by Stephen White

This addition to the Alan Gregory series is a gripping thriller that puts a terrifying twist on the euthanasia debate .The brain-death of his friend Antonio as the result of a deep-sea diving accident and the slow degeneration of his older brother Conrad to Lou Gehrig's disease, coupled with the nameless protagonist's own skiing accident, impels the man to contact the Death Angels. This discreet company caters to those who fear incapacitating physical and mental injury, and the inability to express one's wishes to die as a result of that injury. The Death Angels keep a close eye on the client's health, and, when it fails to an agreed-upon extent, their operatives will kill the client. The kicker is that the contract with the Death Angels cannot be broken, a condition which the protagonist quickly comes to regret....