John Verdon

Four young men in different parts of the country have been found with their wrists slit, apparent suicides. Each, before they died, recounted having a terrible nightmare—the same terrible nightmare. Now, a noted Harvard researcher and hypnotherapist, living in an Adirondack resort named Wolf Lake Lodge, is being accused of hypnotizing the men to kill themselves. All are believed to have come to him for smoking cessation therapy in weeks prior to their deaths. The hypnotherapist refuses to show more lawyer-up so his concerned sister contacts David Gurney, former and notable NYC detective, to conduct his own investigation. Gurney and his wife were headed further north on holiday but decide to divert for a few days to the Wolf Lake Lodge.

Gurney is an extremely capable detective, with excellent mental faculties and ample connections and resources from his working days in NYC. The case deepens and complicates, and the suspense builds. And here I’m going to admit that I read very few American crime novels these days, mostly because of their propensity for a lot of gun-waving and too much dependance on thriller elements (fear and suspense). This novel does fall into the thriller category but I picked this up for its criminal premise, and the woodsy, frozen setting (somewhere between Lake Placid and Plattsburgh, New York); which almost serves as another character. There is something wonderfully Gothic about Wolf Lake area; Vernon has included abandoned buildings, usually frigid temperatures, haunting wolf calls, a fair bit of taxidermy, even an old guy with an axe wandering the lodge property. Vernon’s Wolf Lake had more than enough to entertain me; enough so I was willing to forgive him for the guns and the dead bodies in the thrillereske resolution-ending. show less

Semi retired detective Dave Gurney is recuperating from gunshot wounds received on a previous case. A friend asks him to help her daughter with a project tied to her studies as a journalism student in which she interviews families of six murder victims killed 10 years ago. The killer, known as the "Good Shepherd" was never caught and the point of the interviews would be to show how these people have reacted both to the original crimes as well as the killer still being at large Gurney agrees show more to help the daughter and goes along on several interviews with her including a meeting with the president of the media company that will air the interviews. Along the way he confronts opposition from the FBI since they feel that everything has been done and documented 10 years ago and reopening the cases would possibly cast dispersions on them. Gurney, who thinks beyond the pale, and does not allow majority opinions from others to sway his judgment begins to see areas that point towards a killer clever enough to have distorted public views at the time of the crimes. His opinion is that this was not just a serial killer, but one that had a goal in mind and set up the murders in a way to get the police and the FBI to look in the wrong direction.

This is the third book by John Verdon that I have read. I love the character Dave Gurney. He isn't always likable but it is believable. His adventures are always different and the outcome is never predictable. show less

This is a powerhouse of a debut novel. It's smart, sophisticated, multi-layered and almost impossible to put down. Dave Gurney is a retired police detective turned artist living in small New England town. He's not quite used to the bucolic life just yet, but he's trying for the sake of his wife, Madeleine. When an old school mate contacts him after receiving a strange letter, Dave finds himself involved in a literally puzzling serial murderer case. Verdon has dreamed up a very, very complex show more killer, which makes for many twists and turns throughout the book as Gurney and others try to catch him. The tension between the case and the home life of the Gurneys' plays a strong role in the story, deepening it and rounding it out. With a first showing this strong, you can bet that John Verdon will soon be a household name. show less

Given a range of 1-1000, which number would you choose if prompted, "Think of a number...?" How would you react if a total stranger could correctly guess that number on the first try? Amazed and scared? That's the premise behind this psychological thriller and it was very entertaining. If you like a book with a little intellectual "oomph," you will enjoy this one. Although I guessed the villain before the end of the story, I was stumped on how he pulled off the trick. Everything is explained show more and it makes sense. Detective Dave Gurney is brilliant but has his own demons in hiding, and they make an appearance in this case. I will investigate other books by this author! I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was rather bland, but I won't hold that against the author. :) show less