Third Degree by Greg Iles

December 9, 2008, Hong Kong.

Paperback 2007, 466 pages.

This is the first book I read written by Iles. It is about a doctor, Warren Shields, who went ballistic after he found out he had cancer and that his wife was cheating on him. His professional life was also unraveling as the medical fraud he and his partner committed was catching up with them. He killed his partner and held his pregnant wife and two children hostage. His wife's lover, a married man himself, ended up being instrumental in saving her and her children.

The way the book was written really made the reader wonder why the doctor was going crazy; it was thus a let down when I found out he had terminal cancer and thus felt particularly betrayed as he was trying to work to provide for his family upon his death. It was a simple plot that, despite the author's embellishments, remained a simple plot. By throwing in rogue deputies, cuss words, sex scenes, and a helicopter crash, he made the story a bit shocking but ultimately was more of a let down as the reader's expectations are raised.

Nonetheless, the book is an easy read and serves the purpose when whiling away the time trapped inside a Newark to Hong Kong non-stop flight, or sitting at Starbucks while Tim was taping a talk show.

I rate the book “average.”