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    Think of a Number: A Dave Gurney Novel, Book 1
    Unavailable
    Think of a Number: A Dave Gurney Novel, Book 1
    Unavailable
    Think of a Number: A Dave Gurney Novel, Book 1
    Audiobook13 hours

    Think of a Number: A Dave Gurney Novel, Book 1

    Written by John Verdon

    Narrated by George Newbern

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    The first book in the Dave Gurney series, Think of a Number is a heart-pounding game of cat and mouse that grows relentlessly darker and more frightening as its pace accelerates

    Threatening letters arrive in the mail over a period of weeks, ending with a simple declaration: "Think of any number…picture it…now see how well I know your secrets." Those who comply find that the letter writer has predicted their random choice exactly. But when oddities that begin as a diverting puzzle quickly ignite into a massive serial murder investigation, police are confronted with a 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.

    Brought in as an investigative consultant, Dave Gurney, a recently retired NYPD homicide investigator, 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 he wonders if he's met an adversary who can't be stopped.

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 6, 2010
    ISBN9780307715289
    Unavailable
    Think of a Number: A Dave Gurney Novel, Book 1
    Author

    John Verdon

    John Verdon is the author of the Dave Gurney series of thrillers, international bestsellers published in more than two dozen languages — Think of a Number, Shut Your Eyes Tight, Let the Devil Sleep, Peter Pan Must Die, and Wolf Lake. Before becoming a crime fiction writer, John had two previous careers — as an advertising creative director and a custom furniture maker. He currently lives with his wife Naomi in the rural mountains of upstate New York — raising chickens, tending the garden, mowing the fields, and devising the intricate plots of the Gurney novels.

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    Reviews for Think of a Number

    3.5/5

    511 ratings60 reviews

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    • 4/5
      My thoughts...I read this book quite some time ago, the plot still lingers whenever I see the book. This was definitely a pulsating thriller. As you read be very mindful of the clues that are scattered throughout the entire book. You may think you have it figured out just to find the author has added another striking twist to the story.
    • 5/5
      Excellent! Well written.. You can't help but try to figure out 'how it's done'... and when the author reveals it, he does so in such a way that you enjoy it -- whether you'd figured it out or not.
    • 5/5
      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 hots for her husband. There is obvious problems and tension over unresolved issues in their marriage.Enter old college classmate turned spiritual guru, Mellery. He has been receiving a series of letters written in poetic form. They asked him to pick a number and then without knowing who the person was or anything else the writer of the letter picked the number. Each letter alludes to Mellery's past and something he should remember connected to the date. But how does the letter writer do this. Meller calls on Gurney to help him figure this out. He refuses to take Gurney's advice to contact the police and ends of dead. When all else fails, Gurney is called upon to assist in the case, putting himself and his wife in danger.This was everything I could want in a thriller. This one kept throwing clues at me but there were enough twists and turns in it that I had not figured it out until very near the end. Awesome read and one I will definitely recommend.
    • 4/5
      Think of A Number is a fairly strong debut. At its center, we have Dave Gurney, retired NYPD homicide detective extraordinaire. He's retired fairly young and is living in the beautiful Catskills (in a nice, subtle touch, the weather in the novel and the landscape changes to reflect the events going on plot-wise and psychology-wise). He lives with his extremely intelligent and complicated wife, Madeline, and has a touchy relationship with his son from his first marriage, Kyle. In his spare time, he does mug-shot avant-garde art for a local gallery owner, focusing on mug shots from his past serial murderer arrests (a pastime which does not please Madeline, who yearns for him to be truly retired from police work, in every sense).Into this situation burst Mark Mellery, self-styled self-help guru and owner of the enormously successful Mellery Institute for Spiritual Renewal. He's received a chilling communication in verse, daring him to think of a number, any number. He does as the message demands, opens up the enclosed envelope . . . and there's the number he thought of. How can this be? In a panic, he turns to Gurney, whom he knew from college. Just like that, Gurney finds himself drawn into a game of cat-and-mouse. Mellery receives more frightening communications, but the pace is slow; there's no actual murder until page 115. In short order, Gurney is contracted by a self-interested DA to contract-work for the local police department in solving the murder.And then there are more murders, and it's apparent that a highly sophisticated, highly intelligent serial killer is at work. Throughout all this, slowing down the suspense at times, is interwoven Gurney's tensions with his wife, but there is also the very realistic tension of working with burecratic police forces and cross-juristictional investigative teams. There's plenty of focus on forensic evidence, but there's also lots of old-fashioned gumshoe police work. You get both sides of the equation in this novel.The book moves slowly at times; Gurney is very introspective, often in a kind of redundant matter (you think: but haven't we been through this already?). And some scenes are repetitive: for instance, there are countless scenes of him pulling his car over on the side of the road and going to sleep. The tension with Madeline is prolonged, but that achieves some resolution by the novel's end. Overall, Gurney is a character I'd like to see more of; I can see this being a series. A little bit faster-paced plotting would do a lot to help things out, but it was a good, quick read. The characters are distinctive, and all the elements of a quirky suspense novel are there; I liked it that you had both forensics and procedural elements. Recommendation: a good debut.
    • 3/5
      When he was still on the force, homicide investigator David Gurney was featured in New York magazine as an NYPD "Super Detective." He'd brought down several infamous serial killers (including Peter Possum Piggert, an Oedipal killer if ever there was one, who at the age of fifteen killed his father, replaced him as his mother's consort, then fifteen years later killed his mother and replaced her with the two daughters they'd had together) and earned a reputation as the department's top homicide cop. He'd developed his innate facility with puzzles and brain-teasers as a tool to help him get inside the mind of the psychopaths he hunted.Recently retired, David Gurney leads an enviable life. He's only forty-seven, lives in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of upstate New York with his beautiful wife Madeleine, and since his retirement has achieved unexpected success as an artist (he uses a computer program to enhance mug shots of serial killers, drawing out their inner selves to create disturbing and evocative portraits...quite the hit with the edgy-artsy set). So why does he sometimes feel a kind of unease, one that he can't quite express but which simmers just below the calm surface of his apparent well-being? Perhaps because Madeleine is inexplicably jealous of his relationship with the gallery owner who represents him? Perhaps because of the uncomfortable relationship he has with Kyle, the twenty-four year old son from his first marriage? Too much unfinished business in his life? Or maybe he just misses the thrill of the chase.Now, whatever the reason for his uneasiness, although his superego is telling him "no, no, no," and however reluctant he thinks he is, he jumps at the opportunity to get back in the game when contacted by an old college acquaintance who's having a bit of a situation. Mark Mellery, whom Gurney hasn't seen in over twenty years, seems to have much fonder and deeper memories of Gurney--who he calls "Davey," much to Gurney's chagrin--than Gurney does of him. Mellery is a recovering alcoholic who turned his life around to become a New Age self-help guru. Author of two bestselling books and founder of the Mellery Institute for Spiritual Renewal (which is exactly what it sounds like), Mellery received a strange, disturbing communication, in verse, which said that the writer knew what he had done and asked him to think of a number. After thinking of the number 658 Mellery then opened the small, sealed envelope enclosed with the verse, and found his number there.The as-yet-unidentified psychopath has already set the wheels in motion, however, and before Gurney's had a chance really to begin working out the puzzle, Mellery is dead. The staging of evidence at the murder scene adds new layers to the puzzle, and the investigation's barely begun when other murders showing the same MO begin popping up.David Gurney is a good character, with the potential, some day, to be an even better one. Likewise, Think of a Number is a good first novel, by an author who will certainly become better as he becomes more comfortable with his craft. In this first effort, although the mystery is a really good and clever one, the story plods along at times, slowed down more than the reader would like by the main character's navel-gazing and hand-wringing. The interplay between David Gurney and Madeleine, and, more especially, between Gurney and the local cops forced to work with him by an ambitious DA they're none too fond of, is spot-on. A little more of that, a little more of the amazing puzzle solving, and a little less of the introspection, and you've got a true winner.
    • 3/5
      My Rating: 3.5 stars (A mystery that is a cut above average!)Story DescriptionDave 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 ofa 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 deadand the crime scene is filled with odd details and seemingly impossible and nonsensical evidenceGurney 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 ThoughtsI 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 RecommendationAs 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!
    • 1/5
      I tried to read this book back when it was released but could not find the interest to want to read the book, so I put it down and walked away from it. It was only because I am attempting to go through my to be read pile of books that have been sitting there a long time that I picked up this book again. I started from the beginning again as it was so long ago. The prologue was good. It had my attention. The next couple of chapters were ok but because they are short in length I was able to get through them pretty quickly. It was apparent quickly that I was not wrong in putting down this book the first time. There was what I thought to be a lot of useless chatter. I flipped ahead skipping chapters just to see when the story picked up. It was not after about 2 to 3 more times of doing this that I finally found the story to pick up but I did not continue reading the book. Not impressed.
    • 3/5
      OK Book ex Cop Dave Gurney moves to the countryside for a quiet life.He assists an old friend who has received strange poems through the post. He is killed, Dave loosely works with the Police more bodies start piling up. Can Dave save the day?I liked this character and can see another book or two revolving around his life.
    • 3/5
      Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to my expectations. The reviews praised John Verdon's complex characters, but I found the main character's inner turmoil to be rather boring and not exceptionally important, and I found the other characters to be flat and similarly unimportant. Normally, I'd say that this doesn't matter as much in a murder mystery, but even the mystery fell flat by the end. The big reveal wasn't particularly shocking, and I was so bored with the main character that I didn't really care if he lived or died, just as long as the drawn out internal monologues stopped. The book did have its redeeming qualities, but on the whole, I felt that this was too much of an amateur effort to be really enjoyable.
    • 3/5
      Will keep you guessing to the very end. Gurney, the main character, is likable in both his talents and his flaws. He is not made to be overly perfect making him more realistic. Madeline, Gurney's wife, could use more character development. It is hard to truly get a grasp on her character, which may be cleared up in the coming books. There are a few character moments that seem a bit off mark, such as having them very slow to grasp obvious things despite the profession of the characters. There is some weakness in the use of over descriptive dialogue in some areas and not enough in others. Most of the book is fast paced but tapers to a slow trot little over halfway though the book. The twists and turns help to keep the slower pace interesting and worth going through to the revealing of who did it. Over all an entertaining read.
    • 5/5
      Extremely clever, convoluted puzzler. Sicko sends people threatening poems, kills them and leaves puzzle for police. Retired Det. Gurney can't keep from getting involved after someone he knows dies. Good back stories on characters, politics, good suspense-building by sticking in killer's thinking.
    • 4/5
      A real brain teaser! Highly original ,exciting, and intelligent. I turned the pages, racing towards the nail biting climax. An outstanding debut. This author has shaken up "the serial killer'"genre. Looking forward to a long series of novels featuring Dave Gurney.
    • 4/5
      Think of a Number is John Verdon's first book, and as far as firsts go, it's a doosy. I was very impressed with the story and the writing. John captures my attention early on. Dave Gurney is a retired police detective with minor celebrity status for solving and catching several serial killers. He has retired up into the Catskills with his wife, and has picked up photo manipulation of serial killers as a surprisingly lucrative pastime. Out of the blue, he receives an email from Mark, an old college buddy he hasn't seen since graduation, who has since become the founder of Mellery's Institute for Spiritual Renewal. He tells a tale of receiving a letter from a person claiming to know Mark so well he can read his mind and apparently does just that. His friend has been sent several poetic missives, and each one is increasingly hostile and threatening. Mark is hoping that Dave can clear up the mystery without upsetting his clients. Dave is afraid he might do too little, too late.Overall, I enjoyed the book, and while at times I wanted to slap Dave upside the head when dealing with his personal life, it is within his character. I only found 2 things I had problems with. The first was a clue that was fairly obvious to me but I'll forgive the author since I'm a computer/math person. Eventually the explanation everyone came up with was what occurred to me almost immediately. The second one was (IMO) a bit bigger hole in the plot. The cops did not follow up on a clue that to me was just screaming for attention. If they made even a half-hearted attempt I might have been distracted away from my suspect, but the clue was mostly ignored until it was the only one left. This didn't ruin it for me, I just think I would have enjoyed it even more had this second problem been hidden better. I really enjoyed this book and I am eagerly awaiting (what I hope will be) the next.
    • 4/5
      Well, John Verdon's debut novel had my number, that's for sure. I'm a big fan of suspense and thrillers and Think of a Numb3r had me right from the start...Dave Gurney is a retired NYPD Homicide Investigator. He's moved to the country with his wife Madeleine to enjoy the quiet life. (Mind you, his new hobby is exhibiting serial killer photographs...) Mark Mellery, an acquaintance from college sends Gurney a somewhat desperate note asking for his 'professional' help. Mark has received a series of cryptic notes - the first asking him to pick a number between 1 and 1000. When he mentally does, he then opens a second envelope to find that exact number. How could anyone know what number he would have picked? The notes have escalated in tone and Mellery is now quite frightened. Who wouldn't be...."What you took you will givewhen you get what you gave.I know what you think,when you blink,where you've been,where you'll be.You and I have a date,Mr. 658."Against his better judgement (and that of Madeleine) he is drawn into the investigation.What an utterly imaginative and creepy crime Verdon has come up with! It begins with the notes, but the crime scenes themselves are out of the ordinary as well. I love not being able to figure out the whodunit and the howdunit. Verdon kept me enthralled from start to finish. Very, very clever!The relationship between Dave and Madeleine is also a big part of the book. Gurney is good at the detective stuff, but is having trouble with his own relationships. I'm still making up my mind about Gurney. I think he's a work in progress. I found the enigmatic Madeleine to be fascinating and I think there are depths to plumb there.I definitely hope that this becomes a regular series as I think there is much left to explore, know and develop with Dave Gurney.Some of the supporting characters, notably the police captain and the district attorney, were a bit over the top, but provided a good foil for Gurney. A wonderfully creepy read that will have you guessing to the end!
    • 5/5
      "Think of any number...picture it...now see how well I know your secrets. Think of a number by John Verdon is very much a traditional mystery with the action of a thriller and the taste of a police drama. A serial killer is taunting not only his victims, but also the police with his letters and poems. It is a tough case of multiple murders with puzzling and seemingly impossible situations. While the mystery and twists were captivating, I thought that the real heart of this book is the interaction of the characters. Retired Homicide cop, Dave Gurney, gets drawn into the case by promising to help an old friend - who then ends up a victim. His wife, Madeleine, is not happy about Dave being drawn back into action. Theirs is an interesting relationship which is strained, but loving as is his relationship with his grown son Kyle. The way these relationships play out throughout the story is truly special! I really enjoyed the mystery, location descriptions, and interactions of the characters which made this book completely satisfying. Of course I especially enjoy mysteries/thrillers and this one did not disappoint.
    • 3/5
      This is a debut novel but it reads like part of a series--there are a lot of references made to prior cases that the main character (retired detective Dave Gurney) solved--and wow, I would like to read more about them*.I love the premise of this book--a killer sends his victims creepy letters and poems that get increasingly menacing. He tells them he knows them so well that he can correctly guess the same random number they think of when told to pick a number between one and a thousand. (And to prove it, he encloses his guess in a sealed envelope and it IS the same number.) The first victim is a former classmate of Dave's, so he gets sucked into the case after Mark (the friend) receives the first letter. As they start getting scarier and scarier, Dave's at a loss as to who's doing this and why. And then Mark turns up dead. And then there's another victim and another.The execution's a little disappointing (I guessed who the killer was and I'm not sure I buy how he knew what number to guess) but I'm willing to chalk that up to first novelitis and would absolutely read more of his in the future.* = One guy killed and chopped up his victims, then wrapped them up and sent them to police officers as presents. At their home addresses.
    • 4/5
      It was a pretty interesting read, kept you guessing, which is interesting. Also kept me turning the pages as I wanted to know exactly what had happen to the detective. I would recommand.
    • 4/5
      A retired NYC police detective, now living in the Catskills, is contacted by a college friend who is receiving threatening letters from an anonymous writer who seems to be able to read his mind. Twice, the writer has been able to predict what number he will choose at random. The detective tries to help him, and then gets involved with the official investigation of his friend's murder. This is to his wife's displeasure.There is not that much to this book beyond figuring out how the killer was able to pull off his trick. But it is written in a very readable format and the main characters are likable, so overall I did enjoy reading the book.
    • 3/5
      While Think of a Number was not great, it was a good introduction to a new author for me. I like Verdon's writing style, and will certainly read more from him. This was a bit far fetched and predictable at the same time (if that is indeed possible).
    • 5/5
      A very interesting plot with chills and thrills at regular intervals. A good mystery and a fine police procedural book.

      Dave Gurney is a retired NYPD celibrity detective who has been given a curious case to solve by an old friend about a stalker who writes letter to him claiming he knows everything about him and can even read his mind to foretell the number he thinks. A very engaging book.
    • 4/5
      Dave Gurney, retired NYPD famed detective is now living in upstate New York in rural Walnut Creek with his wife Madeline. He is suppose to be enjoying his new freedom from the dirty criminal element. He spends his free time photoshopping serial killer mugshots for his latest "art" project. Until, a former college colleague drops in for some advice about some very bizarre letters he has been receiving in the mail. This is much more interesting to Gurney than his new found artistic talents.This is Verdon's first mystery novel. The characters are interesting but not well developed. The main character Gurney is introspective buy comes up with the same insight over and over. He needs further development. The protagonist, Gurney and his wife have a fairly passive-aggressive relationship with is fairly annoying--something to work with in novel number two. The mystery puzzles are very intriguing and I was able to figure out one, but not the other. I did figure out the killer before the denouement but it was worth the wait. The climax is a very bizarre fantasy for the killer. I'm glad the author plans for this to be a series, I would like to see the next novel's plot with further character development.
    • 4/5
      A clever murder mystery with a unique parallel story about the protagonist. It's a better than average first crime fiction novel. It's fast paced and doesn't seem overly long despite being over 400 pages in length. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
    • 5/5
      This is the first book by this author. I saw from his website that Nelson DeMille was reading this book and he mentioned how much he was enjoying this first effort. I thought "can Nelson DeMille possibly be wrong?" He was 100% on the money. I look forward to the third book being released later this year.
    • 4/5
      Good plot. Keeps you interested until the end - which is, of course, the main quality of a thriller. And smart too - which I don't see that often. On the downside, internal struggle of the main character, retired NYPD detective, is quite boring and way too long. If that aspect of the novel would be at least shorter the result would be excellent.
    • 4/5
      My thoughts...I read this book quite some time ago, the plot still lingers whenever I see the book. This was definitely a pulsating thriller. As you read be very mindful of the clues that are scattered throughout the entire book. You may think you have it figured out just to find the author has added another striking twist to the story.
    • 4/5
      This is a great murder mystery. The main character is a retired cop and could easily return in future books to solve more crimes. This is the authors first book and I highly recommend reading it.
    • 4/5
      Dave Gurney, an unhappily retired homicide detective, is brought in as an investigative consultant to a murder.
      The murderer is playing games and Dave has the kind of analytical mind that is particularly adapted to unravelling clues and seeing things that others miss.
      A well-written, suspenseful story.
    • 4/5
      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 before killing his victims he scares them with a series of threatening poems. This is one guy who thinks he's too smart to be caught, and he almost is.I loved the murders! They were bloody but not exactly gruesome and the case was a cerebral one also that was fun to watch unfold. I found the book quick-paced and it was a page-turner for me. I really enjoyed the main character, a fairly down-to-earth guy but devoted, perhaps obsessed with the job. He has a dark moment in his past weighing him down and his marriage. I appreciate that he isn't one of the usual former alcoholics or divorced. The fact that he is already married also means there isn't the typical partner love affair to go with either. A really good book with an intriguing main character. I'm looking forward to the next book, the next case, and how Dave and his wife work on their marriage.
    • 4/5
      This is the debut novel in the Dave Gurney series. It was a surprise to me how much I liked this thriller.The suspense was original and exciting. I could hardly stand to put the book down at the end of the day.Dave is a sort of depressed, contemplative character who is a retired dectective. I found myself intrigued by Dave's strained relationship to his wife, Madeline, as well.In this story, Dave is approached by a college acquaintance who has been receiving threatening letters in the mail. Later, the local and state law enforcement hire Dave to work as a consultant in this complex case after several murders as committed leaving police baffled by the strange crime scene.I like that the author did not start the book and right away have a crime committed. In fact, it is not until more than a 100 pages into the story, that a murder occurs. I really enjoyed the suspenseful build up. It kept me turning pages!The second novel in this series has been added to my to read list.
    • 4/5
      Imagine that you get a letter which asks you to think of a number. You do, and when you open the little envelope enclosed in the letter, it contains the number you thought of. Imagine that you have a history which includes alcoholic blackouts, and the writer purports to know some horrible secret about you -- you know not what. Imagine that the letter is vaguely threatening. Then there are more letters . . .This is, in part, the situation of an old college acquaintance who approaches retired NYPD detective Dave Gurney for help. Gurney is trying to settle into retirement in a little town in upstate NY, but it's not going well. His wife thought retirement would end his interest in crime, but he still has serial killers on the brain, as well as the memory of his young son's death many years ago. While mourning the son who died, he has a strained relationship with the son he has remaining.Now a friend has come to him with a dangerous and seemingly insoluble puzzle, and Dave is hooked. Soon he is in the middle of a deadly game, the rules of which appear to have been written by a madman.I had never heard of this book or author (as far as I can recall) when I stumbled upon it as an available audio download. A look at the reviews (and those of the second book in the series) convinced me to try it. It was rather unusual, and I thought it was really well done, especially for a first-in-series (which can often get bogged down in introductory details). I got a little annoyed with the protagonist regarding how he was handling his family life, and there were moments when I wanted to yell at his wife, but I think that was as the author intended. The mystery itself was intriguing; very complex without being totally convoluted. I was able to follow it on audio, without benefit of being able to page back, despite the complexity. The criminal had a plan that was a little over-the-top and which depended upon people's reactions, but at least upon fairly predictable reactions. I didn't find it totally implausible, as has been the case with the nefarious plots of the killers in some other recent mysteries. Some of the personal melodrama was a bit annoying, but overall I really enjoyed this mystery. I'll definitely try another in this series.Note: this book is not for those easily offended by profanity. Mind you, it's not used gratuitously; it fit with the characters and circumstances. But there was at least one phrase that made me cringe a little, and I'm not usually bothered at all by rough language.