John Verdon - Think Of A Number: A Novel [PDF]

Format: PDF
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Language: English
Published: Crown Publishers, 2010 

John Verdon has done something remarkable in his debut thriller, Think of a Number. He has successfully juggled every storytelling ball, character, atmosphere, prose, pace and plot, with the skill and assuredness of a veteran novelist at the top of his game. The writing is haunting and quotable, the twists expertly placed and infinitely plausible, the conjured locations vivid and memorable, the characters full of depth and promise. You can read the book as a game of cat and mouse, a ride of chilling suspense, or a literary repast, since it provides all in abundance. 

In the novel the set-up provides an intriguing dilemma. A man gets a letter that scares him to death by challenging him to think of a number. That catalyst soon speeds the reader and Verdon’s hero, Dave Gurney, a legendary and now retired NYPD detective, headlong into a mystery of the first order. I’m pretty adept at figuring out these types of stories and while I hit on a few twists before Verdon probably wanted me to, the major ones were stunning surprises. I read the last two-hundred pages in one sitting. I did this for two compelling reasons. First, to find out what the hell was going on. And second, just to enjoy the wonderful writing. Some novelists promise plot and pace and deliver it with lightweight characters and silly dialogue. Others get the characters spot-on but the story is mediocre and predictable. Verdon nails it all in his first novel. The villain is appealingly terrifying, smart and cunning while operating mostly in absentia, 
and that is incredibly difficult to accomplish. The answer behind the THINK OF A NUMBER plot, most certainly a disaster in lesser hands, proves clever, winning and eminently believable. Verdon’s protagonist Dave Gurney is one for the ages, and readers everywhere will surely clamor to see this man again. Think of a Number gets full marks from me. And I think it will from you, too. Enjoy. - David Baldacci


_____________________________________Contents____________________________________

Title Page

Dedication

Prologue

Part One - Fatal Memories
Chapter 1 - Cop Art
Chapter 2 - A Perfect Victim
Chapter 3 - Trouble in Paradise
Chapter 4 - I Know You So Well I Know What You\'re Thinking
Chapter 5 - Unpleasant Possibilities
Chapter 6 - For Blood That\'s as Red as a Painted Rose
Chapter 7 - The Black Hole
Chapter 8 - A Rock and a Hard Place
Chapter 9 - No Such Person
Chapter 10 - The Perfect Place
Chapter 11 - A Unique Ministry
Chapter 12 - The Importance of Honesty
Chapter 13 - Nothing to be Guilty About
Chapter 14 - Commitment
Chapter 15 - Dichotomies
Chapter 16 - The End of the Beginning

Part Two - Macabre Games
Chapter 17 - Quite a Lot of Blood
Chapter 18 - Footprints to Nowhere
Chapter 19 - Scum of the Earth
Chapter 20 - A Family Friend
Chapter 21 - Priorities
Chapter 22 - Getting it Straight
Chapter 23 - Without a Trace
Chapter 24 - Crime of the Year
Chapter 25 - Questioning Gurney
Chapter 26 - A Blank Check
Chapter 27 - Getting to Know the DA
Chapter 28 - Back to the Scene of the Crime
Chapter 29 - Backwards
Chapter 29 - Backwards
Chapter 30 - Emerald Cottage
Chapter 31 - A Routine Call From the Bronx

Part Three - Back to the Beginning
Chapter 32 - The Cleansing to Come
Chapter 33 - A Hell of a Night
Chapter 34 - A Dark Day
Chapter 35 - Stumbling Into the Light
Chapter 36 - One Thing Leads to Another
Chapter 37 - Bad Things Come in Threes
Chapter 38 - A Diô€€¼cult Man
Chapter 39 - You and I Have a Date, Mr. 658
Chapter 40 - A Shot in the Dark
Chapter 41 - Back to the Real World
Chapter 42 - Upside Down
Chapter 43 - Madeleine
Chapter 44 - Final Arguments
Chapter 45 - To Rest in Peace, Act Now
Chapter 46 - A Simple Plan
Chapter 47 - Welcome to Wycherly
Chapter 48 - A House with a History
Chapter 49 - Kill them All
Chapter 50 - Re-Search
Chapter 51 - Show-and-Tell
Chapter 52 - Death Before Dawn
Chapter 53 - Ending, Beginning

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Copyright