The Program
Alan Gregory, the Boulder psychologist who's starred in Stephen White's  long-running series of suspense novels, takes second billing inThe  Program. The star is Kirsten Lord, a New Orleans prosecutor who lands in  Gregory's office after her husband is killed and her daughter's life threatened  by a criminal she sent to prison. "Every precious thing I lose, you will lose  two" is the warning that sends her on the run until she finally lands in the  Witness Protection Program. But the danger's a long way from over. As a  prosecutor, she was a loud and public critic of "the program," and as events  unfold, it appears that her deadliest enemies may not be safely behind bars.Some of the most interesting passages put Kirsten and Gregory together in scenes  that underscore White's professional expertise. A clinical psychologist in  private practice in Boulder, he brings his understanding of human nature out of  the consulting room and onto the page. Fans of Jonathan Kellerman's Alex  Delaware will love Alan Gregory, whose relatively minor role at the start grows  as the plot deepens and turns a hunt-and-chase thriller into a multidimensional,  complex, and vividly realized novel. Long overdue for a place high on the  bestseller list, White may well break out with this one.--Jane Adams