Book Review: Missing Persons

Reviewed By: Woodstock - RAM

Missing Persons     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Stephen White
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Psychological Suspense   Thriller
Series: Alan Gregory # 13
391 pages, Dutton Publishers, March 2005

White's protagonist Alan Gregory returns in a story which is ingeniously plotted, tense, and totally absorbing. Events open with an unexplained death, as the body of a colleage of Alan and his partner Diane Estevez is discovered draped across a chair in her office. Police have several difficult questions for Alan and Diane, and their immediate plans for attending a conference together are thrown into turmoil.

As the wintry days in Boulder Colorado approach the Christmas season, a young woman who may have been a patient of the dead woman disappears, bringing crowds of media trucks, reporters, and microwave towers back to the block where young Jon Benet Ramsey disappeared 8 years ago. Alan struggles to stay clear of the media frenzy, but some of his patients may be involved. Other people disappear, among them Diane Estevez herself, and Alan's friendship and concern for her take center stage in his reactions, pushing his ethical responsibilities as a therapist aside.

As always, White provides intriguing background on the contemporary practice of therapeutic psychology. Yet the discussions of ethics and professional responsibility never take over the telling of the story.

As a resident of Colorado's front range, where White sets his books, I can relate that the "feel" of the area is presented quite well - down to quirky economic facts about Boulder, the wide variations in winter weather, the heavy traffic on the one major artery through the mountains, and several sly pokes at menu choices in popular Boulder eateries.

Woodstock - RAM

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