I found this book on a library's used-book shelf. I had forgotten how much I liked White's reading- I had read a few of the Alan Gregory novels a few years ago and really enjoyed them. I very much enjoy recurring characters normally (I'm very much into the John Lescroart Dismas Hardy-Abe Glitsky series). This installment was the most unusual I've read to date. White takes some chances here, which is good to see, but with mixed results.
The story revolves around an interesting premise: a person able to afford it can end their life on their own terms by enrolling in a program that will kill you once certain parameters are crossed (i.e. accident leaving that person in a vegetative state, terminal/chronic illness, etc. The main character is a patient of Alan Gregory, and after learning that one of his friends would do no better than live in a vegetative state, he enrolls in the program. He winds up having a horrible accident while skiing, and shortly after enrolling in the program develops a brain aneurysm that would be very difficult to operate on.
The early part of the book reads faster than the later part, which features some adventure scenes. The early part is more psychological, and it is fascinating to read about the thought process of someone enrolling in a program- could someone enrolling in this program be called a coward? How would such a program work without arousing suspicion?
Overall, it's a good-but-not-great read. The lead character is well-written and fleshed out, and the story of his long-lost son definitely makes the plot more fascinating, but I'm not sure about the use of Alan Gregory in this novel. Gregory is a background character, and it almost seemed as if White was forced to include him.