If you love distance running or cross country, this book is a fascinating look at a great team and a dynamic coach. Adam Goucher is the most well known, and best depicted, of all runners in this book. Many other top notch American distance runners also are mentioned. Chris Lear does a first rate job of making the joys and agonies of a cross country season real. Never sloppy or sentimental, the author does a fine job of describing the sport, the team, training sessions, and the personal dynamics of runners and coaches. Of course, it helps that he was a first person observer of the CU team during one of its most demanding seasons. I plan on recommending this book to every high school distance runner that I know as well as all my coaching acquaintances. It's a gem.

As a Division III cross country and track runner, I found this in-depth look at one of the nation's premier programs both enlightening and distancing. Chris Lear does an excellent job of getting access to every aspect of life at Colorado, but the overall effect of the book is to describe life in truly rarefied air. Very few runners have the facilities, talent, or wherewithal to devote so much of their lives to training. In fact, only the elites (that occasionally show up for CU sunday runs) and the soon-to-be elite collegians have made such a decision to devote their lives (and souls) to the sport. Lear gives a tough-minded portrait of Adam Goucher, the CU star who finally wins the national cross title he's been lusting after since the begining of his career, as well as a dynamic look into the team psychology and training. Perhaps the most ellusive character of all is Mark Wetmore, CU's Ahab-like coach, who admits in an afterword interview with Lear that his training might have been a touch too intense. With 'Running With the Buffaloes,' the average reader is given a front row seat in the trenches of Colorado's season, which insists on remaining delicately balanced a stress fracture from failure.

a real great inspirational read, for any runner. Even if you'll never train like this, you can always dream...

Running With the Buffaloes chronicles the 1998 season of the University of Colorado Men's Cross Country team. As a former collegiate cross country runner (NAIA Division II), I am very interested in any book that focuses on cross country, and the fact that this is of an elite squad filled with interesting men makes the reading all the more entertaining. While the subject of the book is the entire team, Chris Lear focuses the most on Coach Mark Wetmore and Senior Adam Goucher. Chris Lear follows the team from their arrival on campus for preseason practice all the way through injuries and tragedy up through the NCAA National Championship meet.

Adam Goucher is the elite runner of the men's squad. He placed second at nationals as a freshman and has spent the next two years trying unsuccessfully to win the race. This season is his last chance at winning the National Meet and is one of his last chances to ensure financial security through running (winning the National Championship will all but ensure major sponsorship so that he can be paid to continue running at the elite level). While Goucher trains with the team, he also trains at a higher level than the cross country team, so much of his training is by himself because of the intensity of training. We see Goucher progress through the season, tested by Wetmore's high mileage training and by the high cost this training is taking on his body as the season wears on.

Mark Wetmore is the coach of the Colorado Cross Country team, and ever since he first started coaching at Colorado, he has preached a high intensity, high mileage regimen for his men. He trains them hard so that when it comes time to race he knows that their bodies are capable of what they will have to do. He is tough, but effective. He demands discipline as there are many who want to be in contention for the National title, but they must be willing to put in the work.

While Goucher and Wetmore are given extra attention, Chris Lear gives sufficient time to the other runners on the squad. We get to get a glimpse of who these men are and their personalities start to shine through. The season starts with so much promise, but injuries start getting in the way, and late in the season one of the runners dies in a biking accident. Lear shows how everything affects the team and how they deal with the season and the loss of a friend.

I don't know if Running With the Buffaloes would be interesting to everyone, but I found this book to be fascinating. It gives a very good look into an elite collegiate squad, and for anyone interested in running or just reading a very interesting story that happens to deal with sport in general and cross country in specific, this is the book to read.

This was my first ever Stephen White book, and it will not be my last. White is a talented writer who intricately weaves psychology, suspense and a richly plotted story into one cannot put down book.

This story revolves around two high school aged kids plotting revenge on the justice system that has let them down. Alan Gregory, the psychologist and narrator, is brought in with the PD to help solve the murder mystery of the town's DA. His wife, just off maternity leave and also working for the DA, also gets involved in the investigation because the DA was her boss, and the prime suspect is a police chief in the town (Boulder.) There is so much more to it, but other reviewers also detail the story so I will not do so.

Suffice it to say that if you want an edge of your seat, psychological thriller this book is a great choice. It weaves in issues that are prevalent in today's society in an intelligent, not overly preachy and interesting way. This book raises interesting moral questions throughout -- that will spark some intellectual thinking about how our society operates when it comes to justice, crime and punishment. Do punishments fit the crimes? Is society too reactional and not proactive enough?

For a thought provoking book you will not be able to put down -- this is a sure fire hit...

Author cum psychologist Stephen White well knows how to plumb the depths of the human mind, excising the malevolence of which mankind is capable. As evidenced in "The Program," White's prose is swift, dextrous, and his plotting expertly paced.

The tenth novel to spotlight clinical psychologist Alan Gregory, "Warning Signs" is a shocking yet fascinating thriller. The brutalized body of Boulder County District Attorney, Royal Peterson, is found, and a homicide detective is soon thought to be the murderer. Violent as the crime was, what strikes even closer to Gregory's heart is the fact that his wife used to work for Peterson and is considering defending the accused detective.

In the midst of this turmoil Gregory sees a new patient, Naomi Bigg, an obviously frightened mother. What is she afraid to confront? And, what is Gregory's responsibility regarding doctor/patient confidentiality if he believes other lives are at stake? He is torn as he attempts to help his patient, and watches a series of violent episodes tear the city apart. Perhaps only he can unlock the secrets buried in the dark corners of a criminal mind.

"Warning Signs" is compelling and frightening - a first-rate psychological thriller.

The brutal murder of legendary Boulder County District Attorney, Royal Peterson, while his invalid wife slept in her room upstairs, was shocking and horrifying. But when the prime suspect turns out to be one of their own, homicide detective, Lucy Tanner, it becomes crystal clear that nothing in Stephen White's latest thriller, Warning Signs, is exactly what it seems. Psychologist, Alan Gregory, soon finds himself smack in the middle of the case, brought in by his close friend and Lucy's partner, Detective Sam Purdy. Sam can't believe that Lucy committed the crime, even though the evidence against her seems to be growing exponentially with each passing day, and he wants Alan's insight to help him prove it. Alan knows all the players well. In fact, his wife is a prosecutor in the District Attorney's office, and worked for Royal. Enter new patient, Naomi Bigg. She's come to Dr Gregory seeking help with her son, cagily talking about bombs, Columbine, vengence, and parental responsibilities. When a bomb is found in Royal Peterson's house, and it becomes apparent that Naomi Bigg and the Peterson crime may be connected, Gregory has to wrestle with the ultimate psychologist's dilema. Which is more important, his ethical duty to his patient, or his moral obligations to the community..... Warning Signs is a tight, suspenseful, very compelling psychological thriller that grabs you from page one, sets you on the edge of your seat, and never lets go. Mr White weaves a seamless, intricate, well paced plot full of twists, turns, riveting scenes, and more than a few surprises. His writing is crisp and tense, and his intriguing characters, well drawn, with strong voices. This is an intelligent thriller that will keep you thinking, long after you've finished the book. Author, Stephen White has really honed his craft, and Warning Signs is the latest installment in a superb series that just gets better with each book. So turn off the phone and lock the door...Alan Gregory and company are about to keep you up all night.

I am a criminal defense trial attorney and usually cannot stomach the unrealistic crime story novels that have come out in hoardes. This book is so well written and so realistic, it was fabulous. I read most of it in one sitting! I loved the surprise ending. I can't wait for the next Wesson novel. A must read.

Ms. Wesson, in her depiction of DA Groesbeck, adroitly captured what many of us believe Boulder's real life DA to be...and that's not complimentary (read the book about JonBenet Ramsey, and you'll get the idea). The story carried me along, and the ending was unexpected yet believable. I enjoyed the foray into criminal law, learned a lot, and hope we haven't seen the last of Cinda Hayes. A terrific first novel.

I received "Render Up the Body" as a birthday gift and I just finish reading it over the Thanksgiving holiday. I enjoyed reading the book and the characters created by Marianne Wesson. I love to read books in this genre, and I found this to be a well-written book. I look forward to reading other books by this author. My nineteen year old son is presently reading this book and he is enjoying it also.

At the bottom of the second page I grew weary of O'Kane editorializing - IN FICTION, YET! The author has little grasp of showing a story and a monumental grasp of throwing in numerous, excessive, ridiculous adverbs and adjectives (just like the ones in this sentence).

I do not recall reading this kind of puffed up "LITERATURE" since the last time I accidently stumbled on a 19th century young adult novel.

The editor of this great waste of my time should be fired.

Don't bother. There are much better novels out there.

I must say that I liked this book. Her previous ones with this sleuth were a little bit weak, but she has really done well with this story. Now she just needs to give Molly Masters a back bone and a plot to work with.

In addition to rock-solid plotting with an always-involving premise, Leslie O'Kane has a rare talent for creating delightfully feisty heroines whose unusual occupations provide additional dimension and interest to her novels. It's always a pleasure to share freelance fax/greeting card designer Molly Masters' world, but when Ms. O'Kane introduced canine therapist Allida 'Allie' Babcock in PLAY DEAD, this dog-lover found herself completely caught-up in the technicalities of behavioral modification that Allie employs during the course of her investigations and loving every minute of the time that we were spending together.

Allie's third adventure in crime GIVE THE DOG A BONE may well be her most intriguing and complex outing to date. Off to a rather rocky start, her consulting business is finally solidly in the black; her somewhat up-and-downish relationship with her dogaphobic office-mate Russell seems to be working itself out nicely, and her datebook of problem pooches is satisfyingly full. However, when eccentric millionaire Ken Culberson and his charming but utterly undisciplined golden retriever Maggie arrive in her office, she finds herself trying to cope with "six impossible things before breakfast". Ken is absolutely convinced(encouraged by an unscrupulous psychic)that Maggie's misbehaviors are occuring because she is possessed by his dead ex-wife Mary whom he's equally convinced that he's killed, albeit by accident. A threat that Maggie's running wild in his trailer park may lead to her incarceration by the Animal Control League achieves what neither his psychiatrist nor his social worker have been able to accomplish and brings him to Allie, begging for help. Dubious about Ken's sanity but a [turkey] for a dog in obvious trouble, Allie agrees to make a site visit where she discovers that the bones that Maggie's been gleefully draging home recently probably aren't animal bones and calls the police. Before he's taken to the station to discuss the matter, Ken asks Allie to assume temporary charge of Maggie and emends his will (which names Maggie as sole heir to his millions) making Allie her legal guardian. While the police are still investigating the matter, Ken is released and then murdered. Suddenly Allie is confronted with a plethora of equally unsavory claimants to Maggie's paw and fortune...one of whom is probably Ken's killer. Finding out which puts her own life on the line in the chilling denouement to this thoroughly satisfying, delightfully whimsical whodunnit.

This book starts by introducing the lead character, Ellie Kramer who is taking a year off from law school to work as a legal clerk in the Boulder County District Attorney's office. Ellie has spent the past 12 years working toward a goal - to prove her father's innocence by finding the proofs that he wasn't a rapist and a murderer of a 16-year-old girl twelve years ago. Ellie grew up listening to the hatred and anger expressed by her mother on the two rookie cops who arrested and put her father in jail.

The storyline and the setting of background have all the potential for a great suspense novel except that the author revealed too early in the book who the bad guy is. I feel that after the bad guy is known, the main purpose of the story is gone and all that is left in the story for the reader is to concentrate on the interaction between Ellie and her two suspected targets - Michael and Finn. The interactions between these characters are complex, painful, and all too human. The author is good at showing that the lead characters are not without flaws and that makes them very real. They are not some blown-up heros and heroine that we are so used to reading in other novels. However, I feel that more pages could have been spent on developing the depth of these characters.

Overall, "On Thin Ice" is a good and enjoyable read. I wouldn't mind reading other works by this author.

Ellie Kramer has spent the last thirteen years dreaming of clearing her father's name of a rape/murder charge. After all that time, she finally found herself on the way to reaching her life long goal. Taking a year off from law school, she got a job clerking at the DA's office in Boulder, CO. Her investigation leads her to the two rookie cops who responded to the call about the missing girl.

Michael Callas is a detective with the BPD. He is a loner who likes his solitude. He doesn't know what to make of Ellie, who seems like a bundle of contradictions. He sees secrets in her eyes, and as a cop he distrusts and disklikes secrets. But he feels more for her than he's felt for anyone woman before. For some reason, Ellie is able to pull him out of his self-imposed isolation.

Finn Rasmussen left the police force to start his own security company. He is a charming and charismatic man. When he meets Ellie, he finds a woman that can hold his intrest for more than a month. He is intrigued in spite of himself. He finds himself wanting her more and more with each passing day.

On Thin Ice is a story about revenge, love, betrayal, and sickness. It is a book where you know early on who the killer is, and I have to say that this writing pair did a great job of making it believable since the reader didn't have to play the guessing game. You will like On Thin Ice if you enjoy romantic suspense!!

Law student Ellie Kramer has spent her life living a lie and trying to clear her father's name. Years earlier, John Crandall was convicted of a rape/murder and sentenced to prison where he subsequently died. Ellie, whose real name is Crandall, is clerking at the Boulder DA's office and secretly learning information about the case and the two rookie cops whose testimony jailed her innocent father.

Finding Michael Callas is easy, and soon she begins a relationship with the man known as Robocop. Michael hides a tragic past as he becomes fascinated with Ellie. And Ellie wonders if the man whose bed she shares is a murderer. Then she learns the whereabouts of Michael's old partner, Finn Rasmussen. Finn owns a home security system business and leads a moneyed lifestyle, one impoverished Ellie finds attractive. But one of these men is a calculating killer, and Ellie must discover which one it is?

This is my third Lynn Erickson book. I was so fascinated by the story, the characters, the suspense and Ms Erickson's mastery at layering her stories that I stayed up all night reading it. Highly recommended.

Marianne Wesson delivered a well thoughtout story with interesting characters. I did not figure anything out before she wanted me to (always a big plus in my book). I read her first book "Render Up the Body" which also featured attorney Cinda Hayes and hopes she delivers another one soon. This is not just another version of every other book you've read lately. If you are looking for something new and refreshing, try this.

Mariah contacted Boulder attorney Cinda Hayes via a radio call-in show. Mariah claims her father, Colorado senatorial candidate Harrison McKay, sexually molested her as a child. However, the waif-like woman also admits that her memories of her relationship with her now estranged father are vague and seemingly repressed.

Mariah resides with a neo-Nazi militia group that leaves chills running up and down Cinda's spine. Still, she begins to investigate Mariah's claim. As Cinda makes her inquiries, she finds herself beguiled and repulsed by the militia's "Judge" Pike Sayers. However, the case turns dangerous when someone, perhaps the enigmatic Pike, will kill to insure Mariah's memories remain fragmented and other evidence remains buried.

A SUGGESTION OF DEATH is an excellent legal thriller that will propel Marianne Wesson soaring to the top of the bestseller lists. The astute story line focuses on the legal questions dealing with repressed memories while still pumping out action. Cinda retains her witty, self-deprecating vigorousness. However, her commons sense needs to be questioned when ugly incidents that should have sent her to the police, drive her to dig deeper. Cinda's partner Tory Meadows continues to be a spirited caring individual and Pike adds a sinister freshness. With this tale and RENDER UP THE BABY, Ms. Wesson has quickly proven she is an impressive writer.

Harriet Klausner

Mariah contacted Boulder attorney Cinda Hayes via a radio call-in show. Mariah claims her father, Colorado senatorial candidate Harrison McKay, sexually molested her as a child. However, the waif-like woman also admits that her memories of her relationship with her now estranged father are vague and seemingly repressed.

Mariah resides with a neo-Nazi militia group that leaves chills running up and down Cinda's spine. Still, she begins to investigate Mariah's claim. As Cinda makes her inquiries, she finds herself beguiled and repulsed by the militia's "Judge" Pike Sayers. However, the case turns dangerous when someone, perhaps the enigmatic Pike, will kill to insure Mariah's memories remain fragmented and other evidence remains buried.

A SUGGESTION OF DEATH is an excellent legal thriller that will propel Marianne Wesson soaring to the top of the bestseller lists. The astute story line focuses on the legal questions dealing with repressed memories while still pumping out action. Cinda retains her witty, self-deprecating vigorousness. However, her commons sense needs to be questioned when ugly incidents that should have sent her to the police, drive her to dig deeper. Cinda's partner Tory Meadows continues to be a spirited caring individual and Pike adds a sinister freshness. With this tale and RENDER UP THE BABY, Ms. Wesson has quickly proven she is an impressive writer.

Harriet Klausner

There is lots of good dog talk here (in fact that's the only thing that got me to finish the book) and the plot is intricate enough, but the tone is just dull. I'm sorry, this writer did a really good job of crafting her story, but there is no joy, no sense of fun, very little suspense and most of the characters are just awful. The only likeable characters are the protagonist, her mother and her boyfriend. What dreary lives they lead, since there are no interesting, funny, fun, smart or charming people for them to have as friends. The book is so workmanlike it was a real chore to finish it. It's really not fair to compare this writer to Susan Conant and Carol Lea Benjamin, since her work is unique, but they each also have a series of novels with a single female canine-loving protagonist who solves murders. The difference is that they are fun. Both Conant's and Benjamin's characters are funny, fascinating, delightful people who get themselves into some difficult scrapes. O'Kane's characters are none of those things. Sorry, I wanted very much to like the book, and I love her dog theme and the constant dog talk.

What a relief to find a dog-lover's mystery without all the voluminous asides of Susan Conant or the occasionally too cutesy Laurien Berenson. (Not that I haven't read and enjoyed both those author's books). Enjoyable dog training information, and the mystery really moves along, with plenty of characters to keep one guessing, especially as negative information about each suspect keeps turning up. Nice characterizations; both the protagonist and her mother are appealing.

There's never a dull moment in dog behaviorist Allida Babcock's neighborhood. First she's called on to help Cassandra and Paul with Suds, the Siberian husky they're fostering, and her pups. Then divorcing couple Edith and Trevor want her to mediate in a custody dispute over their silky terrier, Shogun. Allie subsequently finds Cassandra murdered in Edith's back yard, and Shogun is nowhere to be found. "Ruff Way to Go," like "Play Dead," its predecessor, is an entertaining cozy whodunit that dog lovers will enjoy. The series should appeal especially to those who like Susan Conant's mysteries: Allie's world-view is as dog-centered as Holly Winter's; humor, though more low-key, is much in evidence; and there's an abundance of canine lore, including lots of useful care and training tips.

A good book to pick up if you are new to the area, but there are some trails in the area that are not mentioned in the book?

It is small enough to stuff in the back of your jersey pocket, or hydration pack.

It has good information about trails, but I cant seem to find any really technical trails near boulder.

I have purchased the FalconGuide books for Moab and Fruita both are great. But this is the one that I use almost daily. It has a ton of rides that are 30 minutes or less from where I live. I ride trails in this book 3 - 4 times weekly. I save the ones that are a little farther away for the weekend. But all in all a great book. Nice size to so you can take it with you when you ride.

I liked the variety of trails in this book, as I am interested in only the Boulder area right now. However, the maps in the book are fairly poor illustrations that aren't very helpful, and can be confusing at times. All in all, I'd give it a 3.5 if that was possible score here...

This is Stephen White's first Alan Gregory novel but for me, it was not the first one I read. I suppose you could say that unfortunately for me, it came after having read REMOTE CONTROL, HIGHER AUTHORITY AND PRIVATE PRACTICES. As I write this I am working on HARM's WAY. Let me just say that I have enjoyed all of these books and my main regret is that I did not read them in the order in which Mr. White wrote them. I think that if I had, I would have enjoyed them more.

Reading Privileged Information so out of sequence was somewhat unnerving because I already knew so much about Alan Gregory, Lauren Crowder and Sam Purdy so I did not get to enjoy meeting them for the first time in this book. However, that is a minor issue.

In this first book of the series, Alan Gregory, a Boulder, CO psychologist suspects one of his patients of murder and is almost ruined professionally (and financially) by the death of another, who implicates him in a sordid affair. This patient, who killed herself, had previously fixated on Alan Gregory but his problems are only beginning there.

In the year previously, Alan's wife left him, a patient died in a car wreck and his dog was hit by a car. He gets involved with Lauren Crowder and one of his patients actually follows them on their vacation to New Mexico.

Flash back to the present and Alan has to deal with the fact that he could be a murder suspect and faces a possible lawsuit from the dead girl's parents. He also wonders if he will lose his professional license. As I read all of this I found myself asking, "what did this poor guy ever do to deserve this...?"

I think this is an excellent starter in this series, especially for someone who has NEVER read any of the other books written by Mr. White since. This is the book that lays the foundation and provides the history and personal background for so much of what will happen later. The information provided in this story line is built upon (quite well, I might add) in the books that follow this one. This was an enjoyable read and I know that had I read this one first, instead of somewhere down the pike, I would have become a Stephen White fan right then and there.

One of the things I like about this book (and the rest of the series, too) is that White deals very effectively with some controversial topics. For example, Lauren Crowder has MS and when Alan meets her, she eventually introduces that into the dynamic of their relationship. She also has trouble trusting men because of a failed marriage.

In later books, White takes on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) and that's a brave thing to do for a man who lives in a part of the country where they are a power unto themselves. (See Higher Authority). Stephen White writes the kind of book that I like to get into and he uses recurring characters we become familiar with and concerned about. In all of his works (this one included) he includes and builds on a level of tension that keeps the reader turning the pages. I felt that way with each of his books that I have read so far.

IF I can make one recommendation to readers who have NOT discovered this author, it would be this: read PRIVILEGED INFORMATION first. It was White's first novel and the one where he introduces many of the characters he will be using in later installments. Read this and the other White books in the order in which he wrote them and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I have read all of Stephen White's novels and enjoyed them immensely. However, I have to agree with a couple of the other reviewers that reading them in order is best. I failed to do so and one day when I have forgotten the details I will read his whole series from beginning to end. They are that good. In Priviledged Information we are introduced to Alan Gregory who is a very interesting character. This book is a real thriller and very suspenseful. I could not put it down like all of White's books. I find his books every bit as good as Jonathan Kellerman's. Perhaps more so as his relationships with others are explored more deeply than Alex Delaware's.

This is the first of the "Alan Gregory" series by White. What a beginning! This book is chock full of fascinating characters and a plot that will keep you guessing long into the night (or early morning!).

White is especially effective at developing characters that are real and convincing, without the headliners being squeaky-clean perfect. All the characters have their flaws - like REAL people. I am tired of reading books where the "hero" has a picture perfect life. White's Alan Gregory character is superb.

One note that I think is important about the White books: If possible, read them in order of publication. "Privileged Information" is the first in the Gregory series and the others follow a natural progression and reading out of order may cause some confusion. Actually, it's a tribute to the well-woven character development by a true master of the thriller - Stephen White.