LET THE DEVIL SLEEP - John Verdon

First line: "She had to be stopped."

Dave Gurney is recovering from the gunshot wounds inflicted at the end of Shut Your Eyes Tight. One of the non-physical results of those wounds is a need to feel protected. He's started carrying a gun again, something he hadn't done since he retired from the police force. Another non-physical result is staying secluded, almost cooped up, so when a journalist friend calls asking for a favor for her daughter, he's hesitant to help. The friend's determination and his wife's encouragement result in Dave listening to what the daughter has to say.

Kim Corazon's college project was so well-received by her professor that he passed it along to a contact at RAM TV and they want to produce it. The project is a reality TV show about the effects of unsolved murder on the children of victims. Kim has decided to focus her project on the victims of The Good Shepherd, a unsolved serial murder case from ten years ago. Kim wants Dave to look over her shoulder and make sure she's doing all the right things in regards to the case. But she also would like Dave to look into some odd harassment-type events that have been occurring and that she believes her ex-boyfriend is responsible for. 

Dave is resistant to help, but as he begins to research the case and look into the odd events, things aren't adding up. Dave can't just leave the questions hanging, he has to get to the bottom of things. But the bottom of these things may very well be deadly.

Let the Devil Sleep, John Verdon's third book featuring retired NYPD homicide detective Dave Gurney, moves a little slower than the previous two books. This time Dave isn't in the midst of a current case so much as he's digging up the dirt of a cold case.  So instead of starting off with a baffling murder, the background is coming out as current events take place. But that is not to say the book is a disappointment by any means, it simply means Verdon's changed up his approach to the plot. Let the Devil Sleep is just as addictive as its two predecessors. Readers will find Verdon a little more subtle about his hook this time around, and they won't be able to pinpoint as easily when they realized they simply couldn't put the book down.

Where Let the Devil Sleep does match up with its predecessors is in the rich mystery of the story. The limited perspective the reader is exposed to keeps the suspense building. While the book is written in third person, the perspective is still limited to Dave Gurney's; the reader only knows and sees what Dave does. However, even that perspective is limited as often Dave will be thinking things the reader isn't given access to, compounding the suspense. Let the Devil Sleep revolves around another superbly crafted plot.

Let the Devil Sleep also ventures into the relationship between Dave and his son, Kyle, who has not played a major role in either of the previous novels. Verdon draws some parallels as Kim investigates the children of victims and Dave is examining his own father-son relationship with Kyle, as well as looking back on the relationship he had with his father.

The relationship Dave shares with his wife Madeleine is a peculiar relationship, and I often found myself thinking, "she would drive me crazy." She encourages Dave to participate in investigations and then ends up angry about his involvement. At times she seems to be an inconsistent character. And still, she's a very stabilizing force for Dave. He is a character who is in search of his identity - now that he can no longer identify himself as a homicide detective - and so his relationships with others often reflect his own uncertainty.

I was thrilled to be asked to participate in this blog tour because I discovered Verdon's debut novel, Think of a Number through a TLC blog tour. I was blown away by that novel and each since. I look forward to the release of a new mystery from John Verdon, and Let the Devil Sleep continues the trend. Verdon writes stories that invade your psyche; apropos for the title, Let the Devil Sleep invades quietly and before you know it, it's 4 in the morning and you still have to read "just one more chapter!"

Let the Devil Sleep is available from Crown Publishers in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0307717924); it is also available from Dreamscape Media as an audiobook (ISBN: 978-1611209037), narrated by Robert Fass.

You can read additional reviews of Let the Devil Sleep by other participating bloggers on the tour. See the complete list at the TLC website. You can also follow John Verdon on Facebook and learn more about him and his books at his website.

I'm fortunate enough to be able to give a copy of Let the Devil Sleep to a lucky reader. And several questions came to mind to use with this giveaway, but I decided that since Think of a Number was my favorite debut novel back in 2010, let's hear what your favorite debut novel is this year - so far. And if you haven't read a debut this year yet, tell us what your favorite debut novel ever was. That way the responses can give others some book to check on.

To be eligible, you must have a US or Canada mailing address, leave an email I can contact you with if you win and respond on or before Friday, August 3rd (oh my goodness, where did the summer go?).

SHUT YOUR EYES TIGHT - John Verdon

First line: "He stood in front of the mirror and smiled with deep satisfaction at his own smiling reflection."

Retired NYC police detective Dave Gurney is battling boredom when he's called on once again to investigate a crime that police are not having luck solving. A young woman, from a very wealthy family, was beheaded on her wedding day. The suspected murderer escaped out a window and hasn't been found. Gurney agrees to commit to two weeks of investigation, knowing his wife is opposed to his becoming involved at all. And it doesn't take long for Gurney to discover that all the players in this game, including the victim, are more than a little off-center.

John Verdon's first novel, THINK OF A NUMBER, was one of my favorite reads of 2010. And all the qualities that made his debut wonderful are present in his sophomore novel, SHUT YOUR EYES TIGHT. Those familiar with THINK OF A NUMBER will recognize his still of dual perspectives. While both written in the third person limited, one takes the perspective of the protagonist while the other looks through the eyes of the antagonist. The latter perspective allowing only enough of a picture to intensify the suspense of the novel.

The plot deals with a challenging, complex series of mysteries. The motive for the murder is a mystery, as is the escape of the murderer. As Gurney investigates the individuals tied to the victim, more mysteries arise, weaving a deadly web of motives and means.

Beyond his intriguing plot components, Verdon's created richly, dysfunctional characters. Gurney and his wife struggle to find a life together after retiring to the country. Madeleine Gurney points out that they are in the same geographic location without being together. However, if Gurney turns his back on the puzzles and challenges of police work, as Madeleine would prefer, he finds little satisfaction in life. Their struggles add an extra dimension to the novel.

Verdon has a gift when it comes to creating alluring antagonists. Readers are drawn to the evident evil by the both the mystery and the intellect. Verdon's antagonists are quite cerebral and it's fascinating to delve into the thoughts and rationales of these monsters. Readers will be hard pressed to empathize with the antagonist, but may likely see recognizable sparks or glimmers of familiarity. For after all, how many of us are truly without any evil at all?

SHUT YOUR EYES TIGHT offers readers a multitude of challenges. There is a puzzling who-done-it mystery, myriad examples of conflict inviting examination of one's views and beliefs, and Verdon also challenges his reader to step out of the comfort zone, to feel and experience through his imagery:

"A blood-soaked room would slam him in the face. Later, stripped and sanitized, the same room would lay a cold hand on his heart, reminding him that at the center of the universe there was a boundless emptiness. A vacuum with a temperature of absolute zero."

While at times there were details that could have been left out without harm to the story, examples such as this leave impressions that don't easily clear from the brain.

SHUT YOUR EYES TIGHT delivers an exciting, challenging and fulfilling reading experience. Verdon has written another smashing crime novel. You don't want to miss it.

SHUT YOUR EYES TIGHT is available from Crown Publishers in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0-307-71789-4) and on audiobook from Random House Audio, narrated by Scott Brick. My review is part of the SHUT YOUR EYES TIGHT blog tour with TLC Book Tours. You can see the entire tour with links to other reviews of the book here.

As part of the blog tour, I am fortunate to be able to give away a copy of SHUT YOUR EYES TIGHT to one lucky reader in the US or Canada. So, if you're as excited about this book as I hope you are, enter to win a copy. I'll take entries through next Wednesday, August 3rd. Just complete the form below for your chance to win. Good luck!

THINK OF A NUMBER - John Verdon

 FIRST LINE: "'Where were you?' said the old woman in the bed. 'I had to pee, and no one came.'"

Homicide investigator Dave Gurney has retired from the NYPD when an old classmate contacts him about some disturbing letters he's been receiving. Mark Mellery owns and operates a spiritual retreat of sorts. People come to clarify their lives and get them back on track. When Mellery starts receiving these taunting letters that insinuate the sender knows him intimately he turns to Gurney. And when Mellery winds up brutally murdered and all the clues lead the investigators in circles, they bring Gurney into the fold to help them solve this bizarre puzzle. The investigators believe someone from Mellery's retreat is responsible, but Gurney has a hard time believing that. His gut tells him that's not the right path to follow. And when a series of other murders follow the same pattern as Mellery's but in completely different geographic locations, Gurney is convinced his gut was right. But there don't appear to be any connections between the victims; who is doing the murdering and why?

THINK OF A NUMBER just stole the spot of my favorite 2010 debut. It's a thought-provoking thriller written with attention to detail. And while it's written in the third person and the readers know more than Gurney, they don't know the answers. So they're working on the puzzle in the same way he is. What I discovered by the end was that I wasn't so interested in who the killer actually turned out to be as I was by the process of unfolding all the clues.

The mind-bending puzzles that form the plot of THINK OF A NUMBER provide a fresh approach to the serial killer concept.

The added dimension of Gurney's dysfunctional relationships to his wife and son add to the depth of Gurney's character. They also enhance a subtle theme that weaves its way through the book in the relationships of almost all the characters. I believe Verdon reveals it to us in a comment from Mark Mellery:

"'We each seem to be wired to believe my situation causes my problems but your personality causes yours. This creates trouble. My desire to have everything my way seems to make sense, while your desire to to have everything your way seems infantile. A better day would be a day during which I felt better and you behaved better. The way I see things is the way they are. The way you see things is warped by your agenda.'"

Like the puzzle of the murders, it makes the reader stop and think about their own interactions with others. Who Gurney is and his own reflection on himself becomes just as pivotal to the plot as the murder investigation.

Verdon also has a talent with imagery. I was especially struck by many images he created throughout the book, including:

"Gurney had the feeling he'd just watched someone stub his toe and turn it into a pirouette."

or

"The door was a reddish brown that reminded Gurney of dried blood. Yellow crime-scene tape, tied to portable stanchions, encircled the shabby little property. All it needed was a bow in the front, thought Gurney, to make it the gift from hell."

The use of contrast in both of these examples of imagery make the mind pictures pop, enhancing their effect on the reader. Verdon creates his own 3-D effect, no glasses needed.

I find that I'm more critical of thrillers than any other book in the crime fiction genre. I don't like the idea of letting go of reality, but I don't even remember if Verdon wanted me to let go of reality because I was so caught up in my fascination with the puzzles and the relationships of the characters that I simply had to know more. Half the fun of the novel was watching the pieces unfold and fit into place both in the investigation of the murder and Gurney's investigation of his own soul. He's a man who has spent his life surrounded by death and while he tries to avoid the one that impacts him the most, he realizes, "No matter how hard one tries to ignore it, death finds a way to be noticed. It seeps into your feelings like water through a basement wall."

THINK OF A NUMBER is one of the most cerebral books I've read in some time. It challenged me as a reader in many ways and I felt enriched by simply having experienced it.

THINK OF A NUMBER is available in hardcover from Crown Publishers (ISBN: 978-0-307-58892-0). And this post is part of the TLC blog tour for THINK OF A NUMBER. You can also play the "Think of a Number" game here.

**Note to book club members: TLC will be holding a "Book Club of the Month" contest for this book in August. Register your book club and you could win up to 10 copies of the book for your members.

Technorati Tags: TLC Book Tour, John Verdon, Crime Fiction, Book Review