Eight stars
Returning to re-read Stephen White's great thriller collection after a number of years, this summer binge should be a great adventure. White keeps the reader hooked with another great novel, full of throwback characters and memories in a stellar theiller. Dr. Alan Gregory has been approached by his ex-wife for some help. What begins as some quasi-therapeutic assistance turns into a mystery that has Alan traversing the country. A mysterious death. during a camping trip, a missing surrogate, and someone who has a score to settle. All this and more awaits Alan in this gripping story. White impresses and peppers the story with a great deal of surprises for all.
Dr. Alan Gregory is a well-established clinical psychologist who has a pile of issues of his own. He is trying to synthesise the truth about his newly-acquired step-son and attempting to understand how his marriage is going, bumps and all. All this is shattered when his ex-wife, Meredith returns to Boulder seeking assistance with someone only Alan can truly understand.
Alan is unsure but is soon pulled into the middle of a significant situation. Meredith has engaged the use of a surrogate to provide her a child, but the woman has gone missing. Meredith also has some concerns about a mystery involving her fiancé and a camping trip from years ago, where the same surrogate was also a participant. A missing foreigner creates a tension that has never been solved and a sense of concern that has yet to dissipate.
Alan seeks the assistance of his best friend, Boulder PD Detective Sam Purdy. Their adventures take them to both NYC and LA, where clues to the mystery emerge. When returning to the scene of the camping excursion in the Grand Canyon, other truths and scandalous behavior will leave Alan wondering if he is truly happy and how he will explain away his behavior, while also trying to digest the shards of this mystery from years ago. White stuns the reader and impresses them with equal vigour.
I remember discovering this series years ago, devouring many of the books in short order. When I chose to return, I decided that I would try a complete series binge, getting the full Alan Gregory experience. Stephen White uses many of his personal experiences as a clinical psychologist to pull on ideas and character aspects, which becomes apparent in this strong novel.
White's writing usually explores his own personal situations as a clinical therapist, but this book adds personal references from past characters and the sentiments that left Alan Gregory a shell at an earlier time. This is a great semi-flashback technique and forces series fans to pull on past mentions of the early Alan from the first book, as well as the strains of his marriage disintegration. The narrative flows well, pulling on past and present in well-developed chapters. The story gains all the needed momentum in great writing. Characters are key to this story, both recurring and new, and serve a great purpose. All develops and proves to be a treat for everyone.
Plot points drive the story once again. Using references to past novels and characters, the surprises in this novel are plentiful and leave me eager to see how they will resolve. The reader is left to wonder how past will clash with present, as well as some of Alan's revelations. White keeps the reader in the middle of it all, trying to piece together the new narrative direction and how truth will shatter the future. Some great revelations at the end leave ugh dangling and awaiting some form of resolution in the next book. I am eager to keep seeing how Dr. Alan Gregory will shape the closing novels in the series.
Kudos Mr. White, for such a rich and full story with more threads left to be handled.
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