"...a crackerjack thriller, relentless in its supense...Label it a winner."

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.

By Robert Wade

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/jan/18/1v18spade184336-no-he...