Wolf Lake

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 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 show more 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

The plot plays out in the latest in the latest Dave Gurney thriller at Wolf Lake Lodge, in the remote Adirondacks. It is certainly not without a tantalizing history. Shortly after it became an inn in the early 1900s, wolves devoured its founder on the property. The entire setting screams gothic horror starting with the raving gray man carrying an axe and raving about a hawk that knows evil. The inn itself reinforces this concept with it’s creepy vestige standing in the shadow of two mountains with names that continue the theme…Devil’s Fang and Cemetery Ridge. We then have vague cell phone service…wolves howling, and an attic that holds a terrifying tableau…all adding to the festering scene. Add in that the crimes that Dave show more Gurney is there to investigate…while not letting the client know that he’s investigating…all take on a horrible, unbelievable life of their own. Four men…all from different parts of the country have allegedly committed suicide after being hypnotized by the same man…Richard Hammond…and have experienced the same nightmare involving the wolves. The story now takes on the resemblance of The Shinning on steroids. Madeline…Gurney’s wife that has accompanied him is greeted in the bathroom of the inn by the vision of a former lover of hers dead in the bathtub. Our hero, Dave Gurney keeps a steady hand and a cool head and begins the task of sorting out this giant mess that the local police have somehow managed to botch and answer the glaring question of the century…can a nightmare be used as a murder weapon? I loved the book. The entire idea was intriguing and held my interest from page 1. Lots of clever twists, plenty of good… though sometimes unusual characters, and a creepy, isolated old inn with a sordid past….what more could you ask for? show less

I picked up the first book (Think of a Number) in John Verdon's Dave Gurney series back in 2010. I immediately liked the lead character and Verdon's plotting and writing. The fifth book - Wolf Lake - is newly released.

Dave Gurney is a retired NYPD Homicide Investigator who had the highest solve rate in the NYPD's history when he left the department. He's retired but puzzles intrigue him and unsolved cases still call his name. He's often called on as a consultant.

The latest case brought to his attention is a doozy. Four separate suicides with two connecting links. All four men, with no apparent connection, had the same nightmare before they died. And all four had sought the help of a prominent hypnotist before those nightmares. Could the show more hypnotherapist have actually influenced the men to kill themselves? The police seem to think so and have decided the man is guilty. The man's sister and old colleague Jack Hartwick think differently. Jack and his wife Madeleine stop by the remote lodge where the hypnotherapist is located on their way to their ski vacation. (That cover shot totally matches my mental image of the lodge.) And one day turns into......

Dave Gurney is a great protagonist. He's a brilliant puzzle solver, calm and cool when faced with danger and absolutely driven to find answers. I quite like him. But...I like his enigmatic wife Madeleine even more. She's just as brilliant, but thinks differently than Dave, often making observations and suggestions that he doesn't see. She radiates a zen attitude, but this lodge is part of her past and brings up some hidden painful memories. The relationship between the two is a great part of why I enjoy this series so much. I find it really well written and believable. The two play well off each other. Hartwick fills the role of gruff and tough sidekick.

Verdon's plotting is imaginative and intriguing. While I had my suspicions, I found I wasn't one hundred percent correct by the final pages. It's nice to be kept guessing.

Any of Verdon's can be read as a stand alone, but mystery lovers will enjoy starting at the beginning. show less

This was an unusual mystery for Dave and friends. There were some suicides, and all of the victims had been treated by a noted hypnotherapist, who was coming more and more under scrutiny as a possible cause of these deaths. At first, Dave thought this was an unlikely way to kill someone, but he began wondering after he learned more. It was strange that some of these people would do this, as they didn't seem to be suicidal at all. It's pretty hard to solve a mystery such as this, where there is no physical evidence, but pretty hard is a walk in the park for Dave Gurney - or perhaps in this case, a walk around the lake - Wolf Lake, an isolated resort with lots of shining snow. The Shining. Hmmm... and there was a crazy guy involved at the show more lodge.

I enjoyed this story, perhaps more than some of the previous ones, probably because it was so different with a lot to think about, like can a hypnotist force someone to do something they would not normally want to do? Supposedly not, but who knows? show less

3.5 Is it possible to hypnotize four different men, in different parts of the country, a dream of wolves and a dagger, that will cause them all to commit suicide? This is the case that Jack Hardwick brings to Dave Gurney, a case that will send he and his wife to the Wolf Lodge in the picaresque Adirondacks. A case that unbeknownst to Gurney will invoke some painful memories for his wife, bringing her back to the summers she spent there and the death of a young man.

This series are one in a chain of what I call puzzle mysteries. They are not written in a style to provide pulse pounding suspense. I consider them something of a hybrid between the British police procedural, the assembling of clues by investigative tactics and talking to show more knowledgeable experts, and the US thriller genre. There is plenty of action, murder and mayhem but plenty of the former as well. Homophobia rears its ugly head, hypnotism and what it can and cannot accomplish, several others with hidden agendas and many who are not what they seem.

This one, however, I found a bit cluttered, almost too much jammed into this story, things that set the case off into too many different directions. What is going on with his wife is another added distraction, though it was interesting, but I am not sure it was at all necessary. Still I enjoy reading this series very much, like the characters and realized when I started reading this, that somehow or another I skipped the last one. Will have to rectify that oversight, so I can stay up to date. show less

4.5/5 good as always!

I won this in a GOODREADS giveaway.