Desperate Hours — Joseph Hayes

SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO DIE!

The three escaped convicts picked Dan Hilliard's house as a hideout, a place to wait till the dame brought their stake.

There was no warning. One night Dan came home from the office and walked into terror, into a house dominated by three cruel, twisted killers.

“Do what we tell you,” they said, “and you'll all be safe.”

Dan soon learned otherwise. He saw the way they looked at his teen-age daughter. He felt the ugly power of their fists when he tried to shield his young son. He learned that they planned to take his wife along as a shield for their getaway.

But he was trapped. If he tipped off the police, his wife and children would be murdered. If he tried to kill them, he would lose his own life and his family's as well.

And with every passing hour the cops were closing in.

Sooner or later, no matter what Dan might do, SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO DIE!