance and twisting suspense that mesmerized readers of "True Evil, Turning Angel," and "Blood Memory," Iles's newest novel delivers a powerful, revelatory reading experience.

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.

Rich with Southern atmosphere, and perceptively laced with the tacit deceptions and psychological cracks found in nearly all marriages, "Third Degree" delivers another knockout, page-turning read from Greg Iles, "the poster boy of southern gothic thrillers" ("Kirkus Reviews"), and proves again that Iles is today's unparalleled master of the suspense novel.(less)

Hardcover, 400 pages

Published November 6th 2007 by Scribner (first published October 28th 1996)

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Nov 12, 2008 June rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: not anyone

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 t...more

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Oct 24, 2008 Gina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense, thriller

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 fee...more

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Oct 29, 2008 Jaime rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, audio, family_drama, suspense

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 fo...more

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Jan 23, 2008 BookBitch added it

Transpiring over the course of a day, Iles has written a disturbing thriller about a family in crisis. Laurel Shields is living the American dream; her husband Warren is a doctor, they have a beautiful home and two healthy children. Yet that isn't enough, and Laurel finds herself falling in love with David, the father of one of her autistic students. Duplicitous as she is beautiful, Laurel juggles her affair for about a year before David ends it just weeks before Laurel discovers she's pregnant....more

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Dec 06, 2007 Corky rated it 5 of 5 stars

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...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Bobbie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very different book plot ... liked it, but the husband really goes off the deep ending trying to prove his wife had an affair ... I guess this could drive one crazy ? ...

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 in...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Barbara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, medicine, thriller

This novel by thriller writer Greg Iles takes place in pretty much one location for the better part of the novel and involves the marriage of a teacher (Laurel) and a doctor (Warren), both of whom keep secrets from each other. Laurel is having an affair with a flight instructor, Danny McDavitt, and she is ready to leave Warren for him. However, Warren and his partner's shady business dealings have caught the attention of the local Medicaid fraud division and he's becoming mentally unhinged.

Warre...more This novel by thriller writer Greg Iles takes place in pretty much one location for the better part of the novel and involves the marriage of a teacher (Laurel) and a doctor (Warren), both of whom keep secrets from each other. Laurel is having an affair with a flight instructor, Danny McDavitt, and she is ready to leave Warren for him. However, Warren and his partner's shady business dealings have caught the attention of the local Medicaid fraud division and he's becoming mentally unhinged.

Warren finds a love letter from Danny to Laurel and he psycholocially and physically brutalizes her. Laurel makes several escape attempts and finally succeeds in getting the kids away from her increasingly distraught husband, who brandishes a gun in front of all of them. Laurel texts Danny about her situation and eventually the local sheriff and his good-ol-boy deputies arrive. The situation devolves from a simple marital spat to a potential hostage situation quickly. Meanwhile, Warren's practice is torched by one of the nurses, who is in on the scam with Warren's partner.

Everything escalates and seems to happen within seconds, which is how a lot of natural (or man-made) disasters do occur. People, including Warren's partner and a deputy are killed; others, like the nurse who torched the medical office, are injured. In between all of this are Warren and Laurel's two deeply confused and frightened children.

The plot takes off like a rocket and never stops, and this is the real strength of the novel itself; the characters aren't ones you'd warm to and seem dull and two-dimensional at times. Warren, in particular, comes across as a very unpleasant, cruel man. There's a subplot near the end where it's revealed that he has cancer, but this feels false here, as if the author's trying to turn Warren's life into a Greek tragedy. It doesn't work.

The book is very suspenseful and probably could be read in one sitting, but I came away from it feeling as though I'd read better books from Iles. (less)

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May 02, 2011 B.T. Hoskins rated it 3 of 5 stars

Let me start off by saying, it was good. The fact that I read the whole book is a testament to that. The story is one that will keep you wondering what the next page holds. I give great regards in that aspect. The part that threw me off was the portrayal of women. There were two mentioned most in the book, Laurel and Starlette. It struck me that throughout this book, all of the mothers were putting their own interests ahead of their children. I'm sure there are many of those out there, but I don...more

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Feb 25, 2011 Paul Pessolano rated it 4 of 5 stars

You will probably figure the ending out without too much trouble - but the getting there will give the ride of a lifetime. I can't tell you how many times I put this book down and immediately picked it back up again, saying that I would read just one more chapter.

Laurel Shields wakes up one morning and takes a home pregnancy test and finds she is pregnant, but there is a strong possibility that the father is not her husband, Dr. Warren Shields. The father could possibly be, Danny McDavitt, who i...more

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Jun 19, 2010 Kasia S. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was my second time reading Iles and it certainly won't be the last, on the contrary, even though this wasn't the best book I've ever read I am drooling for more. He seems to be the master of writing the husband and wife scenarios gone terribly wrong. The one person you crawl into bed with every night, one person you think you know almost as well as yourself can always turn on you and shock you when something ticks them off. That something in this novel is an affair. Quite common theme even...more

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Jul 26, 2009 Chuck rated it 3 of 5 stars

Airport Fiction

This is a book I grabbed in an airport because it was "returnable," the idea being that, if I read it, hung on to the receipt, and returned the book to that store or another in the chain, I would be able to get half the purchase price back. Money was tight at the time, so it seemed like a good deal. Of course, I lost the receipt, and can't get my money back.

Still, the book was worth paying full price.

Greg Iles is a new author for me. He tells the tale of Laurel, a specia educatio...more Airport Fiction

This is a book I grabbed in an airport because it was "returnable," the idea being that, if I read it, hung on to the receipt, and returned the book to that store or another in the chain, I would be able to get half the purchase price back. Money was tight at the time, so it seemed like a good deal. Of course, I lost the receipt, and can't get my money back.

Still, the book was worth paying full price.

Greg Iles is a new author for me. He tells the tale of Laurel, a specia education teacher in a small town in Mississippi who's in a relationship with a loveless doctor. She has been having an affair with the father of one of her specail needs students, a local pilot also in a loveless marriage who is fiercely devoted to his autistic son. The two have agreed to break off the affair as the novel begins, both realizing that their relationship won't work, and because the lover is fearful of leaving his son in the care of his wife, who doesn't much involve herself in the care of the special needs son.

Then Laurel turns out pregnant. Since she'd ended the affair, she has 'tried to make a go of it' with her husband and has resumed conjugal relations, so she doesn't know if the baby is her husband's or her lover. As she wakes, her husband is frantically searching the house for something.

She goes to work, only to suffer a migraine and go home. When she gets back, Carl, her husband, is still searching the house. The normally mild mannered Carl shocks her by trying her up with duct tape, confronting her with an anonymous note from someone who is not Carl, demanding to know who she is having an affair with. Carl thinks the lover is Kyle, his business partner, and Laurel tries to bluff her way out of the situaion.

Soon she figures out that something else is going on--some sort of criminal conspiracy, likely perpetrated by Kyle, to defraud the government. But Carl is beyond reason, hurt and betrayed by the affair he belives Laurel is having, and will not allow Laurel to explain to him what she thinks is going on.

This situation soon devolves into a hostage situation, made worse by the local police force, who are a mixture of good policemen and of yahhos who want to reenact Rambo movies. They are as big a threat to people's safety as Carl is.

The novel is a good read and a fast paced story. I liked the fact that there are few clear cut 'good guys' and 'bad guys.' Even Carl, initiaully portrayed in a negative light colored by Laurel's anger, then fear, is revealed to be a decent man who has reasons for acting in the seeminglay bizarre way he does.

I will read more Greg Iles.(less)

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Mar 05, 2009 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller, fiction, 2009-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 18, 2010 Nancy marked it as to-read

In Third Degree, Greg Iles takes us to the idyllic town of Athens Point, Mississippi, to probe beneath the surface of the modern American marriage -- where the appearance of perfection conceals a soul-searing conflict of unnerving intensity and violent possibility. Packed with the storytelling brilliance and twisting suspense that mesmerized readers of True Evil, Turning Angel, and Blood Memory, Iles's newest novel delivers a powerful, revelatory reading experience.

Laurel Shields, thirty-five an...more In Third Degree, Greg Iles takes us to the idyllic town of Athens Point, Mississippi, to probe beneath the surface of the modern American marriage -- where the appearance of perfection conceals a soul-searing conflict of unnerving intensity and violent possibility. Packed with the storytelling brilliance and twisting suspense that mesmerized readers of True Evil, Turning Angel, and Blood Memory, Iles's newest novel delivers a powerful, revelatory reading experience.

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.

Rich with Southern atmosphere, and perceptively laced with the tacit deceptions and psychological cracks found in nearly all marriages, Third Degree delivers another knockout, page-turning read from Greg Iles, "the poster boy of southern gothic thrillers" (Kirkus Reviews), and proves again that Iles is today's unparalleled master of the suspense novel.(less)

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Jan 22, 2010 Teresa in Ohio rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: iles-greg, 2010-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 13, 2007 Jenn Starr rated it 3 of 5 stars

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.

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Jan 09, 2008 Keri rated it 2 of 5 stars

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!

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Oct 04, 2011 Benoit rated it 1 of 5 stars

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 s...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Mark Soone rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a solid 3 star read, certainly not Iles best work but by no means does it mean that this is not worth reading.

The charcters and plot really did not resonate with me on a major level, and most charcters, reactions and multiple conflicts of intrest were largely unplausible...but once you settle in realizing we have a far fetched, yet action packed adventure frought with drama and suspense....all in the confines of a suburban home...It was really difficult to cheer for any of the charcters...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Stacy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I did not like Laurel. She had two kids and was having an affair with the father of her autistic student. She was angry that he hadn’t left his wife when he said he would and her pregnancy was just the icing on the cake. I did not like her husband, Warren, who was clearly off his rocker and I did not like Danny, although he was supposed to be a sympathetic figure. The fact that all three of these adults had such little regard for the kids made me angry. I think I was supposed to see all the shad...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned

While the characters were interesting and the writing was good, I could not finish a book with such unrelenting potential for violence. A woman is held hostage in her own home by her husband, who suspects her of having an affair. Like many Dean Koontz novels which are similar in plot, I find myself wearying of the woman in peril trope. I had to abandon a Koontz novel for similar reasons. It feels too much like violence porn to me, which is prevalent in American authors and movies. Perhaps this i...more

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Jan 12, 2008 Lori rated it 2 of 5 stars

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.....

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Aug 29, 2011 Cameron rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 12, 2011 Billie Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 hus...more

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Nov 19, 2009 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first of Greg Iles' books that I have read. I enjoyed the book very much. I just felt that it took me too long to read. It might be just me, because I read at night in bed and then fall asleep. I found myself sleeping more than reading. I had to renew it once at the library.

The story was very different from anything I ever read and the premise was very interesting. It was about a Doctor who found out he had brain cancer and he goes off the deep end when he finds a love letter written...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Laren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: suspense

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...more

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Aug 21, 2012 Liz rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008

My husband bought it for me for Sweetest Day, and by chance it was the only novel of his that I haven't read – not that I'm a fan, my sister in law is, and she lends to me continually.

This story was 'okay'. It wasn't particularly original, and it actually reminded me of a movie one might see on Lifetime Network. The story made me feel uncomfortable at times. The author occasionally provided entirely too much background information on characters of little relevance.

This far from the best book I'v...more

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Dec 23, 2008 Brian Smith rated it 2 of 5 stars

Although Third Degree was not as clever as True Evil, it still kept my interest.

When Lauren Shields discovers she is pregnant, she is not sure if it belongs to her husband (Warren) or her adulterer (Danny). Warren

Sit back and watch Warren's decent into madness as he tries to discover who his wife has been having an affair with. The entire novel takes place over a single chaotic afternoon.

Evil husband who is confused about his future… Ex war hero wanting to leave his wife… Estranged wife seeking...more

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May 30, 2009 Wendy Scott rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This began as an interesting book and stayed interesting up until the end.

Laurel, special-ed teacher and wife of a doctor, lives in wealth and luxury with her husband and two kids. However, the book opens with the fact that Laurel has been having an affair and is pregnant. She does not know if the father is Danny, her paramore, or Warren, her husband. Odds are on Danny. Unfortunately, her affair has ended since Danny can't divorce his wife without losing custody of his kids, including his autist...more This began as an interesting book and stayed interesting up until the end.

Laurel, special-ed teacher and wife of a doctor, lives in wealth and luxury with her husband and two kids. However, the book opens with the fact that Laurel has been having an affair and is pregnant. She does not know if the father is Danny, her paramore, or Warren, her husband. Odds are on Danny. Unfortunately, her affair has ended since Danny can't divorce his wife without losing custody of his kids, including his autistic son.

Laurel leaves school with a migraine and returns home to find Warren still at home which is very unusual. The heart of the novel's action begins there as Warren produces a gun and holds Laurel hostage. He found a love letter signed "Me" from Danny and will not release Laurel until she admits her adultery and tells him who the other man is.

The action picks up again when Laurel's children come home from elementary school. And here's where my problems with the story begin. Laurel had access to a cell phone - she called it her clone phone and it was the phone she used exclusively to communicate with Danny. Most mothers would have done anything in their power to make sure that their children did not become hostages for their gun-wielding and crazed, irrational and delusional father. Using the cell phone may have meant exposing her affair but that would have been a small price to pay for the safety of her kids. She also does not use the cell to call 911 or any other form of help since she doesn't trust the local cops to handle a hostage situation. At this point, Warren has shot at her and assaulted her. Anyone else would have called 911.

Warren's partner Kyle from his medical practice then shows up and Warren is convinced that this is his wife's lover. In fact, Kyle has been involved in medical billing fraud and is being investigated. He came to Warren's house to retrieve some incriminating evidence he had planted there. Warren refuses to release him from the house until his password-cracking program is done and he can access Laurel's email account to see who her lover is. If Kyle is not the other man, then Warren will release him. Kyle, however, needs to leave since the investigators are on their way to close the medical office and arrest him. So, Kyle begins to leave and when challenged by Warren, he produces a gun. At this point, Laurel should see this as a blessing since Warren has terrorized their kids, shot at her, and implied he would kill her in front of them as soon as he found out who she was sleeping with. Beth is also afraid that Warren will kill all of them. But instead of allowing Kyle to shoot her deranged husband, she shouts out a warning to Warren...WHAT??? Warren then shoots and kills Kyle.

At some point after this, their son Grant escapes from the house and flees to the neighbors who then call the police and a hostage standoff begins. The Medicare investigator also shows up and attempts to take over the scene since there are federal charges against Warren and Kyle. He threatens to call in the FBI or SWAT. Despite the bungling ineptitude and lack of experience in handling this type of sitation, the feds are never called in.

Grant, safe at the neighbors, then decides to break back into the house to help his mom and sister. He does this right at the moment that the sharpshooter is set to take Warren out so thae shot is called off. Instead of helping his mom, Grant does a 180 and becomes his father's assistant. When one of the police crew goes rogue and breaks into the house to take Warren out, Warren kills him too which prompts a hug and celebration from Grant.. "You got him Dad!!". WHAT again??? This kid was terrorized and now is high-fiving his dad after his dad killed a cop?

The cops at some point find out that Warren has incureable brain cancer, which no one but him and his doctor know about. Laurel finds out and feels pity and remorse at cheating on him but still she does nothing to help herself out of the situation. She is trapped with a lunatic who may be physically incapable of rational thought due to the disease. He has killed 2 people, and threatened to kill her and her 2 kids are in the house. Most people would do anything, including supporting the execution of Warren, to get out of a situation like this but not Laurel. Her actions just didn't make sense to me.

And the ending....aw geez.

Warren finds out that Laurel is pregnant, she is having an affair with Danny (a man he knows well), and the odds of the baby being Warren's are almost nil. After the cops assault the house with explosives, Warren escapes and forces Danny to take him away in the helicopter. Grant tags along and amazingly, Warren lets him in the copter and instructs Danny to fly him 30 min away and drop Grant off at Laurel's mother's house. (Now, the grandmother happens to be standing out in her driveway when the helicopter lands in the street in front of her house and lets Grant out).

Warren is still holding a gun on Danny as they fly along the Mississippi. At some point, Warren asks Danny if he will look after Laurel and the kids when Warren is gone. Warren then throws himself out of the helicopter, plunging to his death. Danny then decides that having a dad who killed himself is too much of a stigma for the kids and purposefully crash-lands his helicopter, almost killing himself in the process. This way, the fact that their dad was a lunatic who killed 2 people and threatened to kill his family will all be made OK since he died in a crash and not by suicide.

The plot was fast-paced and the characters were well-developed but their actions did not ring true in many cases.(less)

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Apr 17, 2011 Deb Mjaatvedt rated it 2 of 5 stars

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 Ca...more

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Jan 07, 2008 Amy Brewer rated it 3 of 5 stars

I know I enjoyed it, because I found myself eager to get back to my book as the work day waned...but, it wasn't as satisfying as the other Greg Iles books that I've read.

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About Greg Iles

Greg Iles was born in Germany in 1960. He grew up in Natchez, Mississippi, and graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1983. He was active in a band called "Frankly Scarlet", but quit after realizing that the touring lifestyle was not conducive with his family life. Once no longer busy with the band, he turned his attention to writing.

Greg's novels have been translated into various languag...more

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/482639.Third_Degree?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266566038l/482639.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/482639.Third_Degree?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Third Degree by Greg Iles[/url]

Third Degree (George Barnabas #3)

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