Customer Reviews

Blinded (Dr. Alan Gregory Novels)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Four stars for author Stephen White's 12th book in the Alan Gregory series -- specifically for the way in which Gregory emphasizes interesting and perennial character Sam Purdy's involvement in solving a series of murders, tied to the disappearance of a former patient of Alan's. Purdy is colorful, as a Boulder detective, and despite both his health and marital troubles in "Blinded" - he is off on a cross-country search, paired on and off with an interesting female detective, and the narrarator of much of the story.

White has used the device of telling a story from two perspectives before, notably in his last novel, "The Best Revenge", and he's particularly successful with this tool.

Although the chase starts with Alan, who learns from a former patient, Gibbs Storey, that her charismatic and troubled husband may be a serial killer, he is more of a sideline participant in terms of the action. In this installment, Alan's wife, Lauren, is disturbed by a particularly chilling episode in her battle with MS. Raw emotion and fear about the situation is felt from Alan's point of view -- White doesn't get inside Lauren's head in this novel. Having some experience with friends stricken by the disease, I've always been compelled by the educational and awareness aspects of White's
tales, helping his readers understand the MS complex.

What brings this tale down is a repetitive theme of White's -- the therapist's dilemma in not knowing how much confidential information given by patients can be disclosed to the outside world. White's Gregory seems to chafe under the yoke of having to keep disturbing information confidential, and in this novel, a secondary plot involving disclosures by his other patients emphasizes this theme. White last explored this theme in his 10th book, "Warning Signs", and it wore on the reader then. I'm not sure why he chose to emphasize it again, but it was taxing.

Also missing from the book is White's signature twist of plot in the climax. Although he attempts to surprise the reader, the telltale signs of who murdered the young women in question are all laid out, and come as no surprise, based on the way the action unfolds.

These disappointing features are offset by the voice of Sam Purdy (and his strange fascination with a turducken!)and a somewhat shocking disclosure by Sam near the end of the book. Purdy's always been a favorite of mine; his north-country sardonic humor is offset by his keen read of situations and his odd friendship with Alan.

I expect a little more from White, but I did read the book at record speed, a sure sign that he drew me into his tale, despite
the contrivances that ended up annoying me before I finished.

Still a great series -- this book may not be enjoyable to those who aren't familiar with White's earlier work.

Stephen White is a favorite author of mine, and I thoroughly enjoyed his latest effort, Blinded. In the latest installment, Alan Gregory is called on by a famous client to renew her therapy. She drops a bombshell when she tells Alan that her husband has probably committed a number of murders. Alan has to balance his ethical obligations against his legal requirements, while also trying to figure out what part of her story might be true and which part might be fabrication.

But what's a good psycho thriller without subplots? His wife Lauren is a district attorney in Boulder Colorado. She also has MS, and she suffers a flair-up of her condition here. There's some character development there as Alan and Lauren both learn to deal with one of her episodes. Alan also discovers that there is a leak of confidential information about his clients, and he has to determine where it is coming from, and why it is happening... All before it destroys his practice. And finally, Sam Purdy, Alan's police detective friend, has his wife leave him after he suffers a heart attack. He becomes involved in the potential murder investigation, but isn't quite sure why he feels compelled to do so.

A good read... Not heavy on action until the end, but plenty of interpersonal stuff going on. Probably not his best one in the series, but I still like it a lot.

Award winning voice performer Dick Hill gives an eloquent, transfixing reading of this riveting thriller.

Psychological suspense is Stephen White's long suit and with "Blinded" he leaves no doubt that he's a master of that genre.
Returning to his popular protagonist, psychologist Alan Gregory, author White presents a multi-layered story of death and deception. What would you do if you were a psychologist seeing a patient who mentions in a rather cavalier manner that she believes her husband has committed murder? The victim is a woman with whom she thinks her husband, Sterling, has had an affair. As if that weren't enough of a shocker - she suspects that he has murdered many other women as well.

What Gregory does is check with his buddy, Sam Purdey, a Colorado police detective. The two embark on what is essentially an investigation of their own.

While suspense mounts White examines at length various ethics issues involved in this conundrum, ie, doctor/patient confidentiality; can a wife be called to testify against her husband?

White, a master of surprises, provides a trunk full in "Blinded."

- Gail Cooke

***Possible Spoilers***

Written well, White masterfully mixes the main plot with several subplots. However, I had a fairly good idea who the antagonist was from the beginning--I wasn't surprised, but the story was written so well that it didn't matter.

I enjoyed my first experience with Stephen White and plan to read other books by him.

When a new Stephen White book comes out, readers tend to celebrate. His 12-book series features Dr. Alan Gregory, Ph.D.; his wife Lauren, a prosecutor; his baby daughter Grace; his cop buddy Sam Purdy; his partner, the irascible Diane Estevez; and his dogs, Emily and Anvil. These familiar characters have evolved into a believable "family" with whom fans can identify. Each of his books offers a well thought-out plot, fully limned characters, finely wrought dialogue, and enough twists to challenge any reader's taste for thrillers.

With BLINDED, the latest addition to his oeuvre, he moves away from his usual "formula" to focus on the personal lives of the Gregory's and the Purdy's --- and offers a challenging mystery the leads must solve in order to stop another victim from dying.

White's fans already know that Lauren has MS and how she and her psychologist husband deal with it. While Lauren is still able to manage her life and live within her limits, the threat of "exacerbation" in MS is horrific: "Multiple Sclerosis roughly translates as many scars ... we both knew that an exacerbation --- a fresh wound on a previously unaffected nerve" could lead to eventual total disability. While addressed peripherally in his earlier books, this is the first time that White really delves into the issue.

To further bring readers into the lives of his team, Sam Purdy, a wonderful supporting character, sees his marriage unraveling. Purdy has a serious heart attack, and before he is released from the hospital his wife takes their son and leaves him.

To frame his story with so much personal information about his regular characters is risky business for a writer of suspense novels. After all, s/he depends upon some kind of mystery surrounded by red herrings and other clues to be the aggregate of ideas at the center of the book's architectural schematic. But in the more than capable hands of Stephen White, these challenges become the stuff of life with which readers can empathize. We see them function with their families and we travel with them through their professional commitments, warts, illnesses and hardships. They struggle with "everyman's" problems and each in her/his own way copes with the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune."

BLINDED is more than a character study. In an interview White said of his latest novel, "It's a tale of friendship, marriage, and serial murder. BLINDED is a series book, written in alternating first person narrations, one by Alan Gregory, and one by his police detective friend, Sam Purdy."

The psychological suspense rests with Gibbs Storey, one of Dr. Gregory's former patients, who re-enters his life after a ten-year absence. She claims to have a secret with horrifying ramifications. When she is seated comfortably in his office, she "raised her fingertips to her lips and leaned forward as though she were whispering a profanity ..." and says she knows that her husband is a serial killer who has murdered at least four women.

Alan keeps his professional cool as he probes Gibbs for information that will give him a clue as to what is really going on: "My mind raced ahead of her, but I tried to keep my focus. I decided not to say what was on my mind. Things that are unimportant to the progression of therapy may be crucial to the prosecution of a murder." Was she telling the truth? Was she delusional? Was she attempting to get revenge for all the cheating her husband did?

Dr. Gregory and Sam Purdy are immediately drawn into the vortex created by the chaotic aftershocks of Gibbs's bombshell news. While Gibbs plays a coy game in her therapy sessions with Gregory, she is more of a seductress with Sam, who decides to use his medical leave to investigate this strange, often surreal-sounding accusation against Sterling Storey.

Two points of view is the novelistic devise White uses to tell his story. Said White to an interviewer, "BLINDED is actually written in alternating first-person narrations, with half the story told from the point-of-view of a character, Sam Purdy, whose voice I've never used before. [The alternating voice is Alan Gregory's.] The structural flexibility permits [me to] inject freshness into each new series book. In each new book I try to allow the story I want to tell to dictate the narration and the point-of-view."

In the same interview he said, "I write books to entertain, pure and simple. People don't pick up thrillers to be preached to, they pick up thrillers hoping to feel the imperative to turn pages long after their bedtime has come and gone."

Stephen White has gone far beyond this goal in all of his books, but BLINDED is fresh and the new approach to his ensemble is sure to rivet fans and garner new readers to his work. One note: the notion of a series often intimidates readers new to an author, but have no fear about this writer's collection --- you can jump right in at book twelve with no problem.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

I am now a devoted reader of Stephen White. I have long been a devotee of both Faye and Jonathan Kellerman and now rate Stephen White on a par. I thought 'Blinded' was terrific. One of his best so far and I thoroughly recommend it.

I have consistently loved all of Steven White's novels. I knew this was going to be a great read and it was. Now I'm about to read Missing Persons.

I've read about everything he has written. This one is just as good as his other works. Fast paced and really keeps you interested. Just wish he'd write more...

Dr. Alan Gregory, a psychologist, is faced with a dilemma when one of his patient's, a woman by the name of Gibbs Storey, confesses to him that she believes her husband is responsible for a number of murders. Gibbs pleads with Dr. Gregory to share some of this information with the police. However, she is only willing to let him give information on one of the murders, that of a woman named Louise who was murdered in 1997. Alan agrees to share this information with the police, but struggles with the remainder of the information he must keep confidential.
As the police investigate the murder of Louise, Sterling Storey, Gibbs husband, is believed to have drowned while trying to rescue an individual from the Ochlockonee river in Georgia. However, his body has not yet been found. In spite of his recent heart attack, and a seperation from his wife and son, Detective Sam Purdy sets out for Georgia to investigate the "death" of Sterling Storey. Along the way he develops an interesting relationship with Carmen Reynoso, a female detective.
Alan Gregory faces other difficulties in this story, his wife's battle with multiple sclerosis, and confidential information shared with him during therapy are being leaked to the press. Dr. Gregory must deal with his dilemma with Gibbs, the health problems his wife and Sam are battling, and possible legal problems due to an alleged break in his therapist/client confidentiality.
I found this book exciting. I loved the plot twists, and really enjoyed the parts of the story where Sam is narrator. This book is one of White's best!

In Blinded, Alan Gregory is visited by an old patient who claims her husband is a serial killer. Although she claims to still love him, she wants to turn him into the police. Meanwhile, Gregory's detective friend Sam Purdy is recovering from a heart attack and a marital separation, which doesn't stop him from wanting to be actively involved in this case. There are other subplots as well, and Stephen White does a good job of meshing them together. This may not be a "great" novel, but it is certainly a good one, both entertaining and well-written.

In this particular novel, White once again shows that although he is not as big a name as Jonathan Kellerman, he is still producing the better novels. The comparison is appropriate because both authors feature a psychologist who gets involved in murder mysteries. Both work with (and are friends) with a gruff homicide detective. Both are narrated principally in the first person.

But where the Kellerman novels have generally gotten blander over the years (although there has been a little improvement of late), White still delivers a good novel. The reasons for this may be numerous, but I think a big one is the supporting cast. While Kellerman's Alex Delaware books have really only two strong recurring characters (Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis), White's Alan Gregory has a whole bunch of recurring characters, including cops, colleagues and family. This gives White's stories a depth that is missing with Kellerman. The point is that if you enjoy Kellerman, you should enjoy White even more.