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Missing Persons (2006)

Missing Persons (2006)

Book Info

Author
Genre
Series
Rating
3.86 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0451215753 (ISBN13: 9780451215758)
Language
English
Publisher
signet

About book Missing Persons (2006)

I enjoy Stephen White's writing not only for his engrossing and well-crafted plots, but also for his command and use of the English language. He is especially skilled at devising creative imagery that pinpoints his ideas succinctly. A few of my favorites: "If Slocum had wanted to transport the annoyance that he packed into those few words, he would have needed a wheelbarrow, or a tractor-trailor." "...the blue was a navy that shared a lot of DNA with black..." " (his) approach wasn't tentative and didn't have any excuse-me-please in it." "(her) penchant for assuredness about this kind of thing often had scant correlation to reality." "...but I wasn't about to admit it and inadvertently provide monster chow for the dragons inhabiting Diane's cave or paranoia." "He spent a couple of heartbeats mining the apparently innocuousness of my question for innuendo before he replied..." "I'm big on mulligans. I...treasure the living that happens in the echoes. Like to think I do some of my best work in the echoes... the opportunities that come back around. The do-overs...Every successful man I've ever met knows about playing the echoes." "Sam offered me nothing but a stony face that was more punctuation than anything else. I read the punctuation to be a period."

I remember reading my first Stephen White book featuring psychiatrist Alan Gregory so many years ago. I thought it was excellent, so I decided to pick another of his books (now many years later) via Audiobooks. “Missing Persons” certainly contains elements that kept me captivated, but I was rather let down by the unravelling of the plot. Such a shame. Still I think the writing is excellent. The author’s ability to give genuine and realistic voices to many protagonists was what I liked best. The plot and its denouement was a bit disappointing.I loved Diane’s husband, Raoul. Now that guy was intriguing. When Raoul starts looking for his wife Diane (Alan’s colleague therapist) in Vegas, that’s when I got interested in the mystery.The story itself is a bit complex and not entirely spectacular (more a 2,5 rating), but it is just one weaker episode in a good series with many instalments. So I should read some more of Stephen White books.Audio version: I want to point out that the narration by Dick Hill was excellent.

Do You like book Missing Persons (2006)?

This is more like 2.5 stars than 3 but I rounded up since it wasn’t badly written, it just wasn’t my thing. I’ve read others by Stephen White. I’m a sucker for people writing mysteries with protagonists sharing their same professional field. Alan Gregory, a psychologist, who, along with his cop friend, Sam, often get sucked into mysteries.It opens well with several things happening. One Mallory Miller, a teenaged girl, has disappeared from her house over the Christmas holiday without leaving tra
—Cornerofmadness

I've read a couple of other books by Stephen White that feature the psychologist Alan Gregory. They're always set in Boulder, which is kind of fun since I recognize some of the places mentioned.This particular story starts off: "A girl was missing. In any other town it would have been local news...but it wasn't any other town. It was Boulder. It wasn't any other day. It was Christmas. And a girl was missing. Again. God."This time it was a 14-year-old, but it turns out that 8 years before, she had been a classmate of Jon Benet Ramsey, so the news media are hysterical. The police believe that she's a runaway, but as other people connected to her also become missing, Alan is pulled into the search. He encounters many ethical dilemmas, finally making some decisions that could cost him his license.I liked this book fairly well. It wasn't a great read, but there wasn't anything really annoying about it either. It was reasonably fast-paced, but the characters were not particularly engaging. It's not a book that I would go out of my way to recommend.
—Eliece

A few favorite parts:"It's not always sunny here. But I have to admit that it feels like it's always sunny here." - Missing Persons, Chapter 16"What about food?" Raoul asked."Help yourself to whatever's there," the guy had said.The only food in the Airstream cupboards, it turned out, was a yellow box of cornstarch, a rusty can without a label, and an old margarine tub that was half full of something that resembled ground chiles.The water from the faucet smelled like a rat had peed in it.Raoul had decided it was a good day to start a cleansing fast.- Missing Persons, Chapter 56"Make My Day" - Missing Persons, Chapter 73This isn't the best in the series, but it opens a window into my beloved town of Boulder, and in particular, in this instance, the famous case of Jon Benet Ramsey. Missing Persons also includes a life-changing event in the life of Alan Gregory's co-worker, Diane which will play a role in future installments.
—Dustin Crazy little brown owl

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