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Think of a Number (Dave Gurney #1)

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 5,054 ratings · 843 reviews

An extraordinary fiction debut, Think of a Number is an exquisitely plotted novel of suspense that grows relentlessly darker and more frightening as its pace accelerates, forcing its deeply troubled characters to moments of startling self-revelation.

Arriving in the mail over a period of weeks are taunting letters that end with a simple declaration, “Think of any number…pic...more An extraordinary fiction debut, Think of a Number is an exquisitely plotted novel of suspense that grows relentlessly darker and more frightening as its pace accelerates, forcing its deeply troubled characters to moments of startling self-revelation.

Arriving in the mail over a period of weeks are taunting letters that end with a simple declaration, “Think of any number…picture it…now see how well I know your secrets.” Amazingly, those who comply find that the letter writer has predicted their random choice exactly. For Dave Gurney, just retired as the NYPD’s top homicide investigator and forging a new life with his wife, Madeleine, in upstate New York, the letters are oddities that begin as a diverting puzzle but quickly ignite a massive serial murder investigation.

What police are confronted with is a completely baffling killer, one who is fond of rhymes filled with threats and warnings, whose attention to detail is unprecedented, and who has an uncanny knack for disappearing into thin air. Even more disturbing, the scale of his ambition seems to widen as events unfold.

Brought in as an investigative consultant, Dave Gurney soon accomplishes deductive breakthroughs that leave local police in awe. Yet, even as he matches wits with his seemingly clairvoyant opponent, Gurney’s tragedy-marred past rises up to haunt him, his marriage approaches a dangerous precipice, and finally, a dark, cold fear builds that he’s met an adversary who can’t be stopped.

In the end, fighting to keep his bearings amid a whirlwind of menace and destruction, Gurney sees the truth of what he’s become – what we all become when guilty memories fester – and how his wife Madeleine’s clear-eyed advice may be the only answer that makes sense.

A work that defies easy labels -- at once a propulsive masterpiece of suspense and an absorbing immersion in the lives of characters so real we seem to hear their heartbeats – Think of a Number is a novel you’ll not soon forget.(less)

Hardcover, 432 pages

Published July 6th 2010 by Crown (first published 2010)

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Best Mystery/Thriller/Suspense Novels Of 2011

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Best Books About Psychopaths

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Jul 15, 2012 Sam Quixote rated it 1 of 5 stars

I made it to page 20 of this mediocre "thriller" before throwing in the towel. I realise that it's not giving it much of a chance, how could any writer bring energy or develop a plot in that time? Well some writers have, notably Michael Connelly and Stephen King, which is probably why they're as famous as they are.

John Verdon isn't much of a writer though. Here are some examples of his awful writing that made me put the book down:

"He realised that planting tulip bulbs on a glorious Indian-summe...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Filipa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

M-A-R-A-V-I-L-H-O-S-O!! Um dos policiais mais bem conseguidos que li até hoje :D Recomenda-se vivamente para quem gosta (adoraaaa, como eu) este género e mesmo para quem não é muito fã do género ;)

6 likes · like · see review

Jul 27, 2010 Sandra Stiles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, thriller

This book took me longer to read than most books. The reason? I kept trying to figure out the clues. I am obviously not very good at that. Dave Gurney is a retired detectivce. He has retired and is now spending time with his wife. Unfortunately after suggesting he take an art class with her, his wife is not happy with the path that class has taken. First of all her husband is creating art out of the mug shots of serial killers he put away. Second of all she can tell that the instructor has the h...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Shannon Burrows rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: first-read

Awesome! Well done! Looking forward to trying anything this author writes! Stayed up way past my bedtime to try to finish and had to pick it up FIRST thing this morning with my coffee!

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Mar 25, 2013 Tempo de Ler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Um enredo interessante e intrigante que só poderia proporcionar umas boas (e empolgantes!) horas de distracção!

A leitura de Pensa num Núm3ro, por não ser de estrutura demasiado complexa, é bastante fluída, sem um desnecessário exagero em complexidade, como é por vezes comum neste tipo de livro.
Dave Gurney dificilmente gerará empatia imediata por parte do leitor, mas as suas lutas internas relativamente aos seus problemas e falhas pessoais humanizam-no bastante aos nossos olhos e, uma vez que se...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Mónica Silva rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Opinião no blog http://howtoliveathousandlives.blogsp...

Este policial inicia-se com uma premissa absolutamente genial: a possibilidade de haver alguém que nos conhece tão bem que até adivinha o que estamos a pensar, capaz de escolher precisamente o número aleatório que nos vem à cabeça. O autor prende-nos imediatamente com esta ideia perturbadora. Logo desde o primeiro homicídio que John Verdon consegue revestir uma personagem sem rosto – o assassino – numa personagem malévola e aterradora. À me...more

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Feb 01, 2013 PEI Public Library Service rated it 5 of 5 stars

Think of a Number by John Verdon

In 2010, I kept hearing about Think of Number by John Verdon. I saw it on book blogs, reviews, and heard others raving about the book. It was getting a lot of attention for a debut mystery novel. I was leery when I started reading it and was certain it could never life up to the hype. I was wrong!

Think of a Number has everything you could want in a mystery novel: a recently retired NYPD homicide detective who is bored by retirement, a wife who does not want him t...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Dennis Fischman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mystery

At first I thought this would be kind of locked-room mystery out in the open. There's no way a murderer could write his victim a letter in which he has guessed the number the victim will think of before the letter is ever sent--so how did he do it? A man can't walk a certain distance in the snow and and then disappear into thin air without a rope, let alone a passing helicopter. So why do the footprints show that's just what happened?

As the book went on, however, it turned into a serial-killer n...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Ivalu Rosing rated it 3 of 5 stars

Definitely my kind of book; short chapters, little descriptive writing and a titillating psychological plot. The "self-revelation about the main characters" I found weak and almost redundant(and the characters all in all were somewhat cliche and very easy to get the feel of), the ending and final climax I found a little boring and expected - but the twists and turns and the constantly clever methods of the killer were exciting, to me. I missed a little more connection to the poetry, and maybe ev...more Definitely my kind of book; short chapters, little descriptive writing and a titillating psychological plot. The "self-revelation about the main characters" I found weak and almost redundant(and the characters all in all were somewhat cliche and very easy to get the feel of), the ending and final climax I found a little boring and expected - but the twists and turns and the constantly clever methods of the killer were exciting, to me. I missed a little more connection to the poetry, and maybe even a deeper connection between the antagonist and protagonist. The movie-like feel of it all would make it a very exciting film as well. The first 4/5 of the book I read in one sitting, almost. Exciting shit. But it lost it for the last parts. But worth a good, quick exciting read.

I liked how the characters were often very stereotypical characters, whom just had a specific function in the on going of the plot. I liked this straight to the point method used by Verdon. Although these types of characters also could get annoying to have to read through (rather than just watch on a screen) - they also made it tiring to listen to these stereotypes communicate back and forth. Especially when lots of characters are just left behind as loose and open ends.

The clues in the book, I mostly figured out - which Gurney didnt seem to, he had answers served on a silver platter by people (whom of course couldn't know the context of them and therefore Gurney/reader became the one to 'get it').

The book is obviously written on the base of an idea for the antagonist's clues and kills, which makes the characters and other storylines somewhat shallow and fleeting, but the mysteries WORK and they are exciting, which makes this book work so well with me. Although I needed some things to be deeper, I mostly appreciate how non-deep it went with the characters and scenery etc. and since the mysteries were well and exciting, it's pretty acceptable that the author did not use the riddles and clues more thoroughly. (less)

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Nov 07, 2012 Pam Conti rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who likes a mystery

Recommended to Pam by: Heard about John Vernon on NPR

Shelves: 2012

I really enjoyed this book. I like the way it was written in first person, from the view of the protaganist, Dave Gurney. This allowed me to uncover the clues and solve the murders, along with him. I enjoyed how the mystery was solved gradually through the story.

I also enjoyed seeing the other characters through his eyes, especially his wife.

There were also insights/thought which cause me to stop and think:

pg 192:
"Choices sometimes have consequences we don't anticipate."

pg 200:
...."Rod called e...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Roger rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished

Format: Kindle eBook The genre(s): Fiction, Mystery, Police The basic plot: The story centers on a decorated retired NYPD detective, who along with his wife have moved into rural upstate NY. He is contacted by an old college acquaintance who is receiving thinly veiled threatening letters. The friend does not want to go to the local police because he is afraid that they will bring too much attention to his business; he runs a retreat for the troubled wealthy. There is a subplot that deals with a...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Edward rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book kind of let me down. I read the blurb on the back and was promised a genius detective and a plot based on mind games based on numbers. What I found instead, was a detective who had most of the problems solved blatantly by his wife (not like in House where she says something and everything clicks together, she literally tells him the answers most of the time) and only 2 mysteries based on numbers in the entire book. I'm not saying the overall effect of the intrigue wasn't good, but it w...more

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Apr 03, 2012 Natalie (Natflix&Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was in the mood for something dark, so I picked up Think of a Number a promising-sounding book about a retired NYPD detective, Dave Gurney, who gets wrapped up in a case involving a guy he went to college with. This friend has been receiving eerie poem letters from a mysterious stranger who claims to know him better than he knows himself. To prove this statement he asks Dave's friend to 'think of a number' and then to open a smaller envelope that has that number written on a slip of paper. How...more

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Mar 11, 2012 James Thane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: suspense

Dave Gurney has recently retired from his job as one of the NYPD's most talented homicide investigators. He's moved to a rural area in upstate New York and is attempting to rebuild his relationship with his wife, Madeleine, who has always been forced to take a back seat to his job. But then Dave receives a plea for help from Mark Mellery, an old college classmate, who has received a threatening communication--a poem, actually--from someone who claims to know his most intimate secrets.

To prove t...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Dee Dee Walker rated it 2 of 5 stars

I just finished this book and I have to say that I was quite disapointed. I began this book with raving reviews. It wasn't until a was about half way through that I started to rethink how great this book was. I have to confess that I was totally caught up with the mystery of how the killer seems to read minds. Put quite simply, the killer ask the victim, via a letter, to think of a number and the killer professes to know what that number will be. The number is in a sealed envelope. The number is...more I just finished this book and I have to say that I was quite disapointed. I began this book with raving reviews. It wasn't until a was about half way through that I started to rethink how great this book was. I have to confess that I was totally caught up with the mystery of how the killer seems to read minds. Put quite simply, the killer ask the victim, via a letter, to think of a number and the killer professes to know what that number will be. The number is in a sealed envelope. The number is correct! Interesting, right???? Throughout the book there are more little riddles. The psycopath seems to be brilliant and stumps the police and even the impressive retired detective Gurney. Here is another flaw. Impressive detective Gurney didn't seem all of that impressive to me. In fact, I thought he was quite obtuse. He didn't seem to have any answers until the end.( Even then he didn't have all of the answers.) Dispite this little flaw, I did enjoy the first half of the book. All of the mysteries were fasinating and kept me highly engaged. I pressed on because I could not wait to find how all of the mysteries and questions that were building on one another were going to culmimate into this profound finally. Then it happened. The big let down. The explination of the mysterious disapering footprints in the snow. I found myself thinking "Am I really supposed to buy this? The author couldn't think of anything better than this?" From this point I was constantly disapointed. The explinations of the mysteries seemed very implausible and basic. There was no shocking suprise. No twists or turns. I would have loved for this author to have been able to come up with something that didn't think of. Something a little more unique. Overall, my biggest complaint is that I was not able to buy into the explinations the author gave. Oh yeah, did I mention that detective Gurney is not a likable character? He is flat and emotionaly unavailible to his family or the reader. I really didn't care what happened to him. The only character in the book that showed any promise was Gurney's wife and she is not present enough. She also seems to be much smarter that Gurney. Maybe she should be the brilliant detective.... (less)

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Oct 01, 2011 Tim Warner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Having just finished this book, I might rate it far too highly. But it is an incredible read on many levels. I kept thinking that if John Updike wrote a thriller, well, this would be it. It isn't imitative of Updike, but it carries the weight or maybe better said, the angst of developed characters dealing with interior landscapes rarely explored in this genre.

The book is not what I would call a page turner, until towards the end. In fact, there is a plodding sense to the pacing of the story whic...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Sumando Libros rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Comencemos!

Debo reconocer que ESTE es el primer libro que leo en género policial “al menos a este nivel” y no dudo que termine como película en un par de años mas, ya que atrae tanto como las siguientes:

-El Silencio de los Inocentes/El Silencio de los Corderos
Libro 1988 Thomas Harris.
-Los 7 pecados capitales/ Seven
Pelicula 1995
- El Coleccionista de Huesos
Libro 1997 Jeffery Deaver
[A mi parecer] son las mejores películas en este estilo = asesino v/s policía

Sé lo que estas pensando… Alguna vez has...more

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Aug 03, 2011 Nicola rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, no-longer-own

Reason for Reading: I love thrillers and this new author's book sounded very interesting. However, I never managed to get around to it and now I have the second book in the series waiting here to be read so thought I ought to get caught up with this one first.

A thoroughly splendid thriller of the serial killer type. Verdon doesn't just bring us your typical serial killer, though, he's got a special, intelligent one, who sets up elaborate crime scenes, leaves messages taunting the police and befo...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Phil Mullen rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's always nice to begin a new series by a new author, as with John Verdon's 1st Dave Gurney tale. The *matter* of the mystery (its mind-boggling puzzles about numbers thought of, footprints that end without any follow-up prints, etc.) is nice.

The prose is good novel prose, a cut above cookie-cutter whodunits, if not quite up to Conan Doyle standards.

For me, the possible downside is the character of Gurney himself, the mystery of why his wife puts up with his behavior, & the heavy dose of t...more

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Jun 18, 2011 Katherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

David Gurney is a retired NYPD cop who has come to upstate New York to live with his wife Madeleine. Both are still grieving the death of their three-year-old son Danny, who was killed by a hit and run driver who was probably drunk. Gurney was there when the accident happened and knows the killer was driving a red BMW, but despite being the most decorated homicide detective in the NYPD, he never caught the boy’s killer.

In some ways, this book resembles the Scandinavian procedurals by Jo Nesbo fe...more David Gurney is a retired NYPD cop who has come to upstate New York to live with his wife Madeleine. Both are still grieving the death of their three-year-old son Danny, who was killed by a hit and run driver who was probably drunk. Gurney was there when the accident happened and knows the killer was driving a red BMW, but despite being the most decorated homicide detective in the NYPD, he never caught the boy’s killer.

In some ways, this book resembles the Scandinavian procedurals by Jo Nesbo featuring alcoholic detective Harry Hole and his complicated love life. The story is low-key despite the lurid details of the crimes and there’s a civilized sensibility that provides an overlay of social drama to the genre elements.

The well-drawn characters provide the novel’s strongest elements. Gurney is a little on the generic side, with his deep-seated pain over the loss of his little boy, but some of the supporting and peripheral characters really stand out. Det. Randy Clamm, for instance, is a smart kid who hasn’t been working as a cop long enough to have lost his sense of justice. We like him as much as Gurney does. We also REALLY like the competent Sgt. Wigg, who manages to deal with Rodriguez in a way that makes him look like the blow-hard buffoon that he is without ever really challenging him. (Rodriguez has a real hate on for drug addicts, a hatred born out of his grief for his daughter, who fried her brain on club drugs and who has been in a mental institution since she tried to kill her mother.)

D.A. Kline interests us too because he’s clearly smart and ambitious but he also has his quirks. It’s interesting to see the sparks fly when he gets the various investigators in a room and listens to them interact.

Gurney’s relationship with Madeleine has a passive/aggressive reality to it that feels believable and sad. When she responds to his attempts to involve her in his investigation, we hope that it’s a good sign, and that their marriage can survive to be repaired. But then there’ll be a scene like the one where Madeleine leaves the house without telling Gurney where she’s going—pissed off that he hasn’t remembered her destination, even though she’s told him twice before.

We get the clues as the detectives get them and the puzzle is tough. We find ourselves pulled through the book by curiosity. We want to know what the victims have in common. We want to know who the killer is. We want to know a lot of things and we challenge the writer to make our wait worth our while.

It is irritating that an important clue isn't solved earlier (a simple Google search would do it--but the procedural elements of the story are not as important as the characters.(less)

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Feb 17, 2011 Mark Young rated it 5 of 5 stars

Author John Verdon’s debut novel, Think Of A Number, is a gold mine for mystery readers seeking a novel that captivates one’s imagination. This catch-me-if-you-can plot makes readers guess until the very last pages. Forget about figuring out who-done-it. You will wind up stumped. John’s main character, Dave Gurney, is a retired NYPD homicide detective leaving a police career spattered with successful, media-intensive successes in his wake. Gurney’s illustrious career resulted in the capture of o...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-crime-detection

Verdon, John. THINK OF A NUMBER. (2010). ****. Verdon was an advertising executive who changed his life style and moved to upstate New York. This is his first novel. It’s a novel about a serial killer, but one like you’ve never read before. It is a fast-paced thriller that involves a retired New York City detective in a strange series of events that are occuring to a former college friend of his who is now a neighbor in his business of self realization. His old buddy begins to receive a series o...more

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Nov 30, 2010 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-audio-books, 2010-mysteries

Think of a Number, by John Verdon, A-minus, narrated by George Newbern, produced by Random House Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

Dave Gurney has just retired from the NYPD after 25 years. Because his wife, Madeline, wanted to live in the country, they moved to upper state New York. While Madeline is happy with her gardening and her clubs and her more serene life, Dave finds he is getting bored. When someone he knew in college calls him up seeming really scared, and pretending a strong friends...more

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Nov 21, 2010 Pam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mysteries, beach-reads

Another 24 hour book - it is a must read for someone who is just dying for a good curl up by the fire and enjoy the snow or cold weather with a book. I'm cheating a bit here because I know three things about this book that make me confident that it is that good. First it has been nominated for both the Edgar first novel and Edgar best mystery of the year. Second, it came personally recommended by Harlan Coben (2 degrees of separation), who said this is the new up and coming author. Lastly, I rea...more

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Aug 22, 2010 Jennifer Osterman rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love a good mystery. I grew up on Agatha Christie and Elizabeth Peters. When I watch "whodunit" TV shows with my husband, we place bets on who did it and why, and usually we've figured it out within the first 15 minutes of the show. Lately that's how I have felt while reading mystery books. However, while reading "Think of a Numb3r", I found my theories repeatedly disproved. This, and the puzzling nature of the "think of a number" puzzle, kept me very involved in this book. There was one puzzl...more

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Aug 16, 2010 Fran rated it 5 of 5 stars

Think Of A Number
Author John Verdon

Think of any number and I promise you that I will know which one you picked. Sounds like a parlor trick or a card trick. No so! This is more serious. Imagine receiving a note and several unsigned poems from an unknown source telling you that you will pay for what you have done, for your past and for your sins. What if you guessed a number in your head and opened an envelope sent with this poem that told you the number you picked. How would you react?

You open th...more

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Jul 31, 2010 Marissa Dobson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

Think of a Number is an enthralling page turner, that will have you on the edge of your seat. I have always loved a good suspense novel and Think of a Number was perfect. It is definitely one for the keeper shelf.

Dave Gurney a retired police detective who has captured a number of big serial killers, is settling into the country life with his wife, until a college friend contacts him with some spine-chilling notes. The first note begins with, “Do you believe in Fate?”. This question draws Dave i...more

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Jul 14, 2010 Gaby rated it 4 of 5 stars

NYPD homicide investigator David Gurney retired to a beautiful and remote town in upstate New York with his wife Madeleine. While Madeleine loves the change of pace and scenery, Gurney is finds it difficult to adjust. He's spent the last twenty years putting homicide cases first, a fact that hasn't been lost on his wife. Madeleine has clear ideas of how they can enjoy their new life together and her frustration and annoyance is quick to rise to the fore. When she encourages him to take art class...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, thriller

My Rating: 3.5 stars (A mystery that is a cut above average!)

Story Description

Dave Gurney is a retired NYPD homicide investigator credited with catching numerous serial killers during his illustrious career. But he's been retired for the past two years and trying to live a quiet life with his wife Madeline in a little town in upstate New York. When an old college buddy, Mark Mellery, contacts Gurney about a disturbing letter he's recently received, Gurney's interest is piqued. The letter asked M...more My Rating: 3.5 stars (A mystery that is a cut above average!)

Story Description

Dave Gurney is a retired NYPD homicide investigator credited with catching numerous serial killers during his illustrious career. But he's been retired for the past two years and trying to live a quiet life with his wife Madeline in a little town in upstate New York. When an old college buddy, Mark Mellery, contacts Gurney about a disturbing letter he's recently received, Gurney's interest is piqued. The letter asked Mellery to: "Think of 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 little envelope." Mellery thought of the number 658 ... and inside a little sealed envelope that accompanied the letter it says "Does it shock you that I knew you would pick 658?" The letter goes on to give instructions about where to mail an oddly specific amount of money in order to find out why the letter writer seemingly knows so much about Mellery.

Intrigued, Gurney questions Mellery in-depth about the letter, how it arrived, and how the writer could have known the number that Mellery would think of�a number that Mellery insists meant nothing to him. Reluctant to involve the police, Mellery asks Gurney for his help in figuring out what is going on. As additional letters arrive, Gurney gets more and more involved in solving the puzzle. As the author of the notes performs additional acts of seeming clairvoyance, the stakes escalate, and Gurney becomes increasingly concerned about Mellery's welfare. When Mellery turns up dead�and the crime scene is filled with odd details and seemingly impossible and nonsensical evidence�Gurney gets involved with the investigation, which expands as related cases are uncovered.

As Gurney races to find a serial killer who seems to be infallible and predicting the police's every move, he is also forced to confront his own troubled past and a marriage that is teetering on the brink of disaster.

My Thoughts

I love reading mystery thrillers during the summer. Nothing like the sun baking your brain while tackling a mystery. I'm pleased to report that Think Of A Number is a fast-moving, intriguing mystery/thriller that will have you turning the pages so fast you'll forget to reapply sunscreen and will end up reading on the beach until the tide comes in.

Now I have to confess that I'm not the brightest bulb when it comes to mysteries. I almost never figure out who done it. But in this book, that isn't necessarily the issue. It is more like "How does who done it." Just like Gurney, I got involved in figuring out how the killer was doing all these seemingly impossible things like predicting numbers and vanishing into thin air at a crime scene. And don't worry ... there is nothing supernatural going on here. Everything is explained and makes sense (at least to this dim bulb) ... but darned if I knew how it was being done until Gurney unraveled the puzzle.

The other thing I liked about the book besides the intriguing mystery was how Verdon gave Gurney a compelling back story. Hopefully, this will not be the last Dave Gurney book; he seems like a character ripe with possibility. This is Verdon's first novel, and I think he did a whiz bang job with it. Of course, I suspect he might have a hard time topping the premise of this book, but I wish him luck, and I hope to be reading another Dave Gurney book this time next year when my brain is, once again, ripe to be thrilled.

My Final Recommendation

As much a "how it was done" as well as a "who done it," Think Of A Number is a fast-paced, exciting mystery/thriller that is a cut above average with an interesting hero and an intriguing puzzle of a mystery. Definitely recommended for summer beach reading!(less)

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Oct 01, 2012 Kristin (MyBookishWays Reviews) rated it 4 of 5 stars

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/10/...

Dave Gurney is more than a little surprised when he’s contacted by an old college acquaintance, Mark Mellery. He wants to see Dave, but it’s not just to catch up on old times. Dave agrees to meet with Mellery and he joins Dave at his home. Mellery is overly familiar and his rapport seems a bit forced, but his desperation over some recent correspondence is very real, and he’s come to Dave seeking advice on how to handle the...more You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/10/...

Dave Gurney is more than a little surprised when he’s contacted by an old college acquaintance, Mark Mellery. He wants to see Dave, but it’s not just to catch up on old times. Dave agrees to meet with Mellery and he joins Dave at his home. Mellery is overly familiar and his rapport seems a bit forced, but his desperation over some recent correspondence is very real, and he’s come to Dave seeking advice on how to handle the supposed threat.

Mark Mellery now runs the Mellery Institute for Spiritual Renewal, a professed oasis for people seeking spiritual guidance and healing. However, his past saw a period of alcoholism that caused destruction and the end of his marriage, and he’s worried that it might be catching up with him. Strangely enough though, he’s very reluctant to involve the police, even at Dave’s urging. Dave is stumped however, since part of the correspondence included asking him to think of a number, then open an envelope containing a number: the very one that Mark thought of. Dave knows there must be a logical explanation, that this isn’t ESP, but he doesn’t know how the trick was carried out. He does know that the letters get increasingly threatening. Turns out his instincts about the threat were spot on when Mellery turns up dead outside his home, sliced brutally in the throat. Obviously Dave must notify the police of his involvement, and he inevitably becomes tied to the investigation. His reputation precedes him, and his logical mind is just the thing they need to solve this mystifying case. As the killings escalate, Dave must not only muster every tool in his arsenal, but also confront some hard truths within himself.

Think Of a Number is the first book in the Dave Gurney series, and it caught my interest immediately. Dave is brilliant, logical, and nearly always even keeled, but he’s not without his flaws. However, that’s what I liked most about him. As talented as he is at self examination, he constantly misses cues that point to his increased tendency to push away those he loves the most. Dave and his wife, Madeleine moved to the Catskills in the wake of Dave’s retirement, and I always got the sense that Madeleine was desperate to see him take what she considered a much needed break from law enforcement, but if nothing else, Dave Gurney is a cop to the core, and even a tragedy in his past can’t pull him back from the puzzle of this newest case. One would almost think he was using the case so as not to have to deal his wife’s frustration, or the calls from his adult son whose life and career paths he doesn’t quite approve of. His wonderfully precise mind is always “on”, in working a case, in his art (manipulating the mugshot photos of some of his most notorious collars), but the things that should be closest to him seem always just one step too many away.

I dare you to start the first page of this book and not get hooked immediately. It begins with a decidedly creepy lullaby, uttered from a son to his mother and sets up this intricate puzzle mystery perfectly. When you’ve got a hero this fascinating, a villain as brilliant and cunning as he is evil, and and author whose writing pulls you in and dazzles with its smooth grasp of detail and breathless pace, and you’ve got an unputdownable mystery that you’ll stay up very late finishing. I’m looking forward to the next installment in this series. Recommended for suspense fans and puzzle mystery lovers alike!(less)

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About John Verdon

JOHN VERDON has held several executive positions with Manhattan advertising firms, but like his protagonist, he recently relocated with his wife to rural upstate New York.

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“Eis uma coisa curiosa acerca do passado: a forma como jaz à nossa espera, silencioso, invisível, quase como se ali não estivesse. Podemos ter a tentação de julgar que desapareceu, que já não existe. De repente, como um faisão espantado para fora do seu esconderijo, erguer-se-á numa explosão de som, cor e movimento: escandalosamente vivo.” — 1 person liked it

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Think of a Number (Dave Gurney #1)

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