Think of a Number by John Verndon

Publisher:  Crown, 2010
Pages:  432
Source:  Received an ARC from the publisher
Genre:  Adult Thriller
The opinions expressed in my review are mine alone.

This book took me longer to read than most books.  The reason?  I kept trying to figure out the clues.  I am obviously not very good at that.  Dave Gurney is a retired detectivce.  He has retired and is now spending time with his wife.  Unfortunately after suggesting he take an art class with her, his wife is not happy with the path that class has taken.  First of all her husband is creating art out of the mug shots of serial killers he put away.  Second of all she can tell that the instructor has the hots for her husband.  There is obvious problems and tension over unresolved issues in their marriage.
Enter old college classmate turned spiritual guru, Mellery.  He has been receiving a series of letters written in poetic form.  They asked him to pick a number and then without knowing who the person was or anything else the writer of the letter picked the number.  Each letter alludes to Mellery's past and something he should remember connected to the date.  But how does the letter writer do this.  Meller calls on Gurney to help him figure this out.  He refuses to take Gurney's advice to contact the police and ends of dead.  When all else fails, Gurney is called upon to assist in the case, putting himself and his wife in danger.
This was everything I could want in a thriller.  This one kept throwing clues at me but there were enough twists and turns in it that I had not figured it out until very near the end.  Awesome read and one I will definitely recommend.