A good night's sleep does wonders to the brain. I'm back from my break.
Stephen White has dedicated Warning Signs (published 2002) to teachers. The author was a clinical psychologist and draws from his vast experience in the field to create the intriguing plots and characters in his terrific Alan Gregory psychological thrillers.
Warning Signs is a work of fiction but like all works of fiction, there is an issue or two that the author wishes to bring across to the readers.
In Warning Signs, the issue is a thought-provoking one involving ethics: as parents, can you believe that your child is evil or flawed or troubled? More specifically, kids who might be at risk of voilent acting out.
What is it like for parents? How sure are we that our child has crossed that line? At what stage does a parent know enough to be responsible? How much do we know our children in this day and age? Should we have picked up the warning signs? Do we give them up if we knew?
On the other side of the coin are the victims of injustice. If these victims of injustice decide to act as vigilantes based on their own conclusions about events, then do their victims deserve what happens to them?
If you are wondering what the above grave questions are about, the author is actually referring to the Columbine High School massacre which occurred in 1999 at Columbine High School, Columbine, Colorado, USA, where two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold embarked on a massacre killing twelve students and a teacher. Twenty-four other students were seriously injured. The pair then committed suicide.
In the story, Alan Gregory's newest client is starting to alarm him. Naomi Bigg is nervous and withdrawn and anxious to know Alan's opinions on the Columbine High School massacre. As Alan gets Naomi to open up, he learns that her son and friend have compiled a hit list of people it would be 'cool' to blow up. Alan is now torn between his patient-doctor confidentiality and warning the targets on the list - a list that includes, among others, his wife Lauren.
This is my first read of Stephen White's book and I am hooked. I am only starting with the tenth book because that is what I could get from the library. However, I have already placed an order for White's debut on Amazon.
This is an intelligent thriller series which is not so different from Michael Robotham's Joseph O'Loughlin series. Both characters are clinical psychologist and married. Only the settings are different.
I highly recommend this series and will embark on a journey to read his first novel, Privileged Information (1991), right through to Book 18, The Last Lie (2010).
Line of Fire (Book 19) is due to be released in 2012, the penultimate book of the series.
More information can be obtained on the bestselling author's official website.
I find the Stephen White interview very interesting. In six parts courtesy of youtube:
Rating: 5/5
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