Let the Devil Sleep: A Novel

John Verdon's third David Gurney novel, Let the Devil Sleep, strikes me as an improvement over his first two in the series. The plot is still complex without becoming grotesquely complicated, and his skill at placing red herrings that nudge the reader into unwarranted suspicions about some of his characters is better here than before. He writes mysteries for thoughtful readers, which means that he has cast his lot with Agatha Christie, P.D. James and John Le Carre. He continues to write good dialog and interesting scenes in which several participants trade insights and ideas. His lead characters are well dimensioned, but secondary characters can be thin and superficial. A sour and cynical investigator who has appeared in Verdon's other novels is again in this one, and he is not becoming dramatically more interesting with age. Perhaps the biggest character failure in this novel is a disgraced and possibly deranged retired investigator who will thankfully not be returning in future works.The novel deals with modern consequences of a series of decade-old murders as a reportorial team for a reality TV series begins work on a series that looks into the impacts of the old crimes on the lives of survivors. As the interviews progress, new deaths begin to occur amid suspicious acts and occurrences that make it appear as though someone -- the original bad guy or possibly a new player with an interest in the old acts -- is trying to derail the series. This aspect of the story line gives the author ample opportunity to display his contempt for the shallow and manipulative nature of what passes for news in modern reality television programming.Verdon is getting better at his game. I was prepared to turn in other directions if this novel had shown no improvement over the first two, but it is good enough that I will probably be back for Gurney no. four if Verdon decides to write it.

This third book was both fantastic and 'okay'. I almost didn't read it... I didn't like how it started with Gurney and Kim, a teenager. She was irritating. I was thinking that I could NOT enjoy a book if I had to put up with her...But, I was glad I stayed with it. She blended into the background and I could thoroughly enjoy Gurney.I had read that Kyle would be in this book, and Verdon did not disappoint. You'll also like that Gurney and Madeline's relationship has changed.As usual, the writing was great.However, there were no clues. None. Book 1, had a clue, I hadn't been smart enough to see it, but it was there. Book 2 was more vague but the overall idea was there for clever readers to find. But this only got 4 stars, and not 5 like the first two books, because there were no clues whatsoever as to who the murderer was. When revealed, Gurney was shocked.Also, he figured out the 'thing', but then at the end of the book, figured out the 'thing' again! The difference between his two revelations was so minute, it was the same 'thing'This all said, I love Gurney so much, that I will still read book 4.

I have read all of John Verdon's books, and was somewhat disappointed in "Let the Devil Sleep."In this book it seemed like the author was trying to make Detective Gurney into more of a lovable, decent guy, bent on repairing his relationship with his wife, Madeline, and his son, Kyle. Madeline was on her best behavior being a long suffering, doting wife. Nice, but dull. I would rather read about the Madeline who liked to argue with Gurney. In his previous books Madeline could be a real witch, and just about the time you were ready to write her off, she would look at a clue and come up with ideas that helped him solve the case. Really am tired of reading that she likes to go outside and mystically stare at leaves and trees.While I am at it, Gurney seems too refined and intelligent to be spouting the F word. His son is now imitating him and it shows a lack of respect to me. It was not necessary and didn't add anything to the story. In fact it was a bit offputting. The character, Kim, was unlikeable and self-serving and I really couldn't see Gurney taking the time to share a coffee with her, much less help her with the TV series.I hope this doesn't sound too critical. This is a good book and I will buy everything that John Verdon writes.

I really, really hope John Verdon keeps writing this Dave Gurney seriesIf you haven't read any of these books - start with Think of A Number - then Shut Your Eyes Tight - and now, this one Let the Devil SleepLet's see... it starts with Dave at home recovering from a gunshot wound - and really caught up in his new "role" of "of one of the injured". He gets a call from a friend asking him to do a favor - to help her daughter, Kim, with a project about a 10 year old serial murder case - The Good Shepherd case. Dave agrees - rather half-heartedly - but quickly becomes pulled in whether he wants to or not. You see Dave Gurney likes puzzles - mysteries - and the Good Shepherd case has many unanswered questions. In trying to find answers to his questions he is soon in trouble with the FBI they are blocking all of his attempts to get details of their failed investigation. And in the process of asking questions he also finds that he and Kim are in the cross-hairs of a murdererThis is truly a great mystery novel, and it is also an amazing explorations into Dave Gurney's character and relationship with his wife, his son, and his look on life that make this a powerful novel as well.

I massively enjoyed the first book by the author “Think of a Number” and devoured the second book “Shut Your Eyes Tight”. In particular, I was drawn into the clever puzzles of seemingly impossible situations that had to be unravelled piece-by-piece to make sense. In that way, the books are like the intricate logic of Sherlock Holmes novels or the double-twists in some of Agatha Christie’s books but transported to the 21st century. The third book in the series was also very gripping. However, I found it to be less well constructed and thought-out than the first two books. I hope that the writer returns to its form in the subsequent books of the series.

I read the first two books in John Verdon's trilogy about the detective, Dave Gurney and found them quite compulsive but this one did not grip me in the same way. Gurney is now retired after barely escaping with his life whilst investigating his last case. His injuries have left him with some psychological as well as physical issues and he is not able to share his wife's love of their beautiful surroundings in the Catskills. When he is contacted by an old friend and asked to help her daughter construct a programme for a sleazy television company which involves interviewing the relatives of the victims of a serial killer, his interest is piqued and he finds himself being drawn back into a world of murder and mayhem. The plot is somewhat convoluted and very slow at times with so many characters that it is sometimes quite difficult to keep track of them all. The ending was a bit of a let-down and not entirely credible so if he wants to bring his detective out of retirement yet again, Verdon needs to up his game !

'Let The Devil Sleep' is is not a patch on John Verdon's 'Think Of A Number'. The central mystery is this; why should someone shoot the drivers of six black top-of-the-range Mercedes cars on remote country roads. The answer was obvious to me from the start, and it's a plot used by earlier authors. However, it takes Verdon's series hero Dave Gurney an awful lot of faffing around to reach the right conclusion, with many plot twists​ on the way. Few of the twists are ever plausibly explained, and some are simply ignored at the end of the book. Overall a poor effort, and I don't recommend it.

Kim Corazon asks Dave Gurney to help her out as she prepares for a documentary on the families of the victims of The Good Shepherd 10 years after the murders. It all gets complicated after that with a host of characters and details that make your head spin. This is an ok read but it is wordy and over long - to my mind it could have done with a judicious prune. The plot is quite good but there were several strands which were mentioned and then went nowhere so that was frustrating. Kim is, quite frankly, extremely annoying as a character because why did she hang around if she was so scared? Anyone else would have packed up and gone on holiday. I think 3.5* is an appropriate rating.

I enjoyed this, although for me I didn't like it as much as the other two books as it seemed ponderous in parts. I liked the addition of Gurney's son but thought he was an underused asset (as well as Hardwick). It's a clever and thought provoking book about serial killers.I think it's probably one I will reread and then enjoy much more.