Rent Dry Ice (Dr. Alan Gregory)

Unlike the other reviewers here, Ive been acquainted with Dr. Alan Gregory now for many years and a dozen books. Ive lived through the disintegration of his first marriage, the beginnings of his second with Lauren when Michael McClelland first appears, her battle with MS, the birth of Gracie, the development of his deep friendship with Sam Purdy, and the ups and downs of his practice. All of these characters are well known to me, even Adrienne and her son Jonah. Perhaps moreso in this story than any other, Alan is haunted by his past, by past patients, past mistakes that stretch all the way back to his childhood.So this story, even if it started a little slow, has purpose in its telling. Alan Gregory is in a midlife crisis, even if he doesnt call it such, and it is both saddening and heartening to hear him confess his humanness.The problem with life is that sometimes it just *****, and this is one of those times for the Gregories. Lauren is fighting her MS both physically and psychologically, and Sam is ending his first romance since his divorce. Lauren, as ***istant DA, and Sam, a Boulder detective, are both ***igned to a big grand jury investigation. And thats where the problems start. Alan, by what seems like a total coincidence, gets dropped into the middle of their case like a barrel of toxic waste all of a sudden, hes suspect in the disappearance of a key witness. He cant talk to his wife or his best friend. Everybodys full of secrets. We learn just how destructive secrets between lovers and friends can be.His life continues to unravel as random events start to fit into a pattern, one that it seems his longago nemesis Michael McClelland is engineering. No one is safe. But all the evidence points at him, not at Michael. Alan Gregory is in need of redemption, both legally and emotionally, and like real life, how that works out is complicated.Beautifully written, introspective and thoughtful, sometimes brutally honest, this is one of Whites best.