New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box delivers a novel about something that could be anyone's worst nightmare... Jack and Melissa McGuane have spent years trying to have a baby. Finally their dream has come true with the adoption of their daughter, Angelina. But nine months after bringing her home, they receive a devastating phone call… Angelina's birth father, a teenager, never signed away his parental rights―and he wants her back. Worse, his father, a powerful Denver judge, will use every trick in the book to make sure it happens. The McGuanes attempt to meet face-to-face with the father and son…but soon it becomes clear that there's something sinister about their motivations―and that love for Angelina is not one of them. A horrifying game of intimidation and double crosses begins that quickly becomes a death spiral where everyone is suspect and no one is safe. Now Jack and Melissa will stop at nothing to protect their child―even though time is running out… C.J. Box has once again written a bone-chilling thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last page. “Skilled pacing and well-developed suspense…a vigilante revenge story.” ― People “Compelling and convincing.” ― Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Gut-wrenching…packs the kind of punch few thrillers, or novels of any kind, ever do.” ― Providence Journal “Frightening...Box understands the West and Westerners like no other writer.” ― Rocky Mountain News “A terrifying…suspense-filled thriller.” ― Toronto Globe and Mail “Impossible to put down.” ― Bookreporter.com “Box has built a reputation for writing knife-edge suspense while incorporating solid social issues. And he does so again here…Tight writing, dead-on characterizations, and fierce action come together in the wrenching Three Weeks to Say Goodbye .” ― Billings Gazette “ Three Weeks to Say Goodbye has all of the same ingredients that made [his other popular novels] hits.” ― South Jersey News "Compelling and convincing." ― Publishers Weekly (starred review) Jack and Melissa McGuane have spent years trying to have a baby. Finally their dream has come true with the adoption of their daughter, Angelina. But nine months after bringing her home, they receive a devastating phone call… "Well-developed suspense…a vigilante revenge story."― People Angelina's birth father, a teenager, never signed away his parental rights―and he wants her back. Worse, his father, a powerful Denver judge, will use every trick in the book to make sure it happens. The McGuanes attempt to meet face-to-face with the father and son…but soon it becomes clear that there's something sinister about their motivations―and that love for Angelina is not one of them. "Heart-shredding...When the suspense lets up enough to allow emotion to sneak in, Box gets it just right." ― Dallas Morning News A horrifying game of intimidation and double crosses begins that quickly becomes a death spiral where everyone is suspect and no one is safe. Now Jack and Melissa will stop at nothing to protect their child―even though time is running out… C. J. Box is the author of more than thirty books, including the Joe Pickett series and the Cassie Dewell series, and a story collection. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages. He has won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Gumshoe, and Barry Awards, as well as the French Prix Calibre .38, and has been a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist. A Wyoming native, Box has also worked on a ranch and as a small-town newspaper reporter and editor. He’s an executive producer of ABC TV’s Big Sky , which is based on his Cody Hoyt/Cassie Dewell novels, as well as executive producer of the Joe Pickett television series for Spectrum Originals. He lives with his wife on their ranch in Wyoming. Three Weeks to Say Goodbye By Box, C.J. Minotaur Books Copyright © 2009 Box, C.J. All right reserved. ISBN: 9780312365738 Chapter One It was Saturday morning, November 3, and the fi rst thing I noticed when I entered my office was that my telephone message light was blinking. Since I’d left the building late the night before, it meant someone had called my extension during the night. Odd. My name is Jack McGuane. I was thirty- four years old at the time. Melissa, my wife, was the same age. I assume you’ve heard my name, or seen my image on the news, al­though with everything going on in the world I can un­derstand if you missed me the first time. Our story, in the big scheme of things, is a drop in the river. I was a Travel Development Specialist for the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city agency charged with bidding on and hosting conventions and en­couraging tourism to Denver. Every city has one. I worked hard, often staying late and, if necessary, coming in on a Saturday. It’s important to me that I work hard, even in a bureaucratic environment where it’s not necessarily en­couraged or rewarded. You see, I’m not the smartest guy i