24 HOURS - Softcover

Iles, Greg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007546661 ISBN 13: 9780007546664

Publisher: HarperFiction, 2014

Synopsis

‘A superbly crafted and clever book’ (The Times) from Greg Iles, the New York Times No.1 bestseller. The perfect family. On the perfect night. About to become trapped in the perfect crime.

In 24 hours, one family will learn the meaning of fear...

Twenty-four hours is all it takes for John Hickey to pull off the perfect crime. He’s done it before, he’ll do it again, and no one can stop him. But this time, he’s picked the wrong family to terrorize.

Will and Karen Jennings have it all. Together, they’ve built the life of their dreams and they share it with their beloved five-year-old daughter, Abby. They will do anything to keep her safe, including confronting a terrifying psychopath.

They refuse to become victims. They refuse to let Hickey tear another family apart. And they’re going to fight back even if it kills them...

About this title

Review:

Greg Iles's explosive suspense thriller 24 Hours gets off to a blistering start: the kidnapping of a little boy--in eight breathless pages--that culminates with the child's safe return and the disappearance of the successful kidnappers. That sets the stage for the book's centrepiece, the abduction of little Abby Jennings, daughter of Will, a successful physician and Karen, a slightly dissatisfied suburban woman who's wondering where the passion in her marriage went. The criminals' modus operandi is established early on. They target the progeny of Mississippi doctors, demand a reasonable (to an affluent MD) ransom, release the child after the money's been paid and promise the victim's parents that if they ever breathe a word of the incident to anyone, their child will be taken again and killed. The kidnappings are carefully set up, targeted to take place when one parent is out of town at a medical meeting or convention, thus ensuring the cooperation of the other. And the victim is held by a sweet, slightly retarded but humongous and powerful man whose loyalty to his cousin, the mastermind, is unquestioned.

24 Hours is a version of the locked room school of kidnap mysteries and a very good one indeed, especially when Will turns the tables on the kidnapper and takes control of the situation. Abby's diabetic condition (she needs lifesaving injections on a regular basis) notches the suspense up one last turn. It's a well worked-out plot, the pacing is terrific and the characters likeable and attractive. Iles is a master storyteller and this one has big screen written all over it--with Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as the Jennings, if we're lucky. --Jane Adams

Review:

Praise for Greg Iles:

‘A scorching read’ John Grisham

‘Iles is a phenomenal thriller writer’ Independent on Sunday

‘An engrossing page-turning ride’ Jeffery Deaver

‘A rarity. A thriller that really thrills’ Stephen King

‘Alarming, believable, and utterly consuming’ Dan Brown

‘Splendidly creepy ... compulsive’ Daily Telegraph

‘An incredible web of intrigue and suspense, an avalanche of action from first page to last’ Clive Cussler

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperFiction
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0007546661
• ISBN 13: 9780007546664
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 382