• Kill Me

  • Alan Gregory, Book 14
  • By: Stephen White
  • Narrated by: Dick Hill
  • Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (209 ratings)

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Kill Me  By  cover art

Kill Me

By: Stephen White
Narrated by: Dick Hill
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Publisher's summary

Throw out everything you think you know about twists, turns, and surprises.

Get ready for the next big thing.

Get ready to meet the Death Angels.

We've all been there. A loved one or a dear friend becomes desperately ill or is tragically injured. Someone - maybe even you - says, "If that ever happens to me, I wish someone would just . . . kill me."

What if you could choose when to die? But once you decide, you can't change your mind - ever.

Welcome to the next step in the evolution of suspense fiction, an in-your-face/what-would-you-do topical thriller. Kill Me is a brilliantly conceived roller-coaster ride that zeros in on some of the most contentious issues of our time.

Kill Me brings Alan Gregory face-to-face with the most challenging case of his career. As always, White's characters are indelible and the dialogue is dead-on, but Kill Me is fresh and thought-provoking in a way that's so uncommon in crime fiction. Kill Me delivers on all the promise of White's earlier work and then raises the bar in an unforgettably inventive tale of life and death. This is the book that you won't be able to stop listening to, but more to the point, this is the book that won't go away. Listeners will be asking each other: "What would you do? If you could sign up - really - would you?"

©2005 Joe Halderman (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Bizarre, thrilling, and oh so much fun." ( Booklist)
"A thinking person's thriller." (Jeffery Deaver)
"Hill masters the quirky moments of this thriller with just the right amount of irony and dread." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Kill Me

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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Performance
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Story
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Read

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it difficult the put down my ipod as I wanted to find out what was going to happen next. The story line was very unique and although I read many thrillers it really was something new.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Very depressing -- not much of a thriller

Probably not a good time for me to listen to this one -- with three friends/family members suffering end-stage diseases, it hit a little too close to home. I couldn't help seeing them, and all of us, in the pages of this flawed "thriller". (I suggest reader caution for anyone in similar circumstances. This one is too much for any of us anticipating loss.)

It didn't start well. It took me the first four hours to finally come to the conclusion that Dr. Alan Gregory was not going to make more than a walk-on performance. I'd picked this book specifically because I like the Gregory books -- I was looking forward to more chapters about Alan, Lauren, Sam Purdy and even Emily. None of that happened, so I was disappointed from the beginning.

Even after I'd adjusted to the fact that this was just going to be a run of the mill novel, I was grinding my teeth. Tell you what: keep count of the number of times the wealth of the people involved is stated, emphasized, referred to, then restated and restated again. Get someone to pay you a dollar for each "wealth" reference, and you could retire -- or hire someone to kill you, if you'd prefer. After all, who wants to continue living as a senior citizen? All the thrills in life are gone -- no more "heli" skiing, deep sea dives, nothing left to live for.

But here we have a protagonist who loves his family so much that in his dying days -- he's a dead duck, one way or another -- he engages in a cross-country search for his prodigal teenage son, a young man he never knew existed until a few months prior. Leaving his long suffering wife and biological child behind, he takes his lover along -- one of his intended killers. Wow, what a man, huh? What compassion!

Other than the fact that in the last half of the book he spends his time trying to outwit the killers he himself hired, there's not much thrill here, only depression. Each event -- driving on a road, eating a food -- he regards as his last, all the while carrying on about the upcoming loss of his family, even as he leaves them alone, time and time again.

I dunno -- I didn't like this book. Part of it is just me, I admit that. But another part is that I think it's a flawed concept, carried out by a marginally disgusting protagonist who keeps insisting that he's doing it all for his family, but clearly is doing nothing but satisfying himself. Feh. Next time? I'll be sure I'm getting a book that will continue the saga of Emily the Bouvier instead of an incredibly wealthy -- -- playboy weeping into his imported bottled water.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A Twisted View

Psychologist Dr. Alan Gregory only has a walk-on part in this one. The "what if.." part of this story rings so true. What if doctor-assisted suicide was illegal in your state? Oh, wait - that's true for about 50 of our states. OK, what if you were given a shortened life and a dismal death? Would you pay someone to kill you "accidentally"? I, for one, would seriously give that some thought. Well, the main character here is faced with that. Omigoodness! What if that turns out to be wrong? Or not? Or... Trust me, you will not want to put down your iPod on this one.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The best, most unexpected Stephan White yet

This is unlike any of Stephan White's other books. Dr. Alan Gregory is not a main character and we meet him only a few times, though his roll is central to the unfolding of the story.
The central question of the book is pertinent to everyone's life and much of the rich discomfort within the story is because it is so close to home. It is not a perfect book and there are moments that are annoying because they fit too easily. But, once I got through the first couple of chapters I was completely hooked. "Kill Me" has a satisfyingly superficial protagonist and a soulful deuteragonist (can that really be the right word?) who both change convincingly and unexpectedly, dragging the reader through truly intense suspense before finishing the book in a completely satisfying wrap up with almost no loose ends. Read it. It's disturbing, original, soulful and fun.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting subject, but...

This is a very thought provoking subject. The story kept my interest, however it was slow... Some of the inane conversation between the two main characters...speaking in cryptic riddle banter back and forth to each other during extreme instances of life and death, was just ridiculous. The narrator, Dick Hill, started off some lines strong and would go down to an inaudible whisper. Turning the volume up did not help, as then parts of the lines crashed into your ears...however the recording itself was not very crisp. This is the first Stephen White for me and I like his writing style...just not sure this was a good choice as his first for me to read.. I will be giving him another try, however.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Filling out a "Living Will" is terrifying enough..

Would you consider the audio edition of Kill Me to be better than the print version?

I have always preferred the Audible.com audio Edition to Print, if is "Unabridged." However, I wouldn't say 'better.' The advantage to the print Edition, is the ability to continue improving one's reading capabilities and also, the enjoyment of having character voices/identity developed in the imagination.

Audiobooks take away the, "sit by the fire with a good book." They make us lazy, in everyday reading; yet provide an entertainment outlet, I find more enjoyable than TV. You can listen to an Audiobooks while sleepy, in bed; and fall asleep as it were like someone was reading you a bedtime story. With paper novels, there usually comes a time, when you have to just put the book away; yet you are still stuck with the racing thoughts of the day.

Finally, Audiobooks create a character's voice, personality, and subtle imaginative identities, that are hard to rid yourself of, if trying to read a paper version afterwards.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Kill Me?

The very beginning of the book, (not the author notes). The immediate excitement, adrenaline rush, foreshadow, and an understanding of a glimpse into the future of the storyline, is a great way for the book to start. I WAS HOOKED, truly, from the beginning.

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

For me - It is obviously the main character. I suppose I remember from H.S. English, the Protagonist of the storyline. The most ironic part of the book; however, is that the Protagonist was his very own Antagonist. However, when push comes to shove; the "villainous 'Company," is actually carrying at the role of Protagonist. I LOVE IT! The infamous, yet seldom seen: "Who should I look at as the good guys?"

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The book, constantly reminds us of our mortality, and the ever ticking clock. However, to spare my family and friends the suffering and eventual "possibly, slow death;" is selfish, in addition to being stoic. As I said before, a living will, basically takes all decision making out of the hands of our family, and directs the doctors what to do. While this seems like a protective maneuver for your family and friends, from making tough decisions; it also makes them powerless in being there are caring for a loved one. Our clocks tick to fast as they are, nudging the second hand forward, doesn't seem right.

Any additional comments?

One of the best reads on Audible, thus far. Moves forward at a mind blowing pace, and is well-written. The storyline is developed carefully, as to foreshadow; yet not give away too much before it is time. It is one of those books, written so well by the author; with such free creativity - it makes you realize the sad conclusion: There will never be another book, just like it. I feel as if someone treated me to the best slice of German Chocolate Cake, shredded the only copy of the recipe, and suddenly died.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Fast moving book!

I really enjoyed "kill me". Dick hill is a great narrator, he did a superb job. The story line was interesting, occasionally venturing into the slightly unbelievable. But the book kept my attention all the way to the end. I would recommend it!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, great reader

For the past 20 years I've followed Stephen White's Alan Gregory series - always interesting and well-written stories. Having read "Kill Me" as a hardcover when it was originally published about five years ago, I thought I'd like to revisit this very special thriller again as an audiobook and spent a credit on it.

Well, I think Dick Hill did a marvelous performance on the audio version of this very clever thriller. Just lean back and enjoy the ride - this is how all novels should be transferred to audio.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Impressed!

Brilliant. Impossible to turn off. Narration excellent too. Can we please have more of Mr White.......

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Allan Gregory

I am sad that the series has ended. I have enjoyed all of his books. Wish there were more. But I also understand and respect Stephen White’s decision to end it with 20 books.

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