cover image Dry Ice

Dry Ice

Stephen White, . . Dutton, $25.95 (401pp) ISBN 978-0-525-94997-8

Contemporary cerebral thrillers don't get much better than bestseller White's 15th novel (after Kill Me ), which deftly combines complex characterization and intricate plotting. White's debut novel, Privileged Information , introduced Boulder, Colo., psychologist Alan Gregory and the clever but deadly Michael McClelland, a former meteorologist turned killer, whose rampage almost cost Gregory and his wife, Lauren, their lives. In this sequel, while Lauren, a local prosecutor, is absorbed in a sensitive grand jury probe that represents her best chance to demonstrate that she can function despite her MS, Gregory learns that McClelland has escaped from custody and has devised a devious, multilayered revenge scheme against everyone he holds responsible for his incarceration. Almost overnight, Gregory finds his routine existence turned into a Hitchcockian nightmare. Suspected of several murders, he can trust no one. Both established fans and those just now discovering the author's gifts will be turning pages late into the night. (Mar.)