THREE WEEKS TO SAY GOODBYE
By C.J. Box

Publishers Weekly (starred review):

Bestseller Box (Blue Heaven) explores an adoptive parent’s worst nightmare in this compelling stand-alone thriller. Jack McGuane, an employee of Denver’s convention and visitors bureau, and his wife suddenly discover that demonic Garrett Morland, the birth father of their dearly loved nine-month-old daughter, Angelina, didn’t sign away his parental rights. Garrett and his powerful father, a sitting federal judge, give the McGuanes three weeks to return Angelina. In this bleak scenario, Box eschews facile sentimentality and meticulously builds pitch-perfect characterizations, notably that of McGuane, who grew up with uneducated but hard-working parents on a series of Montana ranches. Box’s equally convincing villains—gangsters, murderers, child pornographers—each provide a different face of evil, and each individual has to decide how best to get at the truth. As usual, Box blessedly reasserts that whatever the cost, such truth exists, and ordinary folk have the strength to find it.

Library Journal:

Jack and Melissa have wanted a baby for years, and their dream is finally realized when little Angelina joins their family. But they are soon contacted by the adoption agency with terrible news—the teenage birth father never signed off on his parental rights and now wants his child. Jack and Melissa are devastated, and it only gets worse: the teen’s father is a federal judge with many high-powered connections, and the family wants Angelina back in three weeks. Box (Blue Heaven) does an excellent job of portraying Jack and Melissa as an ordinary couple trying to do what is right. Jack takes his fatherly duties seriously, and beyond being bewildered and distraught, he begins to see a dark side to these events after he meets the judge and his son. What is the judge up to, and what part will baby Angelina play in this evil scenario? With the help of his friends, Jack goes up against a malevolent force in order to save his family and risks losing everything. This moving and chilling thriller is hard to put down. Recommended for all libraries.

The Providence Journal:

There are no evil regimes or terrorists in C.J. Box’s Three Weeks to Say Goodbye (Minotaur, 352 pages, $24.95). But it still packs the kind of punch few thrillers, or novels of any kind, ever do, thanks to its gut-wrenching premise.

Jack and Melissa McGuane have been living their dream of a happy family for nine months when they learn custody of their adopted daughter is in jeopardy because the baby’s wayward teenage biological father never signed off his parental rights. The McGuanes’ nightmarish struggle to keep their baby runs them afoul of her grandfather, a despicably menacing Denver judge. The result is an escalating series of violent events, as things spiral irrevocably out of control.

The great thing about the emotionally shattering Three Weeks to Say Goodbye is that Jack and Melissa, and everyone else, for that matter, are ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. This is a book that poses the question How far would you go?, and answers it masterfully with sensitivity and aplomb.

People:

If you thinking the following sounds more like a Lifetime movie than a thriller -- childless couple adopts a baby only to discover that her birth father wants her back -- C.J. Box would like five hours of your time. Because Three Weeks is not a 10-hankie melodrama. It is a vigilante revenge story out to prove that when families are threatened, human fathers act just like mother bears. That is, blood and blind justice flow abundantly....[Y]ou'll find skilled pacing and well-developed suspense in what might best be described as "Juno with a body count."

Christian Science Monitor:

While I was reading C.J. Box’s new book, Three Weeks to Say Goodbye, the NFL season was entering its final week. This made football analogies just way too easy.

Without overdoing it, you could liken Box to a general manager for an NFL club. He knows he can assemble an award-winning team of players.

He’s been very successful with his Joe Pickett team (eight novels). These stories about a Wyoming game warden have provided Box with bestseller after bestseller after bestseller and lavish reviews.

So, last year when he introduced a new team to the reading world with the release of “Blue Heaven,” there was worry and skepticism. Why change a good thing?

Was he turning into the literary equivalent of REO Speedwagon?

(At one time, REO was selling out arenas. Then they cheesed out and produced those awful sugary pop ballads in the ’80s instead of sticking to their hard rock “Ridin’ the Storm Out” roots. Had they stayed true, some speculate they would have remained on top of the old school rock world like Aerosmith. Instead, now you can catch them at your local Holiday Inn. Tip your waitresses and try the veal. We’re here all week.)

But thankfully for fans of Box, “Blue Heaven” was an outstanding read and became a runaway hit and, now, a soon-to-be movie.

The better news is that there doesn’t appear to be a sophomore jinx for Box.

He’s changed teams yet again and his latest book, “Three Weeks to Say Goodbye,” is a big-time winner. This book is solid.

But who are we kidding? Do you think Box would put together something like a collection of unicorn haikus? He’s demonstrated that he’s a master storyteller.

And “Three Weeks” doesn’t stray far from the familiar.

As in Box’s other books, the story takes place in the Rocky Mountain West. But unlike the remote mountain town settings of his earlier books, this time Box chooses suburban Denver for the backdrop.

There are brief trips to Montana and his home state of Wyoming in the novel, but for the most part the action takes place in Colorado.

The main character – Jack McGuane – is a good guy.

Happily married to wife Melissa, the only problem they’ve had is not being able to have a family. The problem is solved when they adopt a baby girl named Angelina.

But trouble begins when the deeply deranged birth father, a 17-year-old named Garrett Moreland, wants the child back.

It’s not as if the kid realizes he made a mistake and wants to provide the child a happy and healthy home – not at all.

After meeting Garrett, it becomes obvious that he couldn’t care less about the baby.

In fact, you find out that Garrett couldn’t care less about anything. He’s dead inside. No conscience. No soul. Someone you really, really don’t want to meet.

And now he wants a baby girl?

It turns out that it’s his father, the rich and powerful John Moreland – a sitting federal judge – who really wants the child. But why?

Initially, the judge says his son must learn responsibility as there are consequences for actions.

Later we’re told the judge wants a second chance at raising a child. You know, a do-over.

It’s obvious that his first attempt at fatherhood is a failure (that is, if you consider raising a sociopath to be a bad thing).

But sometimes you shouldn’t give second chances. Mulligans on the golf course are fine. The more of them, the better.

But when it comes to parenthood, perhaps “one and done” is fine.

The law is on the side of the Morelands. The McGuanes don’t have any money.

Furthermore, what attorney wants to battle Judge Moreland?

It’s apparent that this judge has the connections, money, and power to get he wants – always.

Not to mention that his son has the other side of the law covered. He prefers the company of Sur-13 – a powerful gang affiliated with the Mexican Mafia.
You don’t want to cross either Moreland. They seem to be bulletproof.

As the title suggests, Jack has three weeks until he must turn over his daughter.

Box cleverly walks you through each of those days. Nary a one is mundane or typical. And during this time you are introduced to a lot of questionable characters.

Some are repulsive, like the suspected pedophile who works as a campsite host on federal lands – the same federal lands where children have gone missing.

Some are borderline, like Uncle Jeter Hoyt, a recluse from Montana who may have the right intentions but just as easily could put together a Unabomber-like manifesto.

Others are almost likable despite their faults, like Jack’s friend, Cody – a cop who sees laws as rough guidelines. Cody thinks most people should follow the law, even though he doesn’t need to.

He’s only dirty for the “right reasons.”

Box takes you on a classic “man against the machine” ride. And the machine doesn’t flinch.

The odds are stacked against Jack. If he were a football team, he’d be the 2008 Detroit Lions – mismatched at every level.

He’s helpless.

And as the story progresses, it becomes apparent that Jack cannot win. Every strategy he pursues is wrongheaded.

But the guy’s desperate. Who wouldn’t be, knowing that handing over his baby girl to her legal father could mean her horrific demise?

Does Jack end up like the 0-16 Lions? Or is he able to snatch a victory at the last minute?

I’m not going to tell you. But I will say that just when you think you’ve figured it out – you haven’t.

And then when you think you’ve got it right a second time – nope, you’re wrong again. It’ll keep you guessing.

I read “Three Weeks to Say Goodbye” during what could have been a miserable flying experience, complete with many delays and cancellations.

Thanks to C.J. Box, I didn’t mind the flights – not even the guy behind me who used his tray table as a drum set and my head as a cymbal.

When I hit the last page, I wanted more.

Bravo, Mr. Box. You did it again.

The Bookseller (UK):

Atlantic’s new imprint launches with a winner and a big marketing spend. An American in Harlan Coben mould and much praised by his peers, it’s a non-stop read right to the end. A tale of corruption, paedophilia, blackmail and worse as at the centre of it is a nine-month-old baby girl. It’s quite a tale.

Globe and Mail:

C.J. Box is best known for his Joe Pickett series, set in the great outdoors, but he's equally adept at stand-alone thrillers, and this one is one terrifying little tale.

Jack and Melissa McGuane are typical middle-class Americans, living the good life in a comfortable Denver suburb. All they need to make life ideal is a baby; the adoption service calls and they have their perfect daughter, Angelina.

After nearly a year during which each day brings them closer to their child, the bad news comes. It seems there's a glitch in the adoption. The birth father, a teen-aged boy, never gave up his parental rights. His own father, a powerful local judge, wants his son to "face up" to his responsibility and take Angelina.

Jack and Melissa are ready to fight, but the laws are against them. More frightening, this is not simply a custody battle. There something behind the judge's determination to possess her.

Box doesn't miss a trick in this suspense-filled thriller. As we move on the emotional roller coaster with the McGuanes, it's impossible to stop reading. Save this for a weekend when you don't plan to leave the house.

Bookreporter.com:

An adoptive couple, Jack and Melissa McGuane, are the subjects of THREE WEEKS TO SAY GOODBYE. C.J. Box’s latest stand-alone thriller is as chilling and riveting as anything he has ever written.

The McGuanes have had their daughter, Angelina, in their home for several months when some unexpected news rocks their world. Garrett Moreland, Angelina’s birth father, never signed off on the adoption papers and has decided that he wants to raise Angelina. Garrett, a surly teenager who would be classified as a dirtbag under the most charitable of definitions, seems ill-suited to assume the responsibilities of a father and even less interested in doing so. He is being prodded into adulthood by his dad, a powerful U.S. District Court judge in Colorado who is insisting that Garrett live up to his responsibilities, notwithstanding the disruption it will bring into the lives of all involved. Judge Moreland gives the McGuanes three weeks to say goodbye to their daughter but is firm in his position that Garrett will assume parenting duties after that time.

Jack and Melissa are understandably devastated, but they are also puzzled. Garrett has no desire to see his daughter and seems more intent on harassing them with his street gang friends than taking on any responsibilities of fatherhood. Jack is not interested in letting events unfold in their due course. He advises the reader within the first few paragraphs of the book that he is not blessed with a genius-level intelligence or a first-rate education. He does, however, work harder than everyone around him, even when he doesn’t have to. He puts that work ethic to the test when he begins investigating the reasons why the Morelands suddenly want Angelina back.

Jack may not be smartest guy in the world, but he is not without resources. Among them are his lifelong friends Cody and Brian, two very different people. Cody is a local cop who is a loose cannon, a borderline alcoholic whose botched investigation of a notorious pedophile resulted in the fiend being set free. Brian is a successful real estate developer with enormous financial resources and networking abilities. Between the three of them, they uncover a puzzling trail leading back into the past that reveals not only a shocking secret but also a plot that, if carried out, will put Angelina in terrible danger.

Box gets better and better with each novel, whether it be a part of his Joe Pickett mythos or one of his stand-alone works. THREE WEEKS TO SAY GOODBYE, from its opening sentences to its concluding paragraphs, is impossible to put down. The clock that Box sets to ticking at the beginning gets louder and louder with each page, leaving his readers well out beyond the edge of their chairs by the book’s midpoint. Don’t start this one without leaving yourself time to finish in one sitting.

San Diego Union Tribune:

What would you do, how far would you go to save your baby?

That's not a question that Jack and Melissa McGuane ever expected to have to answer. After all, they lead a placid and conventional life, he as a top executive in a Denver travel company, she as a stay-at-home mom with 9-month-old Angelina, whom they adopted and who is the light of the world in their eyes. How could she possibly be in mortal danger?

They are about to learn. Without warning, they are advised that Angelina's adoption is being challenged by her biological father. The McGuanes believe that he had signed off on the matter. Turns out he hadn't, due to shoddy work by their attorney – and now the teenage father wants custody. He stands a good chance of getting it, too. Good citizens that they are, they resolve to invoke every legal option available to them.

Doing so pits them against powerful forces determined to seize their child. They include the father, a psychotic teenager who runs with the Mexican Mafia – but, most importantly, Angelina's paternal grandfather, who as a federal judge has strong ties to Denver's political establishment. Thwarted at every turn, Jack and Melissa must face the probability of losing their beloved child.

Legitimate methods having failed, the McGuanes decide that the only course left them is to go outside the law. They are able to recruit a motley crew to help, including a hard-bitten homicide detective, a flamboyant gay activist and an elderly hit man. They embark on an increasingly dangerous mission, leading to a bloody showdown from which none emerge unscathed – even Angelina.

C.J Box has put together a crackerjack thriller, relentless in its suspense, peopled with an intriguing cast of characters and loaded with unpredictable surprises. Label it a winner.

Dallas Morning News:

They're the words that send horror into the heart of every parent of an adopted child: "We want her back."

In C.J. Box's heart-shredding new thriller, Three Weeks to Say Goodbye, the dreaded phrase comes when Jack and Melissa McGuane's daughter, Angelina, is 9 months old. The biological father, a teen whose demeanor ranges from subtly nasty to downright threatening, contends he wasn't properly notified of the adoption.

It's all a ruse, of course, and it'd be a fairly simple legal proceeding to declare the McGuanes the legal parents – if not for Angelina's biological grandfather, a federal judge whose influence throws the McGuanes into serious peril of losing their daughter.

Before I go much further here, full disclosure: I'm adopted, and this subject brings up strong feelings. The mere thought of having been yanked away from my adoptive parents is enough to send me into full-on sobs.

Then again, anyone who's looking for deep sociological discourse on parental rights won't find that in Three Weeks. This is pretty much a straight-up thriller, wrapped loosely around the emotional thread of adoption and what constitutes "family."

Readers will discern right away that birth dad Garrett is one extremely bad dude. The wannabe grandpa, Judge Moreland, seems all right at first, if a little too slick and phonily courteous. But when Melissa runs into his wife and learns that she doesn't even know about the baby, much less of Moreland's plans to bring her home, Jack and Melissa go into offense-as-defense mode.

They enlist the help of two of Jack's college buddies, Brian, a successful Denver businessman, and Cody, a crusty cop whose ability to play by the rules is seriously flawed. Bolstered by Brian's connections and money and Cody's undercover sorcery, they begin to poke holes in Moreland's seemingly airtight case.

When the suspense lets up enough to allow emotion to sneak in, Box gets it just right. At a crucial moment involving a member of Garrett's gang, narrator Jack muses, "I didn't really mind if he died. But could I sit there and watch him die? Yes."

The author also sneaks in some welcome black humor. When the McGuane group travels to Montana to enlist the aid of Cody's disreputable Uncle Jeter, they take a detour to visit Jack's parents. His mother is known for her weeknight dinner specialties.

"I really liked the cabbage rolls," Cody says. "Maybe next time we drive up here to hire a hit man we could come on Thursday."

The real mystery all along is why a middle-aged judge would be so desperate to bring an infant girl home to a wife who clearly doesn't want her. The resolution of that mystery, and of Three Weeks in general, will have many a reader shuddering, and keeping a much closer eye on their own children. Oh, and it's not what you're probably thinking. Close, but even worse than that.

Billings Gazette:

A simple voice-mail message unleashes terror for former Montana residents Melissa and Jack McGuane in Wyoming author C.J. Box's new mystery, "Three Weeks To Say Goodbye."

After the couple's long struggle to have a baby, their adopted 9-month-old, Angelina, apparently isn't theirs after all.

Garrett Moreland, the birth father and son of a powerful judge, didn't sign papers releasing custody of the child. And the judge wants Angelina back.

Jack would anything to keep the tot. But money and the judicial system seem stacked against the McGuanes. Even worse, the adoption-agency rep hints that Garrett is a danger to pets.

So, what about a child?

The author explores just what a true parent is and how humans react when a loved one is threatened.

Box says the book was inspired by friends who found themselves in a similar custody plight, but without the sinister overtones that quickly leave the McGuanes' situation spinning out of control.

Most of the books in Box's mystery series about Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett open with powerful physical action.

The standalone mystery "Three Weeks To Say Goodbye" builds its tension from a quieter, more mundane place - Jack's office.

It makes the couple's fear and grief all the more biting because almost any reader could find him or herself in that physical setting any work day.

Jack's anger builds at hints that the Morelands want to simply buy off the couple and as others' question whether the adoptive parents couldn't simply adopt another child.

"'It's not like trading her in for a new model,'" Jack thinks. "How can she not understand?"

As Garrett and his friends start harassing the couple, the stakes grow, with lives as well as emotions on the line.

The book is set in Denver, but Montana and Wyoming figure in, too.

As in other works, Box creates vivid settings and realistic human interactions. He is adept at making us care about his characters and creates unusual supporters for the couple under siege.

He jacks up the tension and level of fear as Jack sheds layer after layer of civility in a desperate attempt to protect his family.

The book's seemingly gentle beginning gives way to staccato action with tentacles that even reach across the ocean.

Box has built a reputation for writing knife-edge suspense while incorporating solid social issues. And he does so again here.

Use of first-person storytelling is a divergence for the author and is especially effective because it never distances the reader from Jack's ragged emotions.

Box won accolades and awards, as well as spots on bestseller lists with his previous standalone novel, "Blue Heaven."

The tight writing, dead-on characterizations and fierce action that he brought to other novels come together in the wrenching "Three Weeks To Say Goodbye."

Madison County Herald:

Box spins tale of parents' horror

Wyoming's C.J. Box is known worldwide for his game warden Joe Pickett series. His stories read lightning-fast, but that's also the down side; the fun's over way to quick.

Last year, Box went off the grid and contributed Blue Heaven, a stand-alone thriller that widened his rep as master of suspense. Now say hello to Three Weeks To Say Goodbye (Minotaur Books, $24.95), a worst-case scenario for adoptive parents. For several years, Denver residents Jack and Melissa McGuane have tried unsuccessfully to have a baby. They finally decide to adopt. The past nine months with little Angelina have been a blessing. All that's about to change.

Jack gets a tearful call from the adoption agency. The biological father wants Angelina back. Seems he never signed the consent papers, as high school senior Garrett Moreland was out of the country. Garrett has never seen his daughter, plus he's a card carrying psycho. Jack and Melissa say no. Garrett's dad has other plans.

Judge Moreland has powerful connections and intends on using them to obtain his biological granddaughter. He gives the McGuanes three weeks before Angelina is whisked away. Garrett could care less about his daughter, but Judge Moreland has other shadowy plans.

Jack and Melissa work quickly by calling in their friends Cody, a local detective, and Brian, a well-connected businessman. But Garrett and his father always seem to be se veral steps ahead, whether legal or clandestine. Garrett plays a twisted intimidation game with Jack and Melissa, dangling his signature in front of them like a carrot. His connection with a local Hispanic gang also amps up the danger level.

The closer to Angelina's date, the messier things get. Cody is suspended and turns to the bottle. Brian won't return his calls. Jack begins to see a frightening connection between Judge Moreland and a local criminal. A business trip to Berlin places Jack in touch with another player whose motives are far different than the Denver tourist industry.

His job in jeopardy and Angelina's future in doubt, Jack must become a papa bear and fight back to save his beloved cub. Three Weeks To Say Goodbye turns primal with bloody repercussions. The endgame will connect every parent with outrage and a burning desire to pull the trigger on jus tice.

C.J. Box hits another high mark in suspense with Three Weeks To Say Goodbye. His writing is pure, homespun and high-speed, weaving good citizens against monsters disguised as good guys.

South Jersey Local News:

Previous C.J. Box novels have made the best-seller list, and this latest story has all of the same ingredients that made them hits. How far would you go to save someone you love? Jack and Melissa learn the answer when faced with a problem situation after they adopt baby Angelina. Nine months after they bring her home, they receive a call from the adoption agency that the birth father, a teenager, never signed away his parental rights, and now wants his daughter back. The boy's father is a powerful judge who says that he wants his son to face up to his responsibilities, and he's willing to use all of his legal power to make it happen. When Jack and Melissa meet with the father and son, it is apparent to them that there is something sinister about the pair, and that love for Angelina is not the motivation for their actions. A dangerous game of intimidation and double-dealings quickly create a situation where the young couple fear for the safety of their child.

C. J. Box is also author of the popular mystery series featuring Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett. The series began in 2002 with "Open Season," where Joe races against time to save an endangered species. Joe has just taken the job of game warden in Twelve Sheep County, Wyoming. He is struggling to live up to the reputation of his predecessor while also supporting a wife and family on a meager salary.

Following the success of "Open Season," Box continued the series with a new book each year, the latest in 2008 titled "Blood Trail."

Game warden Joe Pickett is now a special agent reporting directly to the governor. It is elk hunting season, and someone has been hunting the hunters. A high-profile anti-hunting activist is in town with his supporters, and the lines are drawn between them and local hunters, with Pickett caught in the middle.

Box also wrote a stand-alone thriller in 2008, "Blue Heaven." Set in rural Idaho, Blue Heaven is the story of two innocent children onthe-run. Twelve-year-old Annie and her younger brother William have witnessed a murder and have fled into the woods. They are being pursued by four men, who are involved with the crime, men who know who they are and where their mother lives. The killers are retired Los Angeles policemen, so it is easy for them to persuade the local sheriff to put them in charge of the search for the children. The children meet rancher Jess Rawlins who isn't afraid to go up against the killers to protect them. But can one man stop four killers?

Literary Review (UK):

When Jack and Melissa bought a newborn baby, her mother was only too glad to sign the papers and run. Nine months later the proud adoptive parents are contacted by the child's biological father, a teenage street-gangster. He is the son of an influential judge, who claims that the boy never signed away his rights and wants his daughter back. Jack is a mild, law-abiding man who seems impotent in the face of the forces ranged against him and his wife. How can he fight local authorities and officials, all the local worthies and the law itself? But the child's blood relations, he discovers, have the worst of motives and will do her terrible harm. In this desperate situation Jack realizes that he must do anything, however illegal, dangerous, violent and frightening, to keep his daughter away from these people. The hero's predicament evokes instant sympathy and the writing is taut and evocative.

The List (UK):

He’s a rising star of crime writing in the States, but it’s only a matter of time before CJ Box explodes onto the UK’s radar, thanks in no small part to this storming British debut. Three Weeks to Say Goodbye is a smart place to start for any newcomer to the award-winning author’s work, as it tells of a plucky young couple’s attempt to take on the power and might of the corrupt US justice system in a bitter fight to keep their recently adopted daughter.

These splendidly rendered characters are irrevocably changed by a series of traumatic events; trouble brews and ultimately unfolds through tense, punchily written paragraphs to reveal an even more sinister undercurrent. It’s family and friends versus power and money here, as the lines between right and wrong are blurred in the most clever and intoxicating of ways, time running out with each frantic turn of the page.