Think of a Number

Legendary NYPD homicide detective Dave Gurney, newly retired, is asked by an old college friend to find out who has been sending him taunting letters filled with threats and innuendo. Gurney's clever, thoughtful wife, Madeline, and the couple's unraveling marriage also figure prominently in the suspense. George Newbern helps create Verdon's compelling, well-drawn characters, giving them unique, carefully crafted voices. Newbern's portrayal of Gurney is characterized by a wry tone. As listeners are immersed in the drama of Gurney's past, the seemingly clairvoyant killer develops his knack for disappearing. S.C.A. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

May 3, 2010
The numbers game gets a murderous spin in Verdon’s deft, literate debut. Recently retired NYPD homicide detective Dave Gurney is an old warhorse much too easily led to water, in the view of his increasingly disenchanted wife, who insists it’s now me-time. But it surprises neither of them that Gurney snaps at the lure when a beleaguered friend sets before him a tasty, number-driven puzzle. Mark Mellery has been receiving mysterious mailings that terrify him because he’s convinced the author of them can somehow read his mind, and because the mailings threaten his death for crimes he can’t recall having committed. Nor is Mellery the only one, it soon become evident, as a particularly malignant serial killer buckles down to business. Ever the puzzle master, Gurney tracks and unravels each clue until—in an attenuated denouement that constitutes one of this thriller’s rare self-indulgences—he finally makes the numbers add up.