My Bookish Thoughts: John Verdon's Series

I was shy about beginning John Verdon's series featuring David Gurney, set in the beautiful upstate New York.  A retired NYPD detective was sure to be hardened and a bit curmudgeonly, right? I’ve been hearing great things about the series though, and so took the plunge.  I was pleasantly surprised. I took to Dave right away.  He’s extremely smart.  He is logical and pragmatic.  He thinks things through, including how to approach people.  He is also not one to be easily mislead.  He can be skeptical, but isn’t afraid to think outside the box.  He is nearly always humble.  Plus, he is tenacious and ever persistent.  Sound too good to be true?  Maybe.  Except he’s not.  He may be extremely good at his job, but he struggles in his personal life.  He and his adult son have a rocky relationship, which seems to stem more from his own hang ups rather than his son's.  In addition, he and his wife aren’t always on the same page.

Speaking of his wife, I adore her.  She’s a social worker, so there was bound to be an instant bond between she and I.  I felt sometimes as I read the books that she was trying too hard to fit her husband into the wrong sized peg.  Yet, I also understood her fears and concerns.  Even despite their apparent relationship issues, the couple love each other and are there for each other when they need each other most.  Madeleine’s insight into Dave’s cases was not only valuable, but valued.  I really appreciated that fact.  And  I came to admire both of them. 

In Think of a Number by John Verdon (Crown, 2010; 432 pgs), Dave is asked by an old college acquaintance for assistance in solving a puzzle.  The puzzle, a seeming threat to the acquaintance’s life, gnaws at Dave, and he ends up agreeing to help the man despite his reluctance.  As Dave puts the pieces of the puzzle together, he uncovers a very dark and sinister –and deadly—plot.  He butts heads with a few rather incompetent bureaucrats along the way, a theme that seems to run through all three of the books in the series so far.  I suspected early on who the bad guy might be—but it didn’t ruin the wild ride that Think of a Number was.  Although I felt the book got off to a slow start, when it took off, it really took off.   

In John Verdon's Shut Your Eyes Tight (Crown, 2011; 528 pgs), a bride is beheaded at her own wedding reception,the killer, the gardener, seemingly having disappeared without a trace.  Dave has no intention of getting involved with the investigation, but his friend at BCI talks him into at least taking a look.  It’s a pretty good bet that “taking a look” won’t be enough for Dave.  After meeting with the bride’s mother and learning a few more facts, Dave can’t help but get involved.  As Dave unravels the mystery, more questions are raised and the more he uncovers.   Shut Your Eyes Tight was even more twisty than the first book, totally gripping and impossible to put down.  

And then comes Let the Devil Sleep by John Verdon (Crown, 2012; 464 pgs).  I was holding on for dear life from page one.  After the events in the second book in the series, Dave has been left wounded, both physically and mentally.  No one could come through either of the two cases he’s dealt with since he retired and come away unscathed.  Madeleine is worried about him, afraid he is sinking deeper into depression.  She encourages him in her subtle way to get involved then with the request of an old reporter friend of Dave’s.  He’s been asked to help her daughter, a fledgling reporter, with her first real project, a documentary television series, and perhaps also sort out the problem with her ex, who she believes has been harassing her.  The young reporter has opened a can of worms with her project, interviewing the families of victims of a serial killer.  

There is so much going on in Let the Devil Sleep, so many different threads and directions taken.   It was almost crazy making.  Dave’s mental state added to that, making the book all the more compelling and intense.  I came away from the book feeling as exhausted as I’m sure Dave and his family must have felt.


I loved the setting of the novels.  Upstate New York is one of my favorite places.  The series mostly takes place in the Catskills, although Dave does a bit of traveling during his investigations.  

The plots in all three novels are a bit over the to and are rather dark and gruesome.  For me, this series is all about the characters, particularly Dave and his wife Madeleine.  I am glad I started with the first book in the series.  Although each book can stand on its own mystery wise, the evolution of the characters, the changes over time based on the experiences in each book, make it worth starting at the beginning.  

John Verdon has put himself in a good position.  Not only is his retired detective character young enough to have many more books written about him, he also has a past that would be worth exploring should the author want to go there.  I certainly will continue with the series!  

To learn more about John Verdon and his books, please visit the author's website.

I hope you will check out what others had to say about Let the Devil Sleep on the TLC Book Tours route!

Many thanks to the TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to be a part of this book tour. Copies of Think of a Number and Let the Devil Sleeps provided by the publisher.  I bought my own copy of Shut Your Eyes Tight.

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