Let the Devil Sleep Review

From Goodreads

Let the Devil Sleep
by John Verdon
From Goodreads:

In this latest novel from bestselling author John Verdon, ingenious puzzle solver Dave Gurney puts under the magnifying glass a notorious serial murder  – one whose motives have been enshrined as law-enforcement dogma - and discovers that everyone has it wrong.
 
The most decorated homicide detective in NYPD history, Dave Gurney is still trying to adjust to his life of quasi-retirement in upstate New York when a young woman who is producing a documentary on a notorious murder spree seeks his counsel.  Soon after, Gurney begins feeling threatened: a razor-sharp hunting arrow lands in his yard, and he narrowly escapes serious injury in a booby-trapped basement.  As things grow more bizarre, he finds himself reexamining the case of The Good Shepherd, which ten years before involved a series of roadside shootings and a rage-against-the-rich manifesto.  The killings ceased, and a cult of analysis grew up around the case with a consensus opinion that no one would dream of challenging  -- no one, that is, but Dave Gurney. 

Mocked even by some who’d been his supporters in previous investigations, Dave realizes that the killer is too clever to ever be found.  The only gambit that may make sense is also the most dangerous – to make himself a target and get the killer to come to him.

To survive, Gurney must rely on three allies: his beloved wife Madeleine, impressively intuitive and a beacon of light in the gathering darkness; his de-facto investigative “partner” Jack Hardwick, always ready to spit in authority’s face but wily when it counts; and his son Kyle, who has come back into Gurney’s life with surprising force, love and loyalty.

Displaying all the hallmarks for which the Dave Gurney series is lauded -- well-etched characters, deft black humor, and ingenious deduction that ends in a climactic showdown – Let the Devil Sleep is something more: a reminder of the power of self-belief in a world that contains too little of it.

Midnight Thoughts 

~Every time I read a thriller like this one, I ask myself, why do I read any other type of genre? 

~Although this is the third novel in the series, it was my first.  Before I started this blog reading a series out of order would not have happened on purpose.  I've since discovered that when the author is good, and knows what s/he is doing, it doesn't hurt the reading experience.

~ John Verdon managed to catch me up and make me as invested in the main character as I would have been if I'd already read the first two books.

~Main character, retired NYPD Dave Gourney, is a little bit older than most thriller's mcs (that I read), but he's also a little bit wiser, a little bit more warped by all the things he's been through in his long years.  And you know I like my characters with a little damage.

~Gourney is still dealing with injuries he received from the previous novel.  He didn't magically heal both physically and mentally, and it's made him a little grumpy.  Not quite to the level of Hugh Laurie in House, but Gourney is definitely not a Positive Polly right now.

~The supporting characters help this book, and Gourney, so much.  His wife, Madeline, is a saint and they actually have a good relationship, even if it's a bit strained right now.  So many books with cops, retired cops, detectives, etc, feature fractured, damaged relationships.  Although...

~Gourney's son joins in the mystery, and there is a some distance between him and his father.  But they both love each other so much, and its so obvious. 

~The entire time I was reading this book, I couldn't help but picture it as a tv series or movie.  If I can connect actors to book characters then it means I'm thinking a lot about the book.  This is always a good thing. 

~Gourney's friend Hardwick is easily my favorite character, mostly because I pictured him as Adam Baldwin (from Chuck and Firefly).   I want a friend on the force like Hardwick for the next time someone in traffic makes me mad. 

~I also pictured Gourney as Stellan Skarsgård, thus allowing me to picture his son as Alexander Skarsgård .  This is always a winning combination.  Plus there is a lot more potential in the father/son dynamic in this series, so I'm sticking with it.

~Kim was annoying.  I didn't really like her, and I found her character hard to understand.  She's like the chick in a horror movie that refuses to move out of a house even though she hears noises in the attic.  Eventually I was kind of rooting for the bad guy to get her. 

~However, I did think her idea to interview the family's of the victims of the Good Shepard to be a good idea. Too often tv and news reports on murders and focuses on the killer.  The victims often get lost, and their families definitely are largely ignored by the media. 

~I really liked the killer in the book.  It was creepy, how smart, how invasive he was. 

~I didn't like that The Good Shepard went after people in luxury cars.  I myself would like to own one someday and not get shot while driving it.

~The whole theory that The Good Shepard is murdering rich people in order to bring attention to his political beliefs was a bit unsettling considering the current political climate.  That aspect alone would make this a good book to discuss in book clubs, a rarity among thrillers.  Way to bring the social issues elements, John Verdon!

~I didn't figure the killer out until near the very end, and even then I wasn't sure until the reveal.  This book truly kept me in suspense. 

Let the Devil Sleep gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

**Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book by Wunderkind PR in exchange for my honest review.  All opinion, snark and wit are my own, and in this case, shaped by the thousands of hours of Criminal Minds, Deadly Women and Law & Order: SVU I have watched over the years, and am probably watching right now as you're reading this**