Dead Time

I really enjoy the Alan Gregory series. This one is as good as any he's written.

This was an excellent read. A great book. Probably the best Stephen White has written, and I have read all of his previous books.

As always, Stephen White is on his game with "Dead Time"! Excellent read! "Dead Time" kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire book! Lots of suspense and fun twists. If you have enjoyed other Alan Gregory books, this will not disappoint. My only nitpicky complaint, is the "His Ex", "Her Ex" term when switching narrators for the story. For some reason, that really annoyed me. Perhaps it seemed to trite or conventional for an author as creative as Stephen White. Buy it, read it, enjoy it, and recommend to others!

Dead Time by Stephen White is the most recent entry in the Dr. Alan Gregory series, and let me be the first to tell you that White is back on his game. Alan and his wife Lauren are struggling to cope with all of the revelations from the previous book, Dry Ice, as well as their new adopted son. Lauren and Grace, their daughter, go to the Netherlands to find the daughter Lauren put up for adoption years before. Jonas, the new son, is going to spend a few weeks with his mother's relatives in New York, so Alan takes an apartment in NYC to be near him. Merideth, Alan's ex, calls Alan and asks him to investigate the disappearance of the surrogate she's hired to carry her baby. There are multiple storylines that weave in and out of each other, but White handles them all with style. Sam and Alan's relationship is unsteady after the events of the previous book, and through their detective work, they come to a new and deeper friendship. White's books about Alan were starting to get a little stale. He and Lauren were a little too happy, and nearly every book involved some kind of danger for Lauren and Grace. While I wasn't thrilled with Dry Ice, it should be seen as a pivotal book in this series, because it's turned everything around. Alan is no longer predictable, flirting with alcoholism and infidelity, and even Lauren is hiding some secrets. The series suddenly seems fresh and full of possibility.

I am a big Stephen White fan - Dry Ice certainly ran the gamut of emotions with White's characters, and with his readers. Dead Time starts with a catch line that gets your attention. Then proceeds to explain that event. It all starts at neighbor and friend Adrienne's memorial service reception - Alan's ex-wife Meredith appears. She was a dear friend of Adrienne's but she has an agenda - the surrogate for her child is missing - and she needs Alan's help to find her. Alan's new 'son', Jonas, Adrienne's son, goes to New York for a visit with his uncle and family. Alan comes along for support and stays back in NYC. Meredith wants Alan to involve Alan's best bud, Sam Purdy, who has always had Alan's back - through thick and thin - to help investigate a decades old mystery that ties her fiance and baby's daddy with the surrogate (missing). Lauren and Alan's marriage isn't on the most solid ground at this point, and Lauren and daughter go to find Lauren's daughter she gave up for adoption, leaving Alan 'single' and prey to ladies' attentions... Well, if it seems a little soap-opera-y - it kind of is. Circumstances and events a little too much coincidental to make all the places fit the puzzle. Sam and Alan are still on solid ground - what will happen to Alan's marriage, we'll have to wait for other books. A Stephen White book, however not his best, is better than most authors' works, and his readers will not be disappointed with this effort. If they understand that sometimes the actions are a stretch.