Review: Blinded

Alan Gregory is a psychologist who has a knack for getting the most difficult cases, often involving murder and the endangerment of his own life. When Gibbs Storey returns to his offices after several years and tells him that she believes her husband is a serial killer, he realises that this case is going to be more of the same. His detective friend, Sam Purdy, ventures south to investigate, but is there more to this case than meets the eye?

After the rather lacklustre 'The Best Revenge', White's previous novel, I was hoping for good things with 'Blinded'. While there is promise, I'm starting to believe that Gregory is reaching the end of his natural life as a protagonist. Dennis Lehane pointed out that he did not want his chief protagonists, Patrick and Angie, investigating case after case as supermen, never being injured or aging, and has started to write standalone novels. You have to wonder just how many dangerous cases a Boulder psychologist can get involved in.

Despite this, there are some very enjoyable moments in 'Blinded'. Gregory's wry humour will often make the reader smile and White also swaps between the perspectives of Gregory and Sam Purdy. He succeeds in creating a different narrative voice for both characters, and it also allows the plot to take place in locations other than Boulder, as Sam goes about his search in Georgia and other states. The reader will soon feel close to both characters, who have their own problems, as well as investigating those of others.

The main problem with the novel is that the plot developments are telegraphed very early and the denouement is not entirely unexpected. An established mystery reader will have seen several of the plot twists coming. This is annoying, since White has demonstrated that he has excellent writing abilities and is more than capable of maintaining suspense, as we saw in 'Warning Signs', for example.

Overall, 'Blinded' is yet another summer read. It will not be setting the mystery world on fire, but devotees to the Alan Gregory series will devour it. The humour is good and it seems certain that there will be another book in the series. However, we must hope that White can inject slightly more originality, or even better, take a leaf from Dennis Lehane's book and venture into the world of standalone thrillers.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.

Book Review: Blinded

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.