by Stephen White (Get the Book)After two decades and 18 novels, White has decided to bring the Alan Gregory series to a close. This is the second-to-last novel about the Colorado clinical psychologist; the final one, the twentieth, will take Gregory to the end of his long and winding road. Here we see the beginning of the end. Forest fires are reducing chunks of the Boulder Valley to tinder and ash; Alan's colleague and close friend, still recovering from a terrible trauma, appears to be approaching a psychological breakdown; and new evidence in an old case causes Alan to reexamine decisions he made in the past, putting his entire career at risk. White is a fine storyteller, and Gregory is a complex, compelling character whom fans have grown to love and respect. It will be hard for them to say good-bye, but at least his creator appears to be planning to give him a first-class send-off. --Booklist
