24 Hours. Finished 4-23-14, 3.5/5 stars, thriller, pub. 2000
Unabridged audio, 10 hours. read by Dick Hill
24 HOURS — that’s how long it takes a madman 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 just picked the wrong family to terrorize. Because Will and Karen Jennings aren’t going to watch helplessly as he victimizes them. And they aren’t going to let him get away with it.from Goodreads
Hickey seems to have the perfect plan to extort money from people. It takes guts, help and planning, but the job itself only lasts 24 hours. He spends the day with the wife, his wife spends the day with the husband, and the kidnapped child spends the day with a cousin. He demands little money, enough that would be a boon for him but very little hardship for the victims. His plan depends on timing and loyalty of the other two involved. When Will and Karen are targeted things go as expected at first, but once there is a crack in one of the three, the rest are effected.
The last book I read by Iles was Third Degree and it felt similar in a lot of ways, in ways that left me disappointed. I liked this one better because the plot felt fresh and it had more action, but the ‘being confined to your house by a madman’ was the same. Nonetheless, this was not my favorite Iles but it was a solid thriller that will keep you guessing which one will be the victor in each of the two person scenarios.
I read and listened to this one. The narration was good, Dick Hill always seems to be solid.
Stacy's Books 
I think I might like Iles a little better than you. I have read all of his books (except for the new one) and have thought all of them were outstanding – at least 4/5 and oftentimes higher. When I recommend mystery/thriller writers, I usually put Iles and Coben up at the top. I especially liked Black Cross and Spandau Phoenix, which were not typical of his other books.
The frist two I read by him, Blood Memory and Dead Sleep, I loved. And I might have given this one a 4 if it hadn’t reminded me of the last one I read. It is a good thriller. I know some of them have the same characters, did you read them together or in any particular order?
You know, I read all of them before he began the series with Penn Cage. I have liked those less than the standalones. But the 2 I mentioned earlier, Black Cross and Phoenix Spandau, are WWII books. I would recommend you take a look. These are at least as good as his murder mysteries, and better than some.
Looks like it’s a decent series. I haven’t been into thrillers for awhile, though. I’ve been meaning to read the first in the Jack Reacher series for awhile now…. But I’m glad I have you for recommendations!
I still recommend Harlan Coben first, and like I mentioned to Lloyd I really liked the first two Iles I read. You have a lot on your plate right now. I imagine it will be awhile before you’re reading much!
I haven’t seen this before as far as I can remember. It sounds good!!
I have read several Greg Iles and enjoyed them, averaging about 4/5. (I really love Harlan Coben!) I read this awhile back and really enjoyed it. However I hadn’t read the one you said was similar. That might have made it been there/done that for you. I didn’t read Black Cross and Phoenix Spandau which are WWII books, not a fave genre except for historical romance that takes place then. Thanks for an honest review!
I do agree with MHoB. Coben is great and Iles is close to Coben. Even though you’re not big on WWII, these 2 Iles books are pretty darn good.
I read one of this author’s books years ago and really liked it. I keep meaning to give him another try.
I gobbled up Greg Iles’ work years ago. I keep meaning to get back to his books now that he has a new book out.