Gripping Suspense

Three Weeks to Say Goodbye
by C.J. Box
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (January 6, 2009)
Rated 5 stars of 5 possible

Three Weeks to Say Goodbye is the story of a couple who has adopted a baby girl and waited nearly 9 whole months for the adoption to be final, only to find out that the birth father has not signed off his parental rights. Instead, he chooses to come forward at the last minute to claim his daughter...

The young father's motivation seems sinister, even though he has his own father, a powerful judge, on his side.  The judge's reasons for wanting to claim the baby sound logical and upstanding in one way, but do not ring true in other, more horrifying ways. When the need for legal action becomes apparent, the adopive parents run a race against time to find anything they can use against the judge and his son.

Three Weeks to Say Goodbye is full of suspense, gripping, a page-turner that I could not put down, and there are surprises at every turn of the page. The combination makes this one of the best new novels I've read this year. There is a bit of violence involved, but only where it serves a purpose in the story, not spread throughout the pages in a gratuitous manner.

Recommended for readers age 17 and up who are looking for a suspense/thriller that will keep the reader awake nights.