Stephen White, Dry Ice

Dry Ice

Stephen White

Dutton, March 2007, $25.95, 352 pp.

ISBN: 0525949976

One day Colorado psychologist Dr. Alan Gregory walks into the waiting room to see his patient Kol Cruz having a severe nosebleed that is all over the area. He doesn't have a handle on this patient and is not even sure that he intends to be his therapist. Alan has other people to worry about, including his wife with her worsening M.S. He also learns that the purse found in his office yard belongs to a missing person who Michael's wife needs to testify at a grand jury. The police find blood on his shoe and he has become a person of interest even when he tries to explain it is Kol's blood.

He tries to find him but he gave him a fake address, a false phone number and even perhaps a phony name. More trouble comes his way when Michael McClelland has escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane. Michael bears a grudge against Alan, which means the psychologist and his family aren't safe; nor is his friend Sam, a police officer, as somebody has blackmail material on him that could cost him his job. When a patient of Michael's is found dead in his neighbor's home, the beleaguered therapist looks inside to find his patient Kol hanging from the rafters. It turns out Kol is Nicole and she was incarcerated in the same hospital as is someone Sam is friendly with. It is clear that the infamous trio is planning something horrific for Alan, his family and friend unless they can find a way to neutralize them.

The first Alan Gregory medical thriller PRIVILEGED INFORMATION introduced Michael McClelland, which explains his vendetta. Now, Alan's dealings with Michael are a different set of dynamics as the hunter goes after his family. He is a villain readers will love to hate just like the protagonist is a good psychological who doesn't have all the answers, personally and professionally. Stephen White can always be counted on to write a strong medical thriller and DRY ICE is certainly that.

Harriet Klausner