The Last Lie

June 28, 2010
In White's winning 18th Alan Gregory thriller (after The Siege), the Boulder, Colo., psychologist gets off on the wrong foot with his new neighbor, TV-star lawyer Mattin Snow, by walking his dogs on Snow's property. In the wake of Snow's housewarming party, to which Alan wasn't invited, an unnamed female guest claims Snow raped her. Before the case can hit the press, the lawyers for both Snow and the victim close ranks and begin to work out a private financial settlement with the victim agreeing not to testify (a parallel to the real-life Kobe Bryant case a few years back, also in Colorado). Gregory becomes entangled in the case ethically when he learns that the victim is the client of a psychologist-in-training whom he's supervising. Series fans will enjoy catching up with the domestic doings of Alan and his wife, Lauren, who are beginning to patch up their marriage following recent infidelities, and their two children.

July 1, 2010
Dr. Alan Gregory returns to the fore in this popular series about the sensitive but tough Boulder psychologist. After years of insisting that his family remain in their idyllic mountain homedespite the drive to town and wife Laurens infrequent but debilitating bouts with MS-related symptomsAlan begins to consider relocating, especially after new neighbors move in. The husband is an attorney who has made a name for himself on the talk-show circuit on womens rights issues, but Alan cant shake the feeling that this slick talker wont make a good neighbor. His instincts prove to be right after controversy surfaces following the new couples housewarming party, where one guest stayed at the party a little too long for her own good, apparently becoming the victim of rape. Secrets abound as Alans best friend, Detective Sam Purdy, is put on the case but isnt talking and Lauren, an attorney in the D.A.s office, also becomes involved. Even Alan himself, whos desperate to know whats going on, keeps quiet about the fact that the victim is a former patient. With his usual deftness, White mixes psychological thriller with police procedural, all while making room for the characters to develop and interact. Recommend this one to fans of husband-wife duos, including Faye Kellermans popular (but uneven) Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)