Customer Reviews

Dry Ice (Alan Gregory Series)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Like other people reading these reviews, I love and look forward to the Alan Gregory novels. For the most part, I really enjoyed this one as well. BUT...it had some jarring moments. Things start to happen and, with what seems to be no reason at all, the police, the DA's office and even Alan's best friend Sam and wife Lauren suspect him of murder. Was Alan found naked in bed with a murdered floozy? No, nothing like it, so it was pretty hard to believe the level of suspicion. All of this is an engine that pushes a good part of the story, and I found it kind of annoying. Also, Alan's marriage seems to be going through a rough patch, but what explanation there was for it seemed to me to be inadequate to explain lauren's apparently high level of hostility.

In spite of the above, I read it cover to cover in almost one sitting. It certainly isn't dull!

One final note -- I HATE the surprise

I've enjoyed every one of Stephen White's thrillers and found DRY ICE to be one of his best! Knowing the book would reprise the Michael McClelland character from White's first book (PRIVILEGED INFORMATION), I read it again and found it just as entertaining and suspenseful as the first time I read it. Now, with DRY ICE, I thought there wouldn't be any surprises, but I was wrong. Just when I thought I had it figured out, a new plot twist came along, adding intrigue. After so many years, I feel as if the main characters are part of my family, evolving as they face new challenges. I look forward to what the future holds in store for Dr. Alan Gregory, et al.

I am a big fan of Stephen White. I have had to read many a book and many a script for my director and producer bosses. I still can't believe someone hasn't persuaded Stephen to put Alan on the screen, but, alas someday - just think of the casting fun. Anyway, I couldn't wait for DRY ICE - it didn't disappoint at all. Everybody is back and in wonderful form. The only part I hate about a Stephen White book is that I have to finish it. I start out slow, savoring each page and twist. I try not to read it in only one or two sittings, but alas, this one took only one. I've read them all and I still can't get enough. The characters are so well developed and the story points are so much fun to watch roll out. I can't wait until the next one.

I am an avid reader - of anythithing and everything. Stephen White is one of my two all time favorite autors. His latest book - Dry Ice, is one of those books I read in less than two days. There was no other way, even though I tried to prolong the pleasure into a week. The book is strong, that is the best word I can come up with. It delivers suspence, personality of the characters, pleasure, wonder, you name it - it's there. I can't wait for his next book.

I have been in Stephen White withdrawal since his last novel, Kill Me. I found Dry Ice to be as readable, believable, and ultimately satisfying as his previous efforts. In Dry Ice he sets out scattered clues, which he eventually weaves together artfully, while incorporating sub-plots of the characters' personal lives. The intrigue and suspense come in waves, giving a nice little jolt to the denouement. He remains one of my favorite authors.

Dry Ice by Stephen White is the 15th book in his Alan Gregory series. Michael McClelland, the bad guy from the first book, has escaped from a mental institution and is after Alan's family. Meanwhile Alan still hasn't recovered from the events of the previous two books, and all of these events are shaking his family in a way that none of them may ever recover from. Add in a secret from Alan's past, and at 402 pages, the book still seems too short. Even if you are a fan of White's previous works, 14 books seems a little long to wait to bring back a villain. Unless you've recently read Priviledged Information (the first book), the events seem distant, and I couldn't remember much of anything about this super-baddie. And White expects you to be familiar with the previous two books in the series including the lackluster Kill Me where Alan barely registered as a cameo. Alan has taken up drinking and distancing himself from wife Lauren. Lauren's hostility toward Alan seems unwarranted and over the top at times, but Alan is keeping lots of secrets in this book, from Lauren and the reader. His near infidelity proves that White is trying to stretch Alan as a character. The mysteries and coincidences keep piling up and make for a quick read. One of the charms of the series is his descriptions of Boulder, Colorado: its scenery and community. White really brings the city alive. I enjoyed this book even with its drawbacks, but the ending through me for a loop. Lauren and Alan's marriage is on the rocks, Alan is still enigmatic, and his best friend, Sam's, act was shocking. It's hard to believe that Sam would do what he did and that Alan would accept it. I'm not sure where White is going next with this series, but he's certainly shaken it up.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. And it is in this latest Dr. Alan Gregory novel. Priviledged Information introduced Alan to us, and I can't believe it's been so long ago. Everyone was affected when Gregory, Sam, and crew finally got Michael McClelland captured and sent to a mental facility. So many years later, he escapes, and hasn't forgotten his 'buddies' who put him away. He literally has a plan for the destruction of all our friends in Alan's circle. We see Alan, terribly upset/damaged from his client (in Kill Me) who was shot on national television, and as that weighs on him, secrets, burdens from his past haunt him. McClelland sets a course of events that make our friends' lives chaotic. It gets a little complicated, but White brilliantly makes it work - Everyone it seems has a secret that burdens them in the process of finding McClelland. What I appreciated was when it seems everyone detachs Alan, someone 'protects his back'. And it is gratifying.
There are a few shockers in Dry Ice, but this is one of the best books White has ever written. Fans will find that out too.

For former villain Michael McClelland to seek revenge on the those from Boulder who sent him to the State Mental Hospital some 15 years before (As told in Stephen White's series intorduction, "Privileged Information"). McClelland is a charming sociopath, capable of almost anything, and seeking revenge.

And while we wait, with White's hero, Alan Gregory, for McClelland's onslaught, McClelland quietly and insidiously finds ways to begin to destroy Alan's way of life, along with those of the deputy DA (Alan's wife Lauren) and the cop (Alan's friend Sam Purdy)who helped bring him to justice. "Dry Ice" proves that everyone we have watched through the first 14 books in the series, has a secret that has not yet risen to the surface. And in wrenching out those secrets over the course of this, the 15th book, White keeps us eagerly turning pages.

Some will be disappointed by the human frailities of White's major characters -- some will be angry that the story wraps with so many loose ends, some will want McClelland's revenge to be more forceful and straight forward...but most, if not all, of White's faithful readers will find "Dry Ice" chock full of expert plotting and subtle nuance as White takes his characters in a slightly different direction for the future.

Dry Ice was a very satisfying read - not one of my "desperate to read in one sitting" ones like Kill Me - but one of few "wish it wouldn't end" ones, like Higher Authority (my favorite so far). Circumstances had me picking Dry Ice up and having to put it down - but, through it all, I was engaged in the story and by the players - which I think is a test for a book. Is it easy to pick up the threads and sink into the plot after a brief respite? A resounding "yes"! After growing to know Dr. Gregory through 5-6 of White's novels, there is a comfortable knowledge of his character, as White is always careful to let us know Alan's innermost thoughts, good and bad. His long-held secret came as a surprise, but then, we all have those secrets, haven't we - and like Alan Gregory, we can't see the wisdom of confession-time if there is nothing to be gained (at least, that's why I'm hanging on to mine!) Lauren has a secret, too, and it comes out very quickly toward the end. It serves to tie up some ends rather sweetly, thank goodness. However, we are left with uncertainties that, no doubt, will lure us into the next chapter of the Gregory saga. It's a difficult task to keep reeling out one really good book after another, but White seems to have the secret to success. Must be that cool, crisp, clean Colorado air!

Stephen White's mystery series with clinical psychologist Alan Gregory as the protagonist gets more interesting with each book. In Dry Ice we see a side of Alan Gregory not revealed before. He is having problems focusing at work and there are problems at home with his wife, Lauren, a deputy district attorney. He is adding to his problems by drinking a lot late at night. His moroseness stems partially from his want for another child, which is complicated by his wife having MS. He is also obsessed with the shooting of his former patient on TV (Kill Me).

The escape, from a mental hospital, of a man bent on revenge complicates matters greatly. This man, Michael McClellend, is smart, dangerous, and not as crazy as he pretends to be. His targets are Alan, Lauren, and Alan's friend, Boulder police detective Sam Purdy. These three were instrumental in putting McClellend in the state mental hospital a decade previously. McClellend intends to destroy their careers, their families, and expose secrets long considered buried.

Alan is especially troubled by the thought of anyone knowing his life altering secret. It is an added dimension to the man that White has not explored before. The book is enhanced by Alan examining more deeply his feelings towards killing a man previously (The Program). Kirsten, Alan's former patient and the target of the man Alan shot, appears in this book as Alan's attorney.

White does a great job of also making a character of the town of Boulder. Here's his description of Pearl Street, "The odd intersection of lives that collided on Boulder's most egalitarian public thoroughfare was almost always distracting to me, usually in a positive way. On most days the stroll west toward the looming panorama of the foothills with the midday sun over my left shoulder would soften any ill mood." You can almost imagine yourself hiking the Royal Arch Trail, watching storms come in over the mountains, or biking up to Jamestown. All things most Boulder residents have probably done at least once.

The main reason I started reading these books was because they were set in Boulder. After some time away, I am pleased to find that the mysteries are more complicated and the characters more well-developed as the series continues. The only character that doesn't feel real to me is Gracie, Alan and Lauren's almost 5 year old daughter. Dry Ice is a good and fast read. I found myself continually surprised at what happened next.