V BELOW THE THRESHOLD BY ALLEN WOLD

Copyright 1988.

Dr. Jack Page is a psychologist living in Freeport a city in the south that through some political arrangement has maintained its independence from the Visitors. One night he gets a call from a patient named Emily Velasquez. Emily suffers from paranoid delusions and seems quite upset. Jack has also fallen in love with his patient so decides to meet her at a restaurant. When she doesn’t show he goes to her apartment and finds a strange man in her apartment. As he investigates further he uncovers a conspiracy that involves the Visitors, the local mob boss, a prominent businessman, and corrupt cops and city officials. He eventually gets involved with the resistance and uncovers a plot to use subliminal broadcasts to lull the citizens of Freeport into accepting a Visitor takeover.

So why is it that any story with a psychologist as the protagonist always has that person falling in love with their patient. Is it common in real life? Well in an interesting twist the patient doesn’t have the same feelings so his love goes unrequited.

This is the third book by Allen Wold in the series and probably one of the best. Its actually a mystery story. The story keeps you interested in finding out the mystery. Jack Page is drawn into a world of corruption and intrigue. He gets involved with a cast of mysterious characters including Visitors, fifth columnists, corrupt officials, and the resistance. He doesn’t know who to trust.

The story also illustrates the two extremes. Freeport is a city that is free but plagued with crime and corruption. The Visitor occupied city across the bay named Northampton is crime free but the people live in a virtual police state. It brings up the question of security versus freedom and what the balance should be. Something still relevant now days and also never really answered satisfactorily.

This was one of the more excellent stories and these were the ones that I enjoyed the most.