Line of Fire by Stephen White

[while posting this review, I think I've noticed a first. This is the first book reviewed by all 3 principles here at MRB, so take a look at each entry in our archives.]

 Fire season is still in full swing outside of Boulder, Colorado. Psychotherapist Alan Gregory, his ADA wife Lauren, and kids have to be vigilant for evacuation calls.

Alan is buds with Sam Purdy (wasn’t that the name of a cop in the movie In The Heat Of The Night?). In the previous installment of this series, it looks like Sam protected Alan’s family by staging a suicide of a perp who had been threatening Alan’s children in a rental house outside of Boulder in the next county. Alan knew about what Sam did and both are doing their damn best at watching out for anyone asking the wrong questions.

A couple other loose threads from the prior book pop up. One has just been released from jail and is looking for a place to rent and inquires about the house where the ‘suicide’ took place. Another isn’t as obvious. A woman makes an appointment with Gregory and after a number of sessions, sure seems to be a woman who may or may not be having an affair with the husband of Alan’s partner, Diane.

Then word gets out that an autistic child who lives near the suicide house has information about who went in/out the night of the death. The DA of that county contacts the Boulder DA who drops the case in Lauren’s lap.

Now Sam and Alan are fixated on what will come out and when. Lauren knows nothing about what happened and investigates as normal. Alan’s partner Diane is flipping out and a new fire has blossomed up in the canyon just over the ridge from where family Gregory live.

This is my first book by Stephen White (a practicing clinical psychologist). Alan and Sam and the main characters and Hunter’s presentation of the friendship seems pretty real and genuine. The developments of the 2 plots (the ‘suicide’ and the affair) are carefully revealed and the scene where they intersect, well I’d be lying if I said I didn’t gasped when they did.  Kind of sorry I didn’t start this series at the beginning as that might be wise course if these seem interesting.

East Coast Don