Rating: 
Summary: A Great Story With A Surprise Ending !
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat of a disappointment
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Maybe White's best to date
Review: I always enjoy Stephen White's novels. I like every character in them, including his wonderful dog, Emily. His wife, a victim of multiple schlerosis, is always drawn with love (and, I have to assume, from some personal experience of Mr. White's); his cop friend Sam is an absolute jewel with all his human imperfections, and Dr. Gregory himself is likable if somewhat lacking in passion. I truly enjoyed the plot of this one, as well as the key "non-recurring" characters of Gibbs and Carmen. And although White occasionally tries to get just a tiny bit too cute in some of his analogies, I did laugh out loud several times. Didn't really see the twist ending until I crept up on the last few chapters, which is always a pleasant surprise. All in all, a terrific read! If you're new to White, you won't find a loser in ANY of his novels; this, however, is one of the best in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Blinded, until the end...
Review: I await a new Alan Gregory novel almost as much as I look forward to Robert Parker giving us a new Spencer. As always, there is a professional dilemma ("In the field of mental health, ethics and morals are an odd couple.") I very much enjoyed that, in this outing, much of the story was told from the perspective of supporting character Sam Purdy, who offers numerous un-Gregory like insights ("Sometimes people ask me why I am a cop. I don't usually answer with the public service/public welfare refrain. I answer with the truth: People are endlessly interesting.") Unlike the claims of some other reviewers, I failed to guess the ending. And, if for no other reason, this novel is worth reading to find out why comments such as "For the next couple of weeks I'd be married to a most distasteful subset of the Seven Dwarfs on methamphetamine" makes perfect sense...
Rating: 
Summary: ????
Review: Nope. These characters all trying to have a deep sense of irony and sarcasm as if they were New Yorkers. I pictured them all talking out of the sides of their mouths like "The Frog". There was also too much talk about sex, stupid sex fantasies, swinging, and obsessions about what people look like. Shallow and boring.
Rating:
Summary: HEART OF THE MATTER
Review: Stephen White has lovingly crafted a dozen books in this series featuring Dr. Allan Gregory and detective friend Sam Purdy. While "Blinded" tends to move a little slower than most of White's books, it nevertheless is a worthy entry in this wonderful series.
Alan finds himself faced with a client from the past; a woman who claims that her husband is a serial killer. He also finds himself faced with a career crisis that involves breach of confidentiality; and at home, Lauren's multiple sclerosis exacerbates, worsening her condition and adding extra stress to Gregory's already stressful existence.
Meanwhile, Sam suffers a heart attack and finds himself on administrative leave. But he becomes involved in the serial killer case, alongside a lovely cop from California. This leads him to Georgia and Indiana, where more of the plot is thickened and unraveled.
Although it's fairly obvious who the culprits are in this story, White keeps the novel interesting, and offers some insights on marriage, loneliness, and lots of sexual aberrations.
A fine entry in this great series!
Rating: 
Summary: Look at a map...please!
Review: The book was good and kept me reading until the very end, but I was disappointed by an obvious error. When going from Georgia to Indiana via Louisville, Sam wouldn't be anywhere near Columbus,Ohio and Route 65 doesn't even go through Ohio!
Rating:
Summary: A Great Page Turner!
Review: This is the 12th in the series featuring psychologist Alan Gregory. Gregory first meets Gibbs Storey and her husband Sterling in couples therapy. Years after last seeing her, Gibbs Storey she once again contacts Alan Gregory for help. She thinks her husband may be a serial killer and wants Alan to help report him to the police. Alan's good friend, police detective Sam Purdy suffers from a mild heart attack early in the story and is not an official factor in the case. This tends to keep Alan more on the sidelines of the investigation than in earlier stories in the series. Sam does take an interest in Gibbs and starts to investigate when it is reported that Sterling may have drowned. His investigation leads to some startling revelations. While this is not the best book in series, it is still an engaging novel. This can be read as a stand alone novel, but one of the strengths of this series is the ongoing development in the personal stories of all the major characters. The plot itself was a bit simplistic and somewhat contrived. The surprise ending was not really a surprise to me so that was disappointing. The story did draw me in and it was a fairly quick read. I would recommend first time Stephen White readers to start with one of his earlier works since this is not the best of a very good series.
Rating:
Summary: Regarding previous review
Review: To the reviewer who began with 'Look at a map...please!' there is a Columbus in Indiana, which is south of Indianapolis and thus makes perfect sense.
As for the book itself, it was okay. I'm a psychologist and so like reading books with psychologists as characters. He does a decent job of describing a somewhat psychodynamic oriented therapist, but the story itself is not that compelling, and I predicted the ending halfway through. Myself, I prefer Kellerman's Alex Delaware novels.
Rating:
Summary: This latest thriller from Stephen White will rivet readers
Review: 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
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