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    Think of a Number
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    Think of a Number
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    Think of a Number
    Audiobook13 hours

    Think of a Number

    Written by John Verdon

    Narrated by Jeff Harding

    3.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    When Dave Gurney, retired NYPD homicide detective, is contacted by an old college acquaintance about some startling letters he's been receiving, it is a sinister puzzle. Then the acquaintance is brutally killed… Suddenly Gurney finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation that makes no sense. The killer seems to have known his victim intimately. This seems only to be the beginning. And the killer alone knows where it will end.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherW. F. Howes Ltd
    Release dateApr 30, 2015
    ISBN9781471293207
    Unavailable
    Think of a Number
    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

    549 ratings61 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Eigentlich recht spannend und interessant. Jedoch finde ich die etwas zu gewählte Ausdrucksweise des Autors meines Erachtens nach zu vornehm.
    • 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
      Ah, the impossible crime mystery. This one's definitely got a long and venerable tradition, from Holmes on, where the goal isn't just to figure out who committed a crime, but how. In that sense, this debut effort from Verdon is quite a puzzle, with weird fact on top of weird fact. Retired Det. Dave Gurney, known for his ability to track down the more bizarre killers, has moved up from NYC to a small town upstate, but hasn't been there for all that long before he's contacted by an old college acquaintance. It seems the acquaintance has a problem: a menacing stranger has sent him a letter that manages to predict the first number he thought of between one and a thousand, and is promising further contact. He's freaking out, and wants Gurney's help to work out who's doing this.The mystery takes a nice while to set up, letting you get a feel for Gurney and the setting, before any crimes are actually committed, but once they get going, they start really piling up, with people getting hurt across a pretty wide area. And as a mystery, this actually really is quite well designed and enjoyable; there are all sorts of outlandish details, certainly, from the titular number guessing game through someone seemingly disappearing in the middle of a field, cryptic poems, nameplay, a set of apparently unconnecting victims, the works. And it actually all is explained well, and most of it I didn't get, so that's a triumph. If you're a thriller fan, if you like this kind of book, you'll almost certainly like this one.And I did like it, too, but you really only get one nicely realized character in this book, Gurney, and one that's a little less so but still nice, his wife, Madeleine. Maybe this makes sense, since a lot of the characters do seem to be around just to fill their role in the mystery, but I think that could have accomplished better. Gurney really is a well put together character, though, and I'm not surprised to see he's already starring in another book. The writing is pretty good, but nothing super remarkable. And it is a gripping tale - I read through the last 250 pages or so at a burst. But at some level, this book is just a big puzzle delivery device, without tons more to it than that. It aims at its target and hits it pretty squarely on. It's enjoyable for that, certainly, and I did enjoy it, but I'd like to see what else Verdon can do story-wise.
    • 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.
    • 5/5
      From My Blog...In his debut novel, Think Of A Number, John Verdon offers the reader a gripping intellectual thriller that quickly absorbs the reader into the story, trying to unravel the clues until the very end. Upon Dave Gurney’s retiring from the NY Homicide Department, he and his wife Madeleine moved to upstate New York for some peace and quiet. In their mid-40s, Madeleine is outgoing and endeavours to get her husband to enjoy life more. Her last attempt failed miserably for her, yet it delighted him. They took an art class and soon Dave was under Sonya’s spell and making Mug Shot Art, compositions out of killer’s mug shots, much to his enjoyment and Madeleine’s dismay.Their lives are about to change yet again with the visit from Mark Mellery, an old college acquaintance of Dave’s, bringing with him two mysterious letters he has received in the hopes the greatest mind of the NYPD can solve them. The only problem is Dave is retired and his wife would prefer him to stay that way. When Dave learns of the third letter he realizes he cannot stop trying to unravel the puzzles with the letters and Madeleine is there to offer her opinion and advice. Madeleine reminds me of a younger and modern Miss Marple, her intelligence, love of life and people make her an exceptionally charming character. Dave is the opposite of his wife. He is methodical, almost to obsession, and prefers seclusion, and yet Dave works his way into the reader’s heart.Think Of A Number is not only an intelligent thriller but in many ways brings forth a new form of thriller, by which I mean it is not of the cookie-cutter variety, rather Verdon offers up a deeply psychological suspense thriller, murder, intrigue and plenty of puzzles and red herrings to keep the reader clearly involved. Verdon has cleverly crafted not only an exceptional thriller but also displays beautiful literary characteristics in his use of vivid descriptions and details of the characters, their lives, and their surroundings. Think Of A Number was a book I was dreadfully sorry to see end and fervently hope this is just the beginning of John Verdon’s Dave Gurney novels. Without reservation I recommend Think Of A Number to anyone looking for an exceptionally thought out thriller.
    • 5/5
      This was my first Verdon and I really enjoyed it. It got a little more bogged down in touchy feeley than I can generally tolerate but the plot was really interesting and the writing was compelling. I see he has another in the series already published and I hope more are nearly done. I like the series character - a retired police detective.
    • 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.
    • 4/5
      I found this book really intriguing. The primary character is Dave Gurney, a former city homicide detective now retired and living in a small town with his wife Madeleine. Gurney is contacted by an old friend from college, Mark Mellery, who has recently received some disturbing letters in the mail. The letter writer asked him to pick a random number from one to a thousand. After Mellery did so, he opened a second envelope containing that same number, predicted by the author of the letter. Mellery asks Gurney’s help to investigate and figure out how the letter-writer accomplished this. After Mellery is found murdered, Gurney is brought in to the investigation as a consultant, hired by the district attorney.

      The puzzles provided by the killer and the way Gurney figures them out is complex and interesting. I certainly didn’t foresee the answers, although I do admit I had a suspicion who the killer was. Most of what I liked about this book was the way the characters were written. The author did an excellent job even with the minor characters in the book. None were cookie-cutter, all were interesting and at times cliché-defying. I especially liked the character of Jack Hardwick. My only complaint is that yet again, there is a female spouse who is passive-aggressive. (What is the relationships of these crime fiction authors like with the women in their lives that they write women like this so consistently?) Madeleine is hard to dislike however, as she has many positive traits as well. If anything her character is a little too complex, because I never did get a handle on where she stood about anything.

      All in all I enjoyed the book immensely, and I will definitely be picking up Verdon’s next book. I’m hoping he’ll continue with these same characters, but if not I look forward to a whole new story.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 3/5
      The title brings to mind a game everyone has played in one form or another … think of a number between 1 and 10. However, in this case the game becomes serious. If you decide to play along and if the number you think of is correct you could very well end up dead. Dave Gurney is a recently retired NYPD homicide detective who receives a telephone call from an old college acquaintance asking for help in dealing with a strange series of letters and phone calls. When his friend dies a bizarre death Gurney is drawn into the hunt for what turns out to be a very creative serial killer.

      This serial killer is one of the most inventive I have come across in recent “crime thrillers”. The combination of the author’s creativity and his ability to make Gurney a very human character made for a book that is very easy to get caught up in. I always say I do not have time for another “series” but I do hope there is at least one more Dave Gurney book in the offing.
    • 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
      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
      Retired police detective tries to help an old college classmate who receives a cryptic letter from someone who turns out to be a serial killer. The detective’s family background, old cases, new home in the Catskills – were all interesting parts of the story. Not wow-you’ve-just-gotta-read-this great, but a very decently written crime fiction; I will seek out the next in the series.
    • 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).
    • 4/5
      This was a great suspense novel. Good characters, pleasant location Northeast US. I did see some things coming like Charybdis and I figured out who the killer was before the detectives did. But well-written and satisfying. Protagonist had just the right amount of flaws.  
    • 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
      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
      Ah, the impossible crime mystery. This one's definitely got a long and venerable tradition, from Holmes on, where the goal isn't just to figure out who committed a crime, but how. In that sense, this debut effort from Verdon is quite a puzzle, with weird fact on top of weird fact. Retired Det. Dave Gurney, known for his ability to track down the more bizarre killers, has moved up from NYC to a small town upstate, but hasn't been there for all that long before he's contacted by an old college acquaintance. It seems the acquaintance has a problem: a menacing stranger has sent him a letter that manages to predict the first number he thought of between one and a thousand, and is promising further contact. He's freaking out, and wants Gurney's help to work out who's doing this.The mystery takes a nice while to set up, letting you get a feel for Gurney and the setting, before any crimes are actually committed, but once they get going, they start really piling up, with people getting hurt across a pretty wide area. And as a mystery, this actually really is quite well designed and enjoyable; there are all sorts of outlandish details, certainly, from the titular number guessing game through someone seemingly disappearing in the middle of a field, cryptic poems, nameplay, a set of apparently unconnecting victims, the works. And it actually all is explained well, and most of it I didn't get, so that's a triumph. If you're a thriller fan, if you like this kind of book, you'll almost certainly like this one.And I did like it, too, but you really only get one nicely realized character in this book, Gurney, and one that's a little less so but still nice, his wife, Madeleine. Maybe this makes sense, since a lot of the characters do seem to be around just to fill their role in the mystery, but I think that could have accomplished better. Gurney really is a well put together character, though, and I'm not surprised to see he's already starring in another book. The writing is pretty good, but nothing super remarkable. And it is a gripping tale - I read through the last 250 pages or so at a burst. But at some level, this book is just a big puzzle delivery device, without tons more to it than that. It aims at its target and hits it pretty squarely on. It's enjoyable for that, certainly, and I did enjoy it, but I'd like to see what else Verdon can do story-wise.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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
      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.
    • 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
      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.