November 24, 2003
Murder, sex and guilt are all on the couch in bestseller White's latest (Cold Case
; Manner of Death
; etc.) featuring ongoing series hero Alan Gregory, a low-key sleuth/psychologist. As always, the author delivers an absorbing mystery, a mix of interesting subplots involving Gregory's sympathetic friends and family, and a paean to the beauty of the Colorado countryside. This time he splits the point of view equally between Gregory and Gregory's best friend, Boulder police detective Sam Purdey. Sam has just had a heart attack and is facing a dreaded rehabilitation regimen when his wife decides to leave him, perhaps permanently. Gregory has his own plateful of domestic difficulties caring for his MS-stricken wife and his toddler daughter while tending to a full caseload of clients who run the gamut from mildly neurotic to full-blown psychotic. An old patient he hasn't seen in a year, the beautiful Gibbs Storey, comes back for therapy and announces that her husband has murdered a former lover, and she's not sure what to do about it. And by the way, she thinks he may have murdered a bunch of other women as well. Gregory decides that, as a therapist, he cannot report the murders to the police, spending pages and pages justifying his decision. He turns to recuperating pal Sam, and the two of them separately follow various threads until all is resolved, just in the nick of time. White is known for his surprise endings, and this one is no exception. Aside from the repetitive and less than convincing ethical considerations, it's an engrossing addition to an excellent series.
October 1, 2003
If psychologist Alan Gregory betrays a client's confidences, he could stop a serial killer in his tracks.
Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 15, 2003
What would you do if you were a psychologist, and a former patient (to whom you have long been attracted) showed up in your office one day, claiming that her husband is a serial murderer? Hear her out, perhaps, which is exactly what Dr. Alan Gregory does when Gibbs Storey casually accuses her husband, the arrogant Sterling, of murdering someone with whom Gibbs suspects he had an affair. But it doesn't end there, according to Gibbs, who believes that there are women, dead at the hands of her husband, missing all across the country. Gregory enlists his wife, Lauren, a lawyer, to grapple with the questions of legal privilege involved--what he's allowed to say to authorities without violating doctor-patient confidentiality, whether Gibbs might be able to take the stand against her husband under the husband-wife privilege--and drafts a cop friend to help him launch an investigation. But is there more than one level of deceit operating here? White has a track record for high-octane psychological thrillers (not as subtle as Ruth Rendell but faster moving and often more suspenseful), and this one fills the bill perfectly. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2004
White's 12th mystery brings back Alan Gregory, a psychoanalyst in Boulder, CO. When a beautiful client tells him she suspects her husband of murder, he begins to investigate, only to be told that four more women have been killed and more corpses may turn up. Doctor-client confidentiality-a common theme in White's works-means that Gregory cannot tell his cop friend, Sam, anything, leaving only hints and instinct to guide him. The narrative alternates between the voice of Gregory, erudite, introspective, and thoughtful, and that of Sam, streetwise, practical, and self-deprecating. Using his own real-life experiences as a psychologist to portray clients and cases with sympathy and realism, White skillfully blends sexual tension, domestic strife, moments of humor, a variety of striking characters, and a tautly constructed plot. The book's literary allusions will delight readers; current fans will rejoice, and newcomers will certainly want to check out White's earlier works (e.g., Warning Signs). Highly recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/03.]-Roland Person, formerly with Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
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