It always surprises me when a book contains so much good stuff, but also so much bad stuff. Almost like it was actually written by two different authors. This is the case with Stephen White's The Program, book #9 in the Dr. Alan Gregory Series. There's a perfectly reasonable story, but that story surrounds such a ridiculous character, that it's truly hard to care about the outcome.

The story revolves around Kristen Lord - also known as Peyton Francis. Peyton, as she's called for most of the story, finds herself hiding out in the Witness Protection Program (called WITSEC in this book). She's there, with her daughter Landon, because of some threats made against her by a drug lord/rapist she helped put behind bars. Not only did he make threats against her and her family, it seems he made good on them one time, as Peyton's husband was murdered right in front of her. Assuming he's not through doling out his revenge, Peyton had no choice but to hide. This storyline provides Peyton with Danger #1.

One of the problems I had with another Stephen White book was overuse of coincidence to serve a plot. Well here we go again... It seems that before she went on the run, Peyton ran a campaign against - you guessed it - the Witness Protection Program! Yup. She was very vocal about the organization and its flaws. She made the talk show rounds and even got her local politicians involved. That's right. The very organization she rallied against is now tasked with protecting her. Naturally, some of the Marshals in the program are none-too-happy with that task. Thus, we now have Danger #2.

As if having two problems isn't enough, Peyton also has a third problem. It seems that a man she prosecuted several years ago is about to be executed. But, Peyton's been thinking about this case long and hard, and is now convinced the man was actually innocent. That's right. It's just now occurring to her that the man she fought to convict, the man who is just about to die is probably not guilty of the crime. Oopsie! Naturally Peyton starts making some noises about this issue, and some people are not too happy about that. Thus we have Danger #3.

Have you noticed that I haven't once mentioned Dr. Alan Gregory, the main character in this series? That's because in this book, the doctor plays only a very small role. He's there, as are the usual group of his friends and co-workers, but they're not front and center this time.

Instead, the book is written mostly from Peyton's point of view. And, as Peyton is one of the most annoying characters I've ever "met", I'm not sure it was a wise decision to make her the main focus.

Sure, she's been through a rough time. And, yes, you can't help but feel sorry for the fact that she and her daughter are forced on the run due to some very harsh circumstances. I give her credit for all of that.

But she still annoys me. For two main reasons. The first is her obsession with whales. Yes, you read that correctly. Whales. Peyton uses various types of whales as a metaphor for every situation and every feeling in her life. So, for instance, when she sees someone on the street who reminds her of her late husband, she tells us what kind of whale that is, and what the whale is doing at that moment. And this doesn't happen just one time, or twice, or thrice. This happens many, many times. So many times, I lost count. It got to be horribly annoying.

What's her second annoying habit? She constantly sucks on lollipops. Now I can deal with it, if that's all she did. But no. We have to know exactly what flavor, and - this is really annoying - exactly where the candy is resting at any given moment. Meaning, it's on her tongue or against her left cheek or touching her teeth. Did I REALLY have to know details like that??? And, just like the whales, this doesn't happen just a few times, it's constant.

OK - so I've told you all the things I found annoying about this book. Thankfully there are plenty of good things, too.

Like, the action and the suspense. There is plenty of both in this book. With danger coming towards Peyton and her daughter from so many sources, there was never a dull moment.

There's also a character named Carl who is quite endearing. As self-appointed protector to Peyton and her daughter, Carl is shown to have many sides to his character. Despite the fact that he's a gun-for-hire, also in The Program, we come to care for him, and hope that he can manage to turn his life around and find some peace and happiness.

Peyton's daughter, Landon, is a joy to read about. Intelligent, sweet, and having to go through so much at such a young age, you can't help but care for her.

Overall, this is an "OK" story. There are some decent, well-written characters. And then there's Peyton. Her annoying traits really do detract from the story. I will give this book 3 stars, as it truly ends up being "average".



Another Stephen White novel: Critical Conditions

Recommended: No