Customer Reviews

Kill Me (Alan Gregory)

5 star:		(55)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Stephen White's new thriller, "Kill Me," deals with a new concept--death insurance. Suppose you were a fabulously wealthy man and you wanted to be sure that your life ended before you became severely disabled or impaired. Would you pay an organization over a million dollars to kill you and make your death look natural? That is the choice facing the protagonist and narrator of this novel, whom I'll call Mr. X, since the author never gives him a name. White's recurring character, psychologist Alan Gregory, plays a brief but essential role. He helps the narrator deal with issues of vulnerability and intimacy. They also discuss the existence of a son that X never knew he had.

X is an arrogant and high-powered businessman with a private plane and more money than he'll ever need. He has had affairs with scores of women, and one of his brief encounters resulted in the birth of Adam, whom X meets when the adolescent boy tracks him down. By then, X is married to the beautiful and sensitive Thea, and they have a baby girl. Is there room for Adam in X's life? What emotional solace can X provide for the needy young man? Much to X's shock, he learns that he has a medical condition that may hasten his death, but he decides that he wants to live long enough to bring closure to Adam. Will the so-called "Death Angels," which is the nickname that X has given to the people whom he has hired to kill him, let X live, or will they fulfill their end of the bargain regardless of his wishes?

Stephen White is a skilled writer, and he has come up with what is arguably one of the most original ideas for a thriller ever. However, does White make it work? Alas, the execution (no pun intended) is not as satisfying as the setup. X is a control freak who insists on having the upper hand in every business or social transaction. It is completely out of character for this man to cede control over his life to the Death Angels. There are many other melodramatic and contrived elements that make it difficult to suspend one's disbelief. On the plus side, the scenes in which X visits Dr. Gregory and they engage in verbal sparring matches before getting down to the business of psychotherapy are effective and poignant. As a result of these sessions, X learns to look inside himself, and he begins to realize that it is time to get his priorities in order.

"Kill Me" raises some timely questions about a person's "right to die," but White doesn't spend much time getting to the root of this ethical dilemma. Instead, the book morphs into a conventional thriller, in which X engages in car chases and a battle of wits, racing against time to accomplish his goals before the Death Angels mow him down. The conclusion is so over the top that it throws the entire novel out of balance. I have always admired Stephen White's work, but this time, I wish that he had crafted this potentially compelling story with more depth and realism.

This is the second novel I've read in which the main character is not Dr. Gregory, but instead is a person who has come to him for help. I like seeing Dr. Gregory from a patient's perspective, and it's interesting to compare it with how Dr.Gregory perceives himself in the novels in which he is the primary character. The plot is complex and intriguing, and Stephen White's writing is as good as it always is. The ending had a twist I had not expected, and I think other readers might also be surprised by it. I recommend the book to both those who read Stephen White regularly and those who may have never read him before. A knowledge of Dr. Gregory and his previous story lines is not needed to be drawn into "Kill Me."

I've read all of Stephen White's books and reviewed all of them in one place or another. But I don't just slap an "excellent" or 5 star label on his work because I'm hooked on the series. I really believe that White looks at both his long running series (I believe this is book #13) with the attitude that he wants to keep it alive, but he wants to keep it fresh. He's employed a number of different methods over the years, but he really jolts his following with the 2006 novel, "Kill Me".

Big positives: If you do not follow series thrillers, or if you do not want to, and are coming along looking for a great read....you can enjoy "Kill Me" without ever having read an earlier White work. The author makes that happen by having his normal protagonist, Dr. Alan Gregory, play a critical, but less than central role. He does not include Gregory's wife and child, his practice partner, his friends (and we all miss crotchety Sam Purdy) in the novel at all.

One close relationship that Gregory has...between man and the elements in the beautiful state of Colorado, is back. Colorado is once again the breathtaking backdrop and home of the central character, a wealthy man, who (and I didn't even question it at the time!) remains unnamed throughout the book. White makes the beauty of the landscape come alive.

White has always written books with very brief chapters. At times that has annoyed. In this book, the chapterization clips with the pace of the growing fear and feeling of overwhelm one gets as a man's life ticks down to its final moments.

As Gregory's patient, the unnamed man is a force to be reckoned with....but having contracted to an organization that is to kill him if he has a disease or an accident that will leave him in a lingering vegatative state, he is having second thoughts. Big time. There is a family connection to his reasons to keep living, that I won't reveal here -- it's an inspired rationale. There is a beautiful and mysterious female that aids him in keeping alive. There is a heartthumping chase, some twists, and an agonizing demonstration of what it feels like to end your life without hope.

In the past, my criticism of White's work has usually been because he beats the dilemma of a psychologist who has a dangerous patient, not divulging information and breaking confidentiality. It's an interesting conundrum, but he goes back to it over and over. Not here. Not even once.

This is a masterful run at a familiar setting by an author who is underrated and who proves, with this, perhaps his best book, that he is unmatched at putting together the strategy for a book, and in building plot and character to execute it with precision.

Bravo....with 6 stars not available, I'll have to settle for 5.
Don't wait for the paperback!

My husband and I have discussed this issue many times----"please kill me if I ever become a vegetable or you know my quality of life is gone". We joke about it----but in reality, it makes sense to me. We're both in the medical profession and have seen far too many of those families who won't "let go", someone without a Living Will hooked up to machines and tubes for months and/or years. It's just not the kind of quality of life either of us would ever want to see the other end up living in.
So this story really brings this discussion to the reality of "perhaps this is a great insurance to have". However, we don't have the million dollars for this policy. Not many do. But it really makes you think about it------and maybe think that assisted death might be a good thing.
Or-----at least this might talk more people into signing a "Living Will".
This book is awesome. The ending surprised me a lot-----which I love in a book. It was exciting to read, kept me interested and I didn't want it to end.
I'll look forward to his next thriller. I have read them all and find his writing to be excellent. And this is no exception.

I have long enjoyed Mr. White's Alan Gregory novels, and this one, with Gregory as more of a second-tier character rather than the protagonist he usually is, grabbed my attention and kept it throughout.

As I mentioned before, Gregory is not the main focus here. Rather, another character, one who has chosen to sign up for a program wherein his life will be taken once he has been diagnosed with a terminal illness AND been assessed as nearing the point where the quality of his life will irrevocably diminish, is the focus, and he's a solid character who draws the reader in and paces his revelations for maximum impact.

No sign of Gregory's wife and child, or of his cop friend. This book is all about other people and the larger issue of "mercy killing."

I believe one other reviewer thought the end was a bit contrived? I did, too. That's why this doesn't get 5 stars from me. But regardless, I enjoyed this one and didn't put it down for long during the one day it took me to read it all the way through.

This is my first book by White and I have to say I wasn't terribly impressed. The premise was good, but the story seemed to meander in attempts to make various statements on life and death, sucking the suspense out of it for me. It must be said that I love a faster-paced read that keeps one guessing. Readers who enjoy a lot of detail and backstory, who are able to embrace the tedium of this book, might have a different take. To sum it up, after reading the last two chapters, I just felt, 'eh'. White is obviously a talented writer, this book just wasn't the right fit for someone looking for words to fly off the page.

I got this book thinking it would be another generic Alan Gregory book, about his work, his partner, his wife with MS, his daughter, and his cop friend. Boy, was I wrong.
This is what I am talking about - same kind of premise, but stunning events. An unnamed client who has told his friends 'if anything every happens to me, kill me' - and one 'friend' leads him to a terminal patients' murder inc. - Where you contract to be killed before a terminal illness takes you over the edge - The only thing our dying friend didn't realize is there is a lot of life until you don't breathe any more. Trying to undo this pact, unloading to Dr. Gregory, and all points in between is the novel. It is not a lot of laughs. It is, however, an excellent book, and is the landmark of White's writing to date - Putting some fresh air in a long series. Interesting premise and non-stop action.

This is the first book I've read by Stephen White, but I have since gone out to my local used bookstore and purchased 7 others. I was bowled over by this novel. It easily ranks in the top 5 most enjoyable books I have read to date.

A wealthy man, who is never named, hires a group that he refers to as the Death Angels to end his life as painlessly as possible, while making it look like an accident, should he develop a catastropic illness or suffer from a life altering mishap. He meets with a liason from the group, sets the parameters he wishes the group to follow, then goes on about his life until one fateful day when fate rears it's ugly head. As you can predict, our Mr. No-name's health takes a nasty turn and reaches that threshold but for some reason he decides that he is not ready to check out until he accomplishes a few tasks and ties up some loose ends. The race is on, who will win?

I was sucked into the story at the first chapter and raced through the book like a dehydrated person scoping out a body of water. This book was easy to read. The story flowed so fluently, it was like watching a movie unfold before your eyes. The characters were interesting and played their parts well. The story never bogged down or got hung up. I was sad when I got to the last page, breathless, but sad. I didn't want the story to end. Give this one a try, you won't regret it.

Mr. Rich Guy has it made...more money than he needs, a great wife and two little girls, a plane, two houses, etc, etc. After a skiing accident with his buddies, he tells them all if he's ever really seriously injured or ill, pull the plug. One of these buddies tells him about the Death Angels. Rich Guy thinks about it and ends up signing the contract which has client-driven parameters--once you cross the line, there's no turning back.

Alan Gregory is not the main character for a change. The bulk of the story is written in first person as the Rich Guy (he's never given a name) goes through the alleged end of his life, the surprise at his front door, and his dealings with a woman he meets. Alan's small part is also written in first person. A really different concept for a book cleverly told with bits of the author's dry humor here and there.

I was absolutely sucked in completely by this book. I hadn't expected to be - I picked it up at a convenience store to have something to read during lunch - but the story grabbed me quickly as few stories have ever done. I doubt that this book will make me rush out to read other White novels as I think this book was a unique phenomenon. The characters, the plot, I loved it all and putting it down was simply painful. This is one of those books you just have to experience, I couldn't possibly imagine trying to discuss the prose, the editing, or any other technical aspect of this book. If you don't get lost in the story and forget everything else, than you have missed the point of this book.