Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller White juggles too many story lines that never quite coalesce in his uneven 16th thriller to feature Boulder, Colo., psychologist Alan Gregory (after 2007's Dry Ice). On a trip to Manhattan, soon after adopting the son of a close friend who died in a terrorist blast in Israel, Alan meets with his ex-wife, Merideth, who asks him to help her and her fiance, political consultant Eric Leffler, track down their surrogate, who disappeared soon after becoming pregnant with their child. Initially reluctant, Alan eventually agrees to investigate. Aided by his Boulder detective friend, Sam Purdy, Alan gets drawn into a web of lies that stretches back to an ill-fated Grand Canyon hiking trip when Eric and the surrogate were in college together. White never recovers his rhythm after beginning the narrative with fractured accounts of the hiking expedition and then abruptly switching to Alan and Merideth's story. An unsatisfying climax and a distracting subplot involving a long-ago adoption make this one of the weaker entries in the series. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
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.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2008 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In his 16th novel, White (Missing Persons) deepens his exploration of the psyches of the characters in his crime fiction series involving Colorado psychologist Alan Gregory, his family, and his friends. White's 15-year practice in clinical psychology lends credence to descriptions of his characters' motivations, perceptions, and reactions. Thoughtful listeners will likely find Alan's psychological musings involving and rewarding, especially as a seeming midlife crisis forces him to reassess his relationships. We get the 360 view: Alan's insights into himself and into others' impulses, along with commentary on his failed first marriage and not-so-gentle criticisms from friend Sam Purdy. White combines a fascinating murder mystery with wonderful descriptions of Colorado, Southern California, and New York. Read by Dick Hill, this is a well-engineered, well-directed audiobook that will keep the listener's attention; very highly recommended for adult crime fiction and mystery collections. [White is a New York Times best-selling author; Dead Time is also available as downloadable audio from Audible.com.--Ed.]--Cliff Glaviano, Bowling Green State Univ. Libs., OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
