Another "up way too late reading" book. Recommended.

This book gives an alternative perpective to the concept of death, when one should die and what control one has over death. Brilliant book and highly recommended.

Interesting premise...if you could choose to have someone kill you should you become sick with a terminal illness or incapacitated, would you? What if they did it in such a way that made it look like an accident or fluke? Loved this book!

A very different book from the usual Alan Gregory novel: Dr. G is extremely peripheral in this one. Rather than being told from his point of view, the majority of the novel is about one of his patients, a short-timer in a couple of senses.

The deal is this: wealthy bigshot has near-death experience, makes it clear that if he ever gets into a situation where he can't live at his full capacity he wants to die, he hires people to follow those wishes explicitly, he suddenly discovers he has a teenage son he never knew about, and then finds out he's got cancer which means his "Death Angels" contract goes into effect.

As he says to Dr. Gregory, he's dying, but there are complications. Not of the usual kind. He wants to connect with his son, and he needs more time than the Death Angels are willing to give him. It's a fascinating premise since we all think we know that we'd rather die quickly than slowly...until it comes right down to it in fact.

The story gets a little out of control, but the action sequences and descriptions of character and scene are fabulous. Having just driven the area of I-70 where a large chunk of the excitement takes place, it was quite easy to picture the whole thing, but I think even if the reader hasn't been there the description is good enough to see the panorama.

The end? The end is unexpected and more than a little pat. But good in the sense of leaving the reader hanging on a whole lot of issues. Nice to see Dr. G from "the outside," i.e. what his patients think of him, instead of what he thinks of himself.

This is one of those books you just don't want to end, a gripping page turner from start to finish and with a very thought provoking moral to the plot. Would you want someone to kill you if you were to be left in a vegetative state following an accident, if there was a company that would do that and you could sign up to in advance? Thoroughly enjoyed this and will be looking for more Stephen White books.

The story starts our really slow but once it picks up (about half way through) it REALLY picks up.

This was my first Stephen White book and it remains my favorite. It was an interesting plot with an ending that did not disappoint. But what makes it my favorite is the unique way the story is told. It bounces between narrators and skips through time forward and backward, but the story is easily followed. That is good story telling.

Every time I drive into the Eisenhower tunnel, I think of this book.
This was a huge change from White's usual fare, and I was afraid I was going to hate it because I'm really interested in the character of Alan Gregory. He doesn't show up very often in this novel, but it's very good anyway. It's a fascinating premise, and a neat new character, with White's dry humor and sarcasm prevailing throughout.

When I picked this up at a local thrift shop, I thought it sounded like it was right up my alley. Unfortunately, it took far too long for me to get into the main story of a man who has chosen to die and has taken out a contract with the right people to make sure it happens even if he changes his mind. I also wasn't a fan of the narration and writing style. I found myself skimming over large portions. I'd never read anything by Stephen White so I thought I would give it a try, but it just wasn't for me. If I do come back to this author, I would begin this Alan Gregory series from the very beginning rather than taking up with the fourteenth installment.