Higher Authority (Alan Gregory Series) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Stephen White (Author), Dick Hill (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2003 | Series: Alan Gregory Series (Book 3)

The sudden death of Utah's Senator Orrin Hatch propels his successor, Lester Horner, first into Hatch's Senate seat and then on to become the first Mormon associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Carried along with Horner is Blythe Oaks, an ambitious and intelligent woman who is also Horner's favorite law clerk and fellow Mormon. But Blythe's reputation - and, by extension, Lester Horner's - is threatened when a female former employee accuses her of sexual harassment and career sabotage. In Higher Authority White shifts his focus from Dr. Alan Gregory, the hero of Privileged Information and the national bestseller Private Practices, to Alan's fiancée, Lauren Crowder. The pool-shooting deputy D.A.'s life is already complicated enough as she picks her way through her relationship with Alan at the same time she is fighting her quiet and dignified battle with multiple sclerosis. But since Blythe's accuser happens to be Lauren's kid sister, aspiring stand-up comic Teresa Crowder, Lauren plunges into the case. And she gets immediate help from an old law school buddy, Robin Torr, whose practice is in Salt Lake City. When, suddenly, Blythe Oaks is savagely murdered in Washington D.C., the lengths to which someone will go to protect secrets that might prove embarrassing to higher authorities in the church are starkly revealed. And as Crowder and Torr probe more and more deeply into these secrets, with timely help from Alan Gregory and his old friend Detective Sam Purdy of the Boulder, Colorado police, White's tough but determined women find the body count growing and themselves placed in jeopardy by a remorseless killer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nuanced, vivid characterization-especially of the right-wing fanatics who are the possible conspirators behind the nasty goings-on in White's third novel (Privileged Information; Private Practices)-makes this an engrossing thriller. Lester Horner, the first Mormon to sit on the Supreme Court, is implicated when his law clerk, fellow Mormon Blythe Oaks, is charged with sexual harassment by former employee Teresa Crowder. To help her cause, Teresa enlists the aid of her lawyer sister, Lauren, who persuades an old law school pal, Salt Lake City attorney Robin Toner, to handle the case. After Blythe is found murdered and a private investigator hired by Robin turns up dead, Teresa disappears and Lauren turns to Alan Gregory, her fiance and the hero of White's earlier novels, to help sort matters out. Is the Mormon Church responsible for the murders? The conclusion provides an ambiguous answer, but in the meantime White has portrayed the Church of the Latter Day Saints as an implacable, nearly all-powerful villain. The main plot line is relatively straightforward; it's the ancillary action and the rich characters that enliven this novel: Teresa's habit of disappearing during moments of stress; Lauren's ongoing battle with multiple sclerosis and her relationship with Alan; the secretive and fascinating Mormon church. While some readers may find White's pot shots at Mormonism offensive, even bigoted, there's no doubt that he's cooked up a thriller that will keep most of his large readership happily entertained. 35,000 first printing; paperback rights to Signet; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Attorney Lauren Crowder recommends a Salt Lake City lawyer for her younger sister, who has accused her former boss, an impeccably Mormon woman with high political and church connections, of sexual harassment. Crowder assists a private investigator in gathering information on the potentially explosive case, but murder intervenes: someone kills the P.I. and the former boss. Crowder then calls upon boyfriend Alan Gregory (Private Practices, Viking, 1993) to outmaneuver the ubiquitous, corrupt tentacles of the Mormon church. Much background research supports fine prose, subtle characterization, and intricate plotting. A good selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio; Abridged edition (March 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590864794
• ISBN-13: 978-1590864791
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,409,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen White is a clinical psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of suspense novels, including Dead Time and The Siege. He lives in Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mormons Beware, You May Not Like What You Read!, December 20, 1999

By 

P. Connors "Colonialpara" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Higher Authority (Alan Gregory) (Mass Market Paperback)

Some of the Mormons who wrote reviews here are defending what can't be defended. Stephen White wrote a novel but he did research before he did and what he found was obviously not to the liking of the LDS Church or some of its more devout (and misinformed adherents). What White tried to do with "Higher Authority" (and I think he was very successful) was set a murder mystery against the backdrop of the workings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What Mormon readers of this book need to do is get honest; they also need to read up on their church's history and when they do, the real theology should come through. Alan Gregory is not the main character here, Lauren Crowder is. It is what she investigates and finds that makes for the backdrop of the story. What many non-Mormon readers don't realize is what exactly LDS members believe. White gives us a primer but he doesn't cover it all. If most people knew just exactly what Mormons believe, they would never, ever become adherents. Read this book because it's a good story. After you do, go to a Christian bookstore to the section on "cults" and buy any of the books on MORMONS. Read with an open mind and when you do, you'll find that Mormons aren't Christians at all. They mean well and Stephen White points that out in his novel. But it's the negative exposure that has the Mormons trying to explain away the inconsistencies and outright falsehoods that are part of their false doctrine. Stephen White lives in a part of the country where Mormons are numerous and influential. His riting is all the more courageous because of that. There are documented cases of people making death threats to people who write and say negative things about the LDS Church. I have spoken to non-Mormon friends from Utah and they HAVE told me that UTAH is as close to a theocracy as one gets in the good old USA. Read "Higher Authority" and get an idea why.

30 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strikes me as basically accurate, September 20, 2002

By 

Jan P. Dennis "Longboard jazzer" (Monument, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Higher Authority (Alan Gregory) (Mass Market Paperback)

The hook in this book is Mormondom. If you're not interested in that, you probably won't like Higher Authority.

Just to be clear about where I'm coming from, I'm not a Mormon, nor would I ever consider becoming one, given what I know about their beliefs and practices, which is quite a lot. As a Catholic-minded Christian interested in other religions, I have spent a good deal of time looking into Mormonism. It is true, for example, that Mormons at one time practiced blood atonement, as described in the book. It is also true that they wear special temple undergarments. Mormons also believe that God was once a man, and that men can become Gods, ruling over other planets as God rules over ours. One of their theologians put it this way: "As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become."

Those at this site who have objected to the book's depiction of Mormonism, calling it "Mormon bashing," have not specifically stated where the author has misrepresented Mormonism. Not in the area of beliefs, at least as far as I can discern. It is also well-known that the Mormon Church discourages critical investigation of its origins, history, beliefs, and practices. Unlike Christianity (and I do not consider Mormonism a part of Christianity), which has allowed itself to be subjected to several centuries of the most intense critical scrutiny, and which continues today in the Jesus Seminar and other corrosive endeavors, Mormonism does not allow such activity.

But the real problem with Mormonism is that it's a non-historical religion claiming to be a historical one. For example, unlike the Bible, which contains records of events that happened not that far removed from when they were written down, the Book of Mormon (written, or "translated"--as the Mormon Church claims--only about 150 years ago) claims to describe events some of which occurred more than 2,500 years ago. Moreover, despite the efforts of New World Archelolgy to establish the historicity of the Book of Mormon's descriptions about the "Lamanites" and "Nephites," no evidence has not been forthcoming. In other words, the Book of Mormon claims to present history for which there is no corroborating evidence. Nor did Mormonism arise out of a pre-existing faith-community as Judaism and Christianity did. Bottom line, it just isn't an historical religion. I think the book does a pretty good job in getting this point across.

Despite its critical stance toward Mormon beliefs, the book is quite fair-minded in its portrayal of Mormon practice. Especially in the character of John Harley--loyal but troubled and not very devout--we get a sympathetic Mormon character. Harley, a convert, joined the Mormon Church basically because he needed to be saved--from his own destructive tendencies. He struggles with Mormon beliefs and rigidity, but is grateful for the stability it brings to his life. Pratt Toomey is also portrayed quite favorably, although in an entirely different manner, as is Lester Horner. Yet, we don't really get much of a sense of what Mormon life is really like. That is one of the things I think some of the other reviewers are complaining about.

Will Price, the villain, on the other hand, is an entirely unsympathetic character. Would it be possible for a devout, fanatical Mormon to behave as he does?--that is at the heart of this book. Is Mormonism capable of producing--even likely to produce--a Will Price? Would Mormon Church authorities authorize and condone such actions to preserve the pristine image of the LDS Church?

I don't know, but it's a fascinating question, and one that, given the secretiveness, authoritarianism, wealth, and power of the Mormon Church, can't easily be brushed aside. And that's probably what's really troubling to those who intensely dislike this book: it's all too plausible.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, December 9, 1999

By 

Quentin Wills, Ph.D. (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Higher Authority (Alan Gregory) (Mass Market Paperback)

Fine thriller set against the backdrop of the politics and machinations of the Morman Church. While not great writing, strong characters and mysteriousness of the unusual setting succeed in making this story above average. Wish Dr. Gregory had played a larger part, but at least this book sent me to the library to learn more about Mormonism.