Three Weeks to Say Goodbye: A Novel
New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box delivers 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.
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Community Reviews
I had recently read and really enjoyed CJ Box's Blue Heaven (4star rating) and came across this book after checking out Box’s other work. I wasn’t impressed with this story. Initially, it came across as a story about a birth father wanting his child back after the baby was already legally adopted. However, the underlying theme was a common one: a rich and privileged family using their money, power and high-priced lawyers to mangle the laws and courts, to suit their agendas.
I feel compelled to disclose that I have had friends and relatives who after legally adopting a child were faced with legally fighting a birth parent for custodial rights. Personally, it doesn’t matter to me what any of the parents want, for me, it is all about what is best for the child and who is best capable and suitable to raise the child, whoever that may be.
From pretty early in the story, I wasn’t inclined to think any of the MC’s were exhibiting very good parental skills and practices. From the moment the birth father was introduced, Box had presented him as a pretty sleazy scumbag - a 17yr old @$$#*!& punk who hung out with criminal gangbangers who didn’t give a $#!& about the baby or being a father. Box then proceeded to have the adoptive parents behave like a couple of morons by inviting these scumbags into their home with their child. GOOD GRIEF!!!!! None of these people should be allowed to care for a baby let alone raise one.
Box proceeded to reveal that the birth father was mysteriously sent out of the country, has issues with animals, a dead mother, a stepmother who doesn’t appear to want anything to do with him and he constantly LEERED at the adoptive mother every time he saw her. At about the 15% mark, I almost DNF’ed the book after the birth father’s bizarre reaction to the adoptive parent’s pet dog, Harry. It became pretty obvious that all would not end well for poor Harry. I can read about all the murder and mayhem in the world but crimes against children, and don’t even get me started on crimes against babies and animals is just too much for me.
Shortly thereafter, the adoptive parents got an offer of help from a rich and connected friend and this restored just a smidgen of hope for the adoptive parents – but not much. They still seemed kind of stupid to me and I still thought that they were so ill equipped and unprepared to take care of a baby. Once again (at the 30% mark), I almost DNF’ed it again when it was revealed that the birth father was an up and coming, wannabe Columbine Shooter. Then there was the adoptive parents and their stupid friends who all started talking about the ways their friend, Cody (Denver cop) can commit crimes without incriminating himself. UUUGGGHHH!!!!! SERIOUSLY?????
By around the 40% mark or so, when the adoptive parents and their friends started acting like a ridiculous version of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew, I’d had enough and gave up and DNF’ed it. This book seemed to have missed some the really great storytelling skills and abilities that CJ Box had displayed in Blue Heaven. I've also heard really good things about his Joe Pickett series and I'm thinking I may check that out before I make any decision to write off Box as an author whose work I'm not interested in.
I feel compelled to disclose that I have had friends and relatives who after legally adopting a child were faced with legally fighting a birth parent for custodial rights. Personally, it doesn’t matter to me what any of the parents want, for me, it is all about what is best for the child and who is best capable and suitable to raise the child, whoever that may be.
From pretty early in the story, I wasn’t inclined to think any of the MC’s were exhibiting very good parental skills and practices. From the moment the birth father was introduced, Box had presented him as a pretty sleazy scumbag - a 17yr old @$$#*!& punk who hung out with criminal gangbangers who didn’t give a $#!& about the baby or being a father. Box then proceeded to have the adoptive parents behave like a couple of morons by inviting these scumbags into their home with their child. GOOD GRIEF!!!!! None of these people should be allowed to care for a baby let alone raise one.
Box proceeded to reveal that the birth father was mysteriously sent out of the country, has issues with animals, a dead mother, a stepmother who doesn’t appear to want anything to do with him and he constantly LEERED at the adoptive mother every time he saw her. At about the 15% mark, I almost DNF’ed the book after the birth father’s bizarre reaction to the adoptive parent’s pet dog, Harry. It became pretty obvious that all would not end well for poor Harry. I can read about all the murder and mayhem in the world but crimes against children, and don’t even get me started on crimes against babies and animals is just too much for me.
Shortly thereafter, the adoptive parents got an offer of help from a rich and connected friend and this restored just a smidgen of hope for the adoptive parents – but not much. They still seemed kind of stupid to me and I still thought that they were so ill equipped and unprepared to take care of a baby. Once again (at the 30% mark), I almost DNF’ed it again when it was revealed that the birth father was an up and coming, wannabe Columbine Shooter. Then there was the adoptive parents and their stupid friends who all started talking about the ways their friend, Cody (Denver cop) can commit crimes without incriminating himself. UUUGGGHHH!!!!! SERIOUSLY?????
By around the 40% mark or so, when the adoptive parents and their friends started acting like a ridiculous version of the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew, I’d had enough and gave up and DNF’ed it. This book seemed to have missed some the really great storytelling skills and abilities that CJ Box had displayed in Blue Heaven. I've also heard really good things about his Joe Pickett series and I'm thinking I may check that out before I make any decision to write off Box as an author whose work I'm not interested in.
