Think of a Number – John Verdon – David Gurney Book 1
Book 29 0f 2016
John Verdon’s debut novel Think of a Number has been on my To Be Read bookshelves for a very long time. Each time I pass the book, I say to myself “you know you should read that book”. Until last week, my answer was “I’ll get to it one of these days!”. Well, one of these days came last week and now I can kick myself for not reading it earlier!! Maybe I should have just taken the time to read the David Baldacci quote on the cover:
“Remarkable…The writing is haunting and quotable. the twists expertly placed and infinitely plausible… You can read the book as a game of cat and mouse, a ride of chilling suspense or a literary repast, since it provides all in abundance.”
All of the above is true.. the line he left out is you’ll feel like kicking yourself if you don’t read it!!
The cat and mouse in the story are retired, NYPD Detective Dave Gurney and the mouse a meticulous and diabolical serial killer.
The Plot
The story begins when Dave receives a call form an old classmate who is panicked. He has received a letter that asks him to ‘think of a number any number up to a thousand – the first number that comes to your mind. Picture it. Now see how well I know your secrets. Open the envelope”. When the envelope is opened and the number 658 is revealed the classmate is panicked. He can not believe that the letter writer guessed correctly. What else may he know! What did he do to anger this man!
Soon additional poetic letters arrive one requesting money. The classmate of course pays. Soon the letters become more threatening, culminating in the ritualistic murder of the classmate. He is stabbed multiple times in the neck with a broken bottle of Four Roses whiskey. The minimal evidence left at the scene, a folding lawn chair, cigarette butts and tracks in the snow, all lead nowhere and Dave and the police are left baffled!
When another victim turns up in Brooklyn murder in a similar fashion, Dave knows that its the work of a serial killer. But with no evidence of significance found at either crime scene how will they catch this killer! But catch him they must or more will die!!
What I Thought – Rating 4.5 out of 5.
Think of the Number is a well-crafted debut novel. I thought the storyline was original and intricate. I enjoyed the characters, particularly Dave Gurney. During the time that Gurney served in the New York Police Department, he caught more serial killers than anyone else in the history of the NYPD. Now even though he is retired from the force, he can’t stop doing what he does best – Catching Bad Guys!! Of course Dave is caught between a rock and a hard place though. His wife Madeline wants Dave to stay retired and out of harms way. She knows though, that Dave’s not going to let this one go, especially since the victim was a friend. Of course there is the other reason, too. Dave is a cop who loves to solve cases, and this one is one intriguing cases to crack!! So Check it Out!
As for me, I am now set to move on to book two in the series Shut Your Eyes Tight. The good part is that the book is already on my Kindle!! I bought it a while back, when Amazon had it on sale for $1.99! I also have book four Peter Pan Must Die on the Kindle, bought in a similar fashion!! Now all I need is for book 3 Let The Devil Sleep to go on sale before I finish book 2! My guess is that will not happen. But there’s always hope – and the library!! Oh no Book 5 Wolf Lake was release on July 16th!!
Links for the Further Exploration of the books of John Verdon
Here is the trailer for Think of a Number.…..