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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
In 24 hours, Iles presents us with a nightmare scenario of a family held hostage by a trio of kidnappers. Unable to act for fear of each other's lives, they are all at the mercy of a pair of psychopaths and a manipulated man with a learning disability.
24 hours is a terrifying trip from start to finish. Iles really keeps one guessing how things are going to turn out, and how much the heroes will have to endure to get through the night. The ride is slightly shallow however, don't expect deep insights, or even a tight intermixing of plot points. A big deal is made of the daughter's diabetes, and the father's debilitating arthritis but aside from some fussing towards the start of the book these concerns don't make much difference.
In total this is a good book, but I did feel a sense of frustration at the lack of depth (the big revelation at the end was family shouldn't take each other for granted). Especially at the quickly tied up ending. Normally I don't care for protracted epilogues, this time however I found myself curious where the characters ended up.
24 hours is a terrifying trip from start to finish. Iles really keeps one guessing how things are going to turn out, and how much the heroes will have to endure to get through the night. The ride is slightly shallow however, don't expect deep insights, or even a tight intermixing of plot points. A big deal is made of the daughter's diabetes, and the father's debilitating arthritis but aside from some fussing towards the start of the book these concerns don't make much difference.
In total this is a good book, but I did feel a sense of frustration at the lack of depth (the big revelation at the end was family shouldn't take each other for granted). Especially at the quickly tied up ending. Normally I don't care for protracted epilogues, this time however I found myself curious where the characters ended up.
This is a very tense crime thriller that finds the Jennings family the target for a well organised and well practiced kidnapping team that kidnap the kid, hold the ransom, and get their money within 24 hours without the police or FBI getting involved. But this time things don't go to plan as a previous family step forward and the Jennings don't take things without a fight. I was very much loving this until the layers of complexity starting building past the personal vendetta (loved that little twist) and into overly complex twist on top of twist. I did like the ending but felt it was a little rushed in parts, possibly because of how tense and slow building the rest of the story was, and some aspects where a little too unlikely / convenient for the story progression (I struggled to believe that you could walk away after holding a gun at a FBI agent for example) so this brought it down to 3 stars. Overall though an excellent premise and execution.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book, one of the best kidnapping/mystery novels that I've read in a long time. The entirety of the book happens from three perspectives, and it all happens with the space of 24 hours, hence the title "24 Hours."
A threesome of kidnappers are pulling off a heist that they have done for the past five years, believing that they will not be caught. But they didn't expect this particular family for this heist, and things soon go up in smoke in a way they would not have expected.
If you like mystery, you like smarts, and you just want to see some bad guys get their butts handed to them, then I suggest you pick up this book and start reading.
A threesome of kidnappers are pulling off a heist that they have done for the past five years, believing that they will not be caught. But they didn't expect this particular family for this heist, and things soon go up in smoke in a way they would not have expected.
If you like mystery, you like smarts, and you just want to see some bad guys get their butts handed to them, then I suggest you pick up this book and start reading.
4.5 STARS
"Hickey is a con-man and kidnapper who targets his victims with care. By staying with the person who has the money - and by checking the amount is affordable for them - he has never yet had to kill. But when he tries to rip Will Jenning's family apart he gets more than he bargained for." (From Amazon)
Super tense suspense/mystery about the every day family in peril. Almost burned my pizza as I could not stop reading. The movie was okay but lacked the suspense of the novel.
"Hickey is a con-man and kidnapper who targets his victims with care. By staying with the person who has the money - and by checking the amount is affordable for them - he has never yet had to kill. But when he tries to rip Will Jenning's family apart he gets more than he bargained for." (From Amazon)
Super tense suspense/mystery about the every day family in peril. Almost burned my pizza as I could not stop reading. The movie was okay but lacked the suspense of the novel.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fast paced thriller that takes you neatly step by step through the story. If you forget what's happening, the MC let's you know every other paragraph "they took my little girl!"
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No