Dead Time
White constructs a deeply layered, character-driven meditation on “dead times,” as in times of mourning, times of personal paralysis in the face of crisis or disappointment, times of waiting for someone else to make the next move, or, even, bring a fetus to term. Yet, for all of clinical psychologist White’s ruminations, this novel chugs along on a number of suspenseful fronts. The dead time of shock and grief just after the discovery of a mutual friend’s sudden death in a terrorist bombing attack in Israel brings Boulder psychotherapist Alan Gregory (in his fifteenth appearance as White’s series hero) and ex-wife Meredith together at the friend’s memorial. The discomfort of their reunion is communicated by having the point of view switch back and forth between the two; while this technique gives an intriguing double perspective to the action, readers will notice that White doesn’t bother to give Alan and Meredith separate rhythms in the way they express their thoughts. Meredith wants Alan to help her find someone who has gone missing, the surrogate mother of her child. The surrogate’s disappearance connects to a long-ago disappearance of another girl on the floor of the Grand Canyon. Beautifully orchestrated in plot but very long-winded: the tension could have been tightened dramatically by cutting about 100 pages. --Connie Fletcher--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.