Rating: 
Summary: A book you won't be able to put down.
Review: So let me guess. You just found out that White wrote a new book, and you can't wait to buy it to read the latest adventures of our hero, Dr. Alan Gregory, right? But you read the synopsis, and discovered that Alan isn't the main character, so you're a tad disappointed. After all, Alan and Lauren are who makes these books so interesting! How could White dump his main character now!? Not to worry - this book will knock your socks off! Kirsten Lord is the main character, and she finds herself in a heap of trouble. A former D.A. from New Orleans, she is in hiding, because one of the cons she put away for life is exacting revenge on her and her family. The con promised in open court to take away two important things from her. The first was her husband, and she fears the second will be her nine year old daughter. Kirsten assumes new identities and travels across the country trying to hide from the people who are out to get her. Soon she realizes it isn't just the guy she put in jail who is after her - there is another group hunting her down as well. She ends up in Boulder in the Witness Protection Program, but she can't even trust the Program, because it seems they are out to get her also! Kirsten enlists the aid of Dr. Alan Gregory and his wife Lauren to help her survive, in what becomes a race against time to save both her life and the lives of others. Kirsten teams up with an unlikely partner, a mafia enforcer named Carl who watches after Kirsten and her daughter. This is a fast paced thriller that you will have trouble putting down. The characters are so likable that you will bond with them almost immediately. And while Dr. Gregory and a very pregnant Lauren do take second chair in this book, they are by no means missing completely. I promise that if you are a Stephen White follower, you will not be able to put this book down.
Rating: 
Summary: Ditch the "Whales"
Review: Stephen White is my favorite author, but this book was my least favorite. I didn't like the style of using the first person for "Peyton" making her the main character rather than Allan and Lauren. Peyton's continual reference to whales surfacing in her mind was trite and stupid. I'm sure Stephen must have had a patient who told him something similar, but, just the same, it bored me and added nothing to the book or the character. The plot was interesting and overall, a pretty good read. I missed the old characters, Sam, etc. It was not his best, but still, his writing genius shines anyway. His plots are clever, the lines brilliant. However, this style isn't something I would recommend repeating.
Susan
Rating: 
Summary: Major disappointment
Review: The biography notes state that Mr. White is the bestselling author of eight previous novels. Apparently, that status intimidated his editor, who did a disservice to readers everywhere in letting this book reach print in this state. The writing is mediocre and the plotting is awkward. I forced myself through the first 200 pages, but it never improved. I'm not going to bother finishing it.
Rating: 
Summary: 3 1/2 Stars - Slow Start then Good Page Turner
Review: The book started out slowly and couldn't get a handle on itself. The protagonist, a reluctant member of the Witness Protection Program of which she was critical while a New Orleans assistant district attorney, seems like the typical TV female lead, in need of a man to help her (one does get tired of the helpless female character). Newly widowed (probably by a revenge promising convicted felon), she and her 9 year old daughter move to Boulder, CO. Kirsten Lord, sees whales (a plot device I could have easily done without) that bring good and bad memories in various forms so for that and her overall state of mind, seeks therapy, thus linking with Allan Gregory who is in a minor role from previous books in this heretofore excellent series.Kirsten's character seems uncharacteristically incapable of making good decisions, instead endlessly repeating in her mind the threat made to her in the courtroom by the man who probably killed her husband. For somone experienced in making life and death decisions as a district attorney, it was frustrating to see her unable to be more decisive as well as exposing her and her daughter to unnecessary danger such as calling an old friend and giving away the state in which she lived. Fortunately the man her shallow character needs is another member of the program, a former mob hitman, who is able to be of major assistance as several forces are looking for her to do her harm. The rationale behind the new hitman (not the one in the Program) was somewhat contrived but it added the suspense this novel would have did without. The reformed hitman, Carl, is fun. I'm sure a lot of readers chuckled when Kirsten's daughter's asks why Carl's neutered miniature poodle doesn't have what she expected a boy dog to have. After a pause, Carl proudly responds "He may not have nuts, but he has balls." I learned more than I wanted when Carl taught me flatulence is a byproduct of torture. The second half of the book moves better towards an exciting and fairly believable climax. The suspense picks up nicely as Kirsten starts being more responsible. I preferred the other books in the series. This one had little more than suspense going for it. I recommend all others in the Allan Gregory series and tepidly recommend this one. I'd suggest starting with the others.
Rating:
Summary: A WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM
Review: The convicted drug lord promised DA Kirsten Lord that he would harm two of hers for every one of his.Kirsten's husband is shot to death in front of her. Her 9 yr. old daughter could be next so Kirsten agrees to enter the WITSEC program which she mistrusts from the beginning. They are in the new town wiih new identities for only a short time before her enemy finds them. Another town, a different look and new names but again they are found. With no one to talk to or identify with, she is referred to a psychotherapist. Things that could go wrong, do and Kirsten finally contacts an old friend.She discovers that two of her friends and co-workers think they sent the wrong person to death row and now want to prevent his death. They suspect the young man was framed by a cop involved in the original case. With the death of her friends Kirsten begins to think it's not the drug lord after her but someone else. The novel gives the reader a good idea of what it's like to be inside the Witsec program, not having close friends and not knowing whom to trust. It's no wonder Kirsten is beside herself trying to protect her daughter as well. There is a lot of action in the last part of the book to make up for the slow parts. This is my first read by this author but I see he has lots of fans. His next novel is "Warning Signs." I don't know if I will become a fan or not. In retrosect, I find this one more exciting than when I read it. Wading thru the psychologist visits were tiresome and in the end she was still not sure of her future.
Rating:
Summary: A WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM
Review: The convicted drug lord promised DA Kirsten Lord that he would harm two of hers for every one of his.Kirsten's husband is shot to death in front of her. Her 9 yr. old daughter could be next so Kirsten agrees to enter the WITSEC program which she mistrusts from the beginning. They are in the new town wiih new identities for only a short time before her enemy finds them. Another town, a different look and new names but again they are found. With no one to talk to or identify with, she is referred to a psychotherapist. Things that could go wrong, do and Kirsten finally contacts an old friend.She discovers that two of her friends and co-workers think they sent the wrong person to death row and now want to prevent his death. They suspect the young man was framed by a cop involved in the original case. With the death of her friends Kirsten begins to think it's not the drug lord after her but someone else. The novel gives the reader a good idea of what it's like to be inside the Witsec program, not having close friends and not knowing whom to trust. It's no wonder Kirsten is beside herself trying to protect her daughter as well. There is a lot of action in the last part of the book to make up for the slow parts. This is my first read by this author but I see he has lots of fans. His next novel is "Warning Signs." I don't know if I will become a fan or not. In retrosect, I find this one more exciting than when I read it. Wading thru the psychologist visits were tiresome and in the end she was still not sure of her future.
Rating:
Summary: Get a grip, Peyton
Review: This book is full of stereotypical characters, cliches and overprotective "motherisms". I listened to the audio book version of this title and had to put up with Peyton's continual referral to her daughter as my baby, my poor little baby, where's my baby ad nauseaum. And of course the beluga, killer and other various types of whales who,when breaching the surface, bring one or another type of memories either energizing or devastating the psyche of the main character. Let's use some common sense. First of all if you are in the least bit interested in protecting your identity, you don't make mistakes like calling your best friend and letting your location "slip", or putting your child in the local spotlight. These are nothing more than "duh" moments that somehow are meant to "drive" this thin gruel of a novel forward. This sophomoric formula driven effort has the ex-hitman with the Italian name looking for redemption, the good looking mom with the talented kid on the run, the local WitSec marshall who has the ability to sit in a chair with "his knees at least 30 inches apart", the kind benevolent psycho-therapist (who actually has a couch) who states that he can't be forced to talk under the rules of patient/doctor confidentiality.... and then proceeds to talk about his patient, and so on and so on. The plot was fairly typical, thinly spread on the fairly typical characters with, of course, the fairly typical results. I could best express the impact of this novel as nothing more than the reading equivalent of turning on the television for background noise.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!! Another great one by Stephen White!!
Review: This book is one of those books that is exactly what the jacket describes. It looks good and when you get home it really is when you read it! It moves really quickly and is very well written.
I predict this author is going to go very far and I hope he does!!
Rating:
Summary: slow, but picks up at the end
Review: This is my first book by Stephen White, and I think it might be my last. The book is slow to get started, until maybe the last hundred fifty pages or so. Keep in mind, this is a 400+ page book. The characters are well developed, but there wasn't enough depth to anything to get me excited about them. All in all, a slow, slightly suspenseful novel
Rating:
Summary: It can't get any better
Review: This is probably one of the best suspense novels I've ever read.
Stephen White has become a favorite author of mine. This book keeps you on the edge of your seat and when you think you know what's going on - you really don't! A real page turner - you definitely don't want to put this one down until the wee hours of the morning.
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