Critical Conditions by Stephen White (an Alan Gregory Novel)

This is my second Stephen White novel and at least the fifth one reviewed in the blog. Midwest Dave has already been a long time fan of this author, and now I’m fully on board with that. Alan Gregory, a clinical psychologist, and his pal detective Sam Purdy team up to solve another murder mystery. White has a talent for creating a cast of compelling cast characters who repeat and evolve from one book to the next, while mixing his stories with new persons that are specific to the current story. In Critical Conditions, the reader is forced to accept a couple remarkable coincidences in terms of who knows whom, but that was not too much for me to swallow, and I kept reading. After all, Boulder, Colorado, where much of the story takes place is a small town, and therein lined much of the unfolding drama amongst the characters.

Little Chaney Trent is dying of a viral cardiopathy, and the only treatment, while promising, is not proven. The managed care company has denied payment for “experimental” treatment which would mean flying her to Seattle where a couple of doctors have developed the new treatment protocol, which probably involves a heart transplant. But, there are no guarantees that even if Chaney’s parents could raise the money, that the treatment would work. Meanwhile, Dr. Ed Robilio, the owner and CEO of MedExcel insurance company lives and works right in the Boulder. And, Ed suddenly winds up dead, shot twice in his own home, and Chaney’s 15-year-old sister is found with lots of evidence suggesting she did it.

There are multiple plot changes which I did not see coming and White kept me guessing until the end. And, this brief review is not doing justice to the rich subplots. I may be moving Stephen White into my power rotation of authors, so I’m ready to take a look at his next book in the series. Unfortunately, Kindle does not have all of his early books, so I’ll grab the earliest one I can, Remote Control.