Ha pasado un año desde que el ex detective de la policía de Nueva York consiguió atrapar al asesino de los números y, aunque es su intención retirarse definitivamente junto a su esposa Madeleine, un nuevo caso se le presenta de forma imprevista. Una novia es asesinada de manera brutal durante el banquete de bodas, con cientos de invitados en el jardín y ese es un reto al que es imposible resistirse.
Todas las pistas apuntan a un misterioso y perturbado jardinero pero nada encaja: ni el móvil, ni la situación del arma homicida y sobre todo, el cruel modus operandi. Dejando de lado lo obvio, Gurney empieza a unir los puntos que le descubrirán una compleja red de negocios siniestros y tramas ocultas.

After two books in this series, I'm beginning to see a pattern. Dave Gurney, is still trying to retire as a cop, and his wife is very encouraging, often demanding, but she usually relents because he's just so good at it. The other police all seem to resent him for the same reason. They're a bunch of idiots, and he comes along and knocks out their jacks, sending them tumbling back to earth. The exception is his old semi-partner, an abrasive but smart detective who also doesn't get along too well with others because he's just socially inept. And probably knows it, but doesn't care.

Another part of the pattern is that the evidence seems to present an impossible conclusion, and everybody is either totally confused, or convinced of conflicting conclusions, all wrong.

Next part of the pattern is he stumbles around, figures things out, and then gets himself in trouble with the bad guys. In this one, he almost dies. I don't know how he'll come out of the next book - perhaps he'll die and come back to life. But I think I'll wait a while before reading it. They're pretty good, but not something that draws me in like some other books I've read. Maybe they'll get better, I hope. ( )

This book is [b:Think of a Number|7853137|Think of a Number (Dave Gurney, #1)|John Verdon|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320426340s/7853137.jpg|10980742].

It's structurally identical and the plot is so similar as to make the identity of the murderer obvious from very early on, assuming you have already read Verdon's first novel, which I have. So that's a bit disappointing but it's a gripping read anyway - because it becomes a "howdunnit?" not a "whodunnit?"

Yes, the way the crime was committed becomes the central mystery and it's compelling enough to make me forgive the otherwise repetitious nature of this sequel - but Verdon should look to shake things up for the future. Going by the blurb on the back of his third novel, he hasn't, though. ( )

Starring retired detective Dave Gurney, this book is written in a clear, easy style, has some great well-established characters, and lots of twists and turns. The detective loves solving seemingly impossible puzzles like how did the killer leave the victim in a locked room with no escape in the middle of a party? And there are several that arise throughout the story.

In addition to the unpleasant murder(s), the story explores Gurney's marriage and his inability to settle into retirement in a realistic way. I enjoyed the book very much. ( )

http://www.literaryfeline.com/2012/08/my-bookish-thoughts-john-verdons-series.ht... ( )