Greg Isles is a best-selling author who was born in Germany but grew up in Natchez, Mississippi. Many of his books are set in his adopted home state. He perpetuates a long history of truly fine southern authors, and his genre is mystery thrillers. With reference to “Third Degree” (2007, 385 pages in paperback format), the emphasis is on “thrillers.” The tale surrounds the Shields family. Father is Warren, a highly respected physician in partnership with Dr. Kyle Austen. Mother is Laurel, a school teacher. And the children are Grant, a resourceful ten-year old, and Beth, his younger sister.
The story covers just 24 hours of their lives, and it begins when Laurel leaves the bathroom holding the home pregnancy stick that indicates that she’s pregnant. She’s just ended a long-term affair with Danny McDavitt, a war hero who flies a helicopter and teaches fixed-wing airplane flying on the side. But, she’s had marital relations with Warren only a couple of times in recent months, perhaps due to his strange behavior and lack of interest in sex. Consequently, she can’t be absolutely sure whose baby she is carrying.
When Laurel comes home in the middle of the day, she sees her husband’s car in the driveway and wonders why he’s not at work at the office he shares with Kyle. As she enters their home, she is further surprised to see Warren, unkempt and in a frenzy, tearing his study apart, pulling books off the shelves and tossing them on the floor. He’s apparently been at the task all night. Laurel has no idea about what Warren is searching for and he won’t tell her.
As Laurel continues to question him, he reveals the fact that his business is about to be investigated by the government for illegal practices. But that seems to be Kyle’s problem. Warren’s immediate concern is that he’s received an anonymous tip that Laurel has been unfaithful to him, and that has put him into a state of rage. Laurel, of course, denies the accusation. But when Kyle shows up at their Athens Point, Mississippi, home, Warren’s suspicion turns on him. There is a confrontation between the partners, and the outcome is only an ominous preview of what lies ahead. It’s obvious to Laurel that Warren has gone off the rails, and it becomes obvious to the reader that she is not the only one in the household who has a secret.
As the situation becomes desperate and continues to escalate, word has reached the sheriff’s office that the Shields home is in a state of siege. Soon the place is surrounded by cop cars, and snipers are in place. A SWAT team is ready to launch its assault, and Danny is determined to de-escalate the situation. Perhaps this sounds like a spoiler, but it isn’t. If you start reading the book, you know this is coming, but you don’t know how it reaches this point, nor how the book will end.
It’s a nail biter from the first chapter on. Don’t miss this one.
• • •
Jim Glynn may be contacted at j_glynn@att.net.