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Title: Harm's Way by Stephen White ISBN: 0451183681 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: March, 1997 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.86
Rating: 2
Summary: Ho-Hum
Comment: Tried to get interested but I find the character of Alan Gregory just a bore. There are some fine sequences in this book but I felt like I was reading one of those parlor mysteries where the ramblings of the main characters were more important than the mystery itself. When the villian is revealed at the end I found myself not buying it. Maybe because of the lack of real character development or the lack of empathy for Alan Gregory. This is the third Alan Gregory novel by Stephen White that I have read and this time I have asked myself 'is that all there is? I think that this series is worth the effort to read but I warn you not to start with this entry. You may be put off and ignore others from this author which are very good reads. Also be aware that some books of the series shift the main character emphasis from Alan Gregory to Lauren Crowder, his girl firend/wife.
Rating: 3
Summary: Gregory's back, and still being ignored.
Comment: [...] Having read enough cozies in my life to still be able to count them on one hand, I have come to the probably erroneous conclusion that the main difference between the cozy mystery and the hard-boiled detective novel is that the investigator in the cozy is never in quite as much immediate physical danger as is the hard-boiled chap. Even if the chap in question isn't too hard-boiled.
Such is the case with Boulder, CO psychiatrist Alan Gregory, the hero of Stephen White's open-ended series of mystery/thrillers. regory spends his time getting shot at, beaten about the head, henpecked, and otherwise threatened by a bevy of adversaries and never enjoying it much. The best kind of detective-- an amateur who gets too wrapped up in his cases.
In this case, it's hard to avoid. The victim is Gregory's next door neighbor, a woodcraftsman who was designing sets for a theatre production in town. The murder is similar in some ways to a previous murder in Denver, and so the local police start thinking "serial killer." Gregory's PD pal Sam Purdy hires him on as an amateur profiler, and away we go.
Stephen White is a solid writer of thrillers, easily as good as any of the A-list names working in the genre today. His lack of widespread readership continues to baffle me. Harm's Way is of a piece with the rest of the Alan Gregory novels, and comes just as highly recommended from this camp. *** 1/2
Rating: 3
Summary: Mediocre offering in a good series
Comment: The Alan Gregory series is one of the few mystery series that I've read over the years, eagerly awaiting the next new release. At the same time, my husband is just now reading them for the first time and I've been re-reading the old books so I can enjoy them with him. So, with the perspective of nine books, I opine that this is not one of the best.
It's an ok read but nothing that kept me up past my bedtime. I'm not sure what doesn't work in the book. After the high politics of Higher Authority, this book seems somewhat mundane. The victim, Peter, is interesting but not very empathetic. It's hard to care much about him and why he died. The book is a bit too scattered with too many deaths. Perhaps my lack of satisfaction derived from the ending which is far too skimpy and leaves many questions unanswered. Also, the usual poking fun at Coloradans (and Boulder in particular) is lacking.
Bottom-line: I'm still a big fan of this series. First time readers of the series are strongly encouraged to start at the beginning (Private Practices) since it is much more enjoyable to grow with the central cast of characters.
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Title: Higher Authority by Stephen White ISBN: 0451185110 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: February, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Private Practices by Stephen White ISBN: 0451404319 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: February, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Remote Control by Stephen White ISBN: 0451191692 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: March, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Manner of Death by Stephen White ISBN: 0451197038 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: January, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Critical Conditions by Stephen White ISBN: 0451191706 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: January, 1999 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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