I had prepared myself not to like "Critical Conditions," because, in general, I don't think too much of "psychological thrillers." I think the author..Show More »s cop out by inventing bizarre, unheard-of psychoses to explain their bad guys' criminal behavior. But Stephen White does not succumb to that laziness here. Even though the main character works as a clinical psychologist, the plot never relies on insanity for motivation. Rather, the characters are driven by believable circumstances to desperate behavior; and the protagonist must untangle the intertwined forces which have lead to trouble. Just when we think he has resolved the situation, the penultimate chapter throws him into a hair-raising scene at the Denver airport which provides enough excitement for the most avid thrill-seeker. Dick Hill reads this story masterfully, providing unique voices for all the characters, modulating the voices as the dialogue requires. If you like thrillers with both pathos and humor, you will probably enjoy this audiobook.

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White introduced several characters in the first part of the book and little was heard from them later on. I think he could have probably explained wh..Show More »at was going on with Naomi a little better than he did. It was hard to warm up to primary protagonist Allan Gregory who went from wimpy to not-so-wimpy and then back again. Purdy was perhaps the best developed character. Not a bad story but not one that will have me rushing back to hear some more from White. His epilogue sounded as if it took him 10 years to write this book, which I thought was a bit odd. Maybe I heard wrong. Not narrator Dick Hill's best effort either. Too much variation is his volume. Very average.

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This was the first book I purchased by Stephen White and I have since listened to all of his other books. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers..Show More » you will LOVE this author!

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I have never been dissapointed in any of this authors books and this is not an exception.

People keep dissapearing as psychologist Alan G..Show More »regory trys to figure out what happened to one of his associates. There are lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing till the very end.

The author does a very good job with describing the area around Boulder, the weather conditions and the essence of the community. I was very impressed with the way he blended information from a well known missing person case into the story without getting into the politics of the case.



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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 v..Show More »ery unique and although I read many thrillers it really was something new.

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I really enjoy Stephen White books and am so happy Audio has decided to add his books. While each book is a great read on its own, his books are a ser..Show More »ies so I recommend that you try to read them in order to follow along with the side stories about the main characters.
Do not start this one at bedtime unless you plan on staying up for a good listen. There are lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing what will happen next.


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I've been a Stephen White fan for years-- his character Alan Gregory is a clinical psychologist who is continually pulled into the middle of gruesome ..Show More »crimes-- not unlike Jonathan Kellerman's Alex Delaware-- except I find White's books more suspenseful, intelligent, and coherent. So I was thrilled to finally see a White book available on Audible! While 'Dead Time' is probably not White's best, I thought it was right up there-- lots of twists and turns, a couple of compelling subplots, and some great nailbiting moments. Unlike the other reviewer, I really like the way White takes his time to develop conversations and settings-- it facilitates the evolution of the characters and their relationships and ultimately just makes me care that much more about what happens to them.

I was a little worried I might not like the way the reader interpreted the characters I've grown so fond of, but he didn't let me down-- and he does an especially good "bad guy" voice!

For me, this was one I couldn't stop listening to until I finished. Please, Audible, let's have some more of White's books on here!

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Wacky story line and hopelessly poor reader!

starts out a bit slow but soon picks up & then goes like the devil. Great twists & turns --hard to put down for sure. Dick Hill as usual does a supe..Show More »r super job. Dick is the best reader that I know of.

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It is a new twist (kinda) on the usual Dr. Gregory story. Instead of a patient who is tangentially connected to Alan, It is Alan and his pal, the pol..Show More »ice officer. The story had its unsual great mix of characters from different walks of life ( a specialty of this author) and the various twists and turns ( another specialty) but the total burden of the stuff he keeps from his wife and how much Alan has to go through to get to the climax of the story was frigging endless. Never did I want an end to come more quickly in an audio book. I usually want my money's worth, but this time I felt the end was near but someone kept snatching it away. That being said - don't want this review to mess up the ending for others - I truly didn't see it coming and it was a surprise ending.
So how to do I go back to my headline? Why would I miss "the crazy patients"? Be-
cause this time, as it is Alan with the problem, the quess work is gone. True, other characters intervene and make for surprises but mostly I found the window to the story from Alan's point of view ruining the story. I want to go back to analyzing each word of the patients to figure out how they will impact on the story.
Dick Hill is an amazing reader and I will continue to read this author, but just like most people my age, I crave the good old days...

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