The Program - Dr. Alan Gregory 09 - Stephen White - English

The Program is Stephen White's ninth novel, and it offers aslight but effective departure from the main line of his career. Like hisprevious eight novels, The Program features White's recurring protagonist,clinical psychologist Alan Gregory. Unlike those earlier books, this one castsGregory as a supporting player in a larger drama, a drama involving a woman onthe run, an assortment of professional hit men, and the unnatural pressures ofday-to-day life in the Witness Protection Program.

The woman on the run is Kirsten Lord, a New Orleans-basedD.A. who successfully prosecutes a local drug dealer for a series of rapes,then finds herself threatened with violent reprisals. "Rememberthis," the dealer tells her on the day of his conviction. "Everyprecious thing I lose, you will lose two." Several weeks later, that grimprophecy begins to come true, as Kirsten's husband is shot to death. Shortlyafterward, when an unknown woman nearly succeeds in abducting her daughter,Kirsten enters the Witness Security Program (WITSEC) and attempts to establisha new, anonymous existence in Boulder, Colorado.

White excels at conveying the tension, trauma, and sense ofdislocation inherent in shedding the remnants of an old life and beginning anew one. Kirsten Lord (now Peyton Francis) finds herself facing a particularlycomplex set of circumstances. To begin with, her previous history as anoutspoken critic of WITSEC's policies has earned her a number of enemies withinthe program itself. In addition, her belated efforts to halt the execution ofan innocent man -- a man she helped convict -- make her the target of a viciouskiller with an undisclosed agenda of his own. Throughout all this, the initialthreat that drove her into hiding remains in force, looming relentlessly overthe narrative.

The Program recounts, with considerable authority, onewoman's struggle to make her way through this minefield of possibilities to aplace of potential safety. Along the way, she finds a number of unexpectedallies, including Alan Gregory, her program-appointed therapist; LaurenCrowder, Alan's very pregnant wife; and Carl Luppo, a retired Mafia hit man whotakes Kirsten under his wing and saves her life on more than one occasion.White handles these various elements with an easy, understated mastery andtreats his heroine's dilemma with intelligence, humor, and sympathy. The resultis an incisive, psychologically acute thriller that successfully illuminates alittle-known corner of the criminal justice system. It clearly represents alarge step forward for a gifted, underrated writer.