What do You think about 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
