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by Stephen White

Hardcover, 1991

Status

Available

Publication

New York, NY: Viking, c1991.

Description

Alan Gregory is a clinical psychologist with a thriving practice in Boulder, Colorado. His life begins to unravel when one of his female patients is found in an apparent suicide and the local paper begins printing accusations from an unnamed source of sexual impropriety between the woman and Dr. Gregory. He launches a psychological and personal quest for the truth that rapidly intensifies when more of his patients die untimely deaths, and Gregory suspects not only that the deaths are related but that another one of his patients may be somehow involved. Lacking facts but roused by suspicion and troubled by seemingly random acts of terror around him, Gregory starts to fear for the safety of the people he loves. The question of the inviolability of confidential disclosures made to Gregory by his patients - privileged information - becomes crucial as the psychologist pursues an unsettling romance with Lauren Crowder, a lovely deputy district attorney investigating one of the deaths. Bound to silence, Gregory follows the psychological tracks of someone he fears may be a cunning and disturbed killer, while turning to his enigmatic but supportive partner, Diane Estevez, for counsel, and to his tart-tongued female urologist neighbor for support. The sinister, surprising drama unfolds against Boulder's Rocky Mountain backdrop, in the arresting natural beauty of Aspen, and in the midst of a baroque Halloween costume party in downtown Boulder. Finally, in a lonely mountain lodge enshrouded in menace, the story comes to its breathtaking climax.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member TooBusyReading
This first book in the mystery series featuring psychologist Alan Gregory, is a light, quick, and entertaining read, very good for the genre. It seems Gregory is having a problem with keeping patients alive. And after he is accused of sexual misconduct, he is having a problem with keeping any
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patients at all. While he is trying to determine what is behind the deaths and if there is any common denominator, as well as clearing his name, his hands are tied by the ethics of his profession. On top of that, he is separated but not entirely emotionally detached from his wife and he falls for a prickly deputy district attorney, Lauren, who often treats him badly.

The setting is Boulder, Colorado, as it's fun to read books set in my neck of the woods. I fell in love with the Bouvier des Flandres, Cicero. The storyline is plausible and for a mystery, not gruesome. I did question Alan's initial failure to see an overly coincidental meeting with someone he knew as something other than coincidence. Some of my favorite quotes from early in the book are:

“I carried a bottle of red and a bottle of white, unsure which went better with brine.”

“In the tropics people are evacuated when the winds hit seventy miles an hour; in Boulder, when the Chinooks gust past ninety, people compensate by talking a wee bit louder, rescheduling tennis matches and bicycle rides, and leaning a little bit when they walk.”

“Her hair was the color of good topsoil....”

“Adolescence is a disease from which total recovery is rare.”
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LibraryThing member bookscentlover
delighted to see that his first book is as good as the fifteenth. some joy taken away because i had read a later book in which the villain appears, hence knew who it was from his first appearance. still, good.
LibraryThing member amillion
Very fun to read a mystery that takes place in Boulder... knowing the streets, the buildings, the events, etc. make it seem very real. A fun read, I look forward to more Stephen White books.
LibraryThing member moonshineandrosefire
Clinical psychologist Dr. Alan Gregory faces professional and personal disgrace when several of his attractive female patients are found dead. When the first murder victim is found with a diary detailing her bizarre sexual infatuation for Dr. Gregory, he becomes the prime suspect in the
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investigation. As more of his patients are murdered, Alan faces a dilemma, the evidence that will clear his name is privileged information that he can't reveal at the risk of breaching his professional ethics. But in order to save his life, Dr. Gregory must discover which of his patients is a potential killer.

I have had this book on my bookshelf for about three years and have only just sat down to read it. I'm so glad that I did as it was truly an engrossing read that I almost didn't want to end. I give this book an A+! and look forward to tracking down more of Stephen White's books to read. There are now about nineteen or twenty books in the Alan Gregory Series, and I can't wait to read more from Stephen White.
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LibraryThing member MurphyWaggoner
Mystery where main character, Alan Gregory, is a psychologist, girlfriend is a DA with MS, and Gregory has a soon-to-be ex-wife. His patients start dying and another of his patients is responsible. Tedious reading.
LibraryThing member susandennis
This is the first in White's series featuring Boulder psychologist Alan Gregory. His patients start dying and leaving behind information that could damage his career and reputation. This is a great series and it's a treat to know I have lots more to read.

Barcode

3699

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