Third Degree: A Novel
by Greg Iles
List Price:
Our Price: $0.01
You Save: $25.94 (100%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Greg IlesEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-11-06
ISBN: 0743292502
Number of pages: 385
Publisher: Scribner
Accessories:
Book Reviews of Third Degree: A Novel
Book Review: "He's gone over the edge."
Summary: 2 Stars
"Third Degree," by Greg Iles, takes place in the small town of Athens Point, Mississippi. Thirty-five year old teacher Laurel Shields has slowly drifted apart from Warren, her husband of twelve years. For eleven months, she conducted a clandestine affair with a married man, Danny McDavitt, the father of an autistic child in her class. When Warren accidentally discovers evidence of his wife's betrayal, he is enraged and demands to know the identity of her lover. Laurel stonewalls and attempts to calm Warren down, but he refuses to be mollified. Ironically, Warren is a physician who has always been a model of stability, integrity, and compassion. Much to Laurel's horror, her calm and predictable husband suddenly becomes a violent, cruel, and unpredictable monster. Laurel's six year old daughter, Beth, and nine-year-old son, Grant are caught in the middle of their parents' potentially tragic domestic dispute.
This is a plot-driven, melodramatic, and unconvincing novel with trite dialogue and poorly drawn, one-dimensional characters. Laurel is a self-absorbed, foolish, and impulsive woman; her lover, Danny, is a former war hero who is too saintly to be believed; Warren is a cipher whose behavior is incomprehensible until late in the novel, when we learn that he is hiding a devastating secret; Warren's partner, Ken Auster is a greedy philanderer whose fraudulent financial practices have attracted the interest of the Medicaid Fraud Unit and the IRS. None of these people is remotely believable, nor do their troubles generate much sympathy. At almost four hundred pages, the book is heavily padded with plodding exposition and the omniscient narrator's recital of each individual's personal history and innermost thoughts. The author throws in some action-adventure elements during the book's improbable and pat conclusion.
Iles occasionally touches on worthwhile themes: the racism that is still endemic in small Southern towns; how seemingly sound marriages gradually disintegrate; the many ways that earning money dishonestly can backfire; the unfairness of life and randomness of fate. Unfortunately, the author fails to develops any of these ideas fully or meaningfully. "Third Degree" is a disappointingly formulaic and artificial family drama that is devoid of depth or realism.
Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Killing Groundby JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowningby Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancyby Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princessby Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Saharaby Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.67
Price in other shops:
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towersby J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Marsby Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Devil's Punchbowl: A Novelby Greg Iles
Scribner; Published: 2009-07-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.97
Price in other shops:
The Footprints of God : A Novelby Greg Iles
Scribner; Published: 2003-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
Turning Angel: A Novelby Greg Iles
Scribner; Published: 2005-12-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.95
Price in other shops:
Mortal Fearby Greg Iles
Dutton Adult; Published: 1997-02-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.49
Price in other shops:
Dead Sleepby Greg Iles
Putnam Adult; Published: 2001-07-09; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.59
Price in other shops:
Blood Memory: A Novelby Greg Iles
Scribner; Published: 2005-02-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.97
Price in other shops:
True Evil: A Novelby Greg Iles
Scribner; Published: 2006-12-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.97
Price in other shops:
Sleep No Moreby Greg Iles
Putnam Adult; Published: 2002-07-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $5.45
Price in other shops:
24 Hoursby Greg Iles
Putnam Adult; Published: 2000-08-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.76
Price in other shops:
The Quiet Gameby Greg Iles
Dutton Adult; Published: 1999-09-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.93
Price in other shops: