Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
No question Joey is the best at what he does. Once a year, accompanied by his partners Huey and Cheryl, Joey kidnaps a child. He always succeeds in obtaining the ransom money, returning the child unharmed, and never having the abduction reported to the police. Clearly, Joey belongs in the felons' hall of fame (shame?).
This year, Joey plans to abduct Abby, the five and a half-year-old daughter of Dr. Will and Karen Jennings of Jackson, Mississippi. He has been watching the Jennings for some time to insure his plot goes smoothly and that the parents of the victim fits the mold he needs to succeed. However, this time the abduction has a twist because Will and Karen refuse to idly sit by while Joey orchestrates his dastardly deed. By taking action, has the once happy couple doomed their daughter to become Joey's first casualty?
24 HOURS is an exciting, frantic-paced story line that grips readers much more than Mel Gibson's similar movie. The plot never allows the audience a moment to breath as the tension mounts to almost unbearable levels only to rise further due to the MORTAL FEAR that the precocious Abby will die, something fans will not want to happen because they care. As usual with a Greg Iles work (see THE QUIET GAME), the key players seem genuine as if they are next door neighbors and the plot feels authentic, adding to the overall helpless terror in the pit of the sympathizing reader's stomach. Mr. Iles is at his nightmarish best with this abduction tale that takes no prisoners.