Author: John Verdon
Series: Dave Gurney #8
Publication Date: July 18, 223
Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
Pages: 400
Obtained: purchased
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Couldn't get it out of my head
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab
Summary: Pushed to his breaking point and accused of murder, retired NYPD detective Dave Gurney must face his greatest adversary yet to solve a mystery that is quickly tearing his world apart. Tennis bad boy Ziko Slade is serving twenty years for the grisly murder of small-time criminal Lenny Lerman. The facts of the case--and Slade's checkered past--seem indisputable. What begins as a cursory review of the case as a favor to Dave Gurney's wife's friend soon spirals into something much more complicated. When Gurney's involvement threatens to expose a viper's nest of corruption, he finds himself framed for murder and pursued by a sensational media, a ruthless district attorney, and a coldblooded killer. As he evades the law and attempts to solve the case to salvage his reputation, Gurney grapples with the realization that his unshakable need for police work is costing him more than the brilliant detective ever suspected. The Viper is the most shocking and riveting chapter yet in the internationally bestselling Dave Gurney series. ~amazon.com
Review: I have been a long time fan of this series and I returned to it for a comforting familiarity and a visit with old friends, but this installment of Dave Gurney was too unsettling.
After the last case I would have imagined Gurney becoming more protective of his wife and the effects of his investigations. Gurney seems to have become more recklessly obsessed with solving the case. True, this time she brought him the case, but he was blinded to the point of recklessness. This case brought out a darkness in Gurney. I missed his meticulous attention to detail and moral compass.I have long thought Gurney and his wife were mismatched but being a bystander to the self destruction of their relationship was hard, more difficult than I imagined, actually.
Although the case is mostly resolved, there are a lot of open ends and unresolved issues. There is no neat ending here and many of the methodical fact gathering was abandoned. I realize I’m not meant to, but I don’t like where things were left. I hope none of the characters are broken beyond repair but it is a definite possibility. It was a difficult place to leave my Walnut Crossing friends and definitely not the comfort I was seeking.
Summary: 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.
. It didn't impact my enjoyment of 
Summary: When he was the NYPD’s top homicide investigator, Dave Gurney was never comfortable with the label the press gave him: super detective. He was simply a man who, when faced with a puzzle, wanted to know. He was called to the investigative hunt by the presumptuous arrogance of murderers – by their smug belief that they could kill without leaving a trace. There was always a trace, Gurney believed. 
Summary: Arriving in the mail one day is a taunting letter that ends with a simple declaration "See how well I know your secrets-just think of a number." Eerily,the letter writer has predicted their random choice exactly. For Dave Gurney, just retired as the NYPD's top homicide investigator and forging a new life with his wife, Madeleine, in upstate New York, the letters are oddities that begin as a diverting puzzle but quickly ignite a massive serial-murder investigation. Brought in as an investigative "consultant," Gurney soon accomplishes deductive breakthroughs that have local police in awe. Yet, with each taunting move by his seemingly clairvoyant opponent, Gurney feels his tragedy-marred past rising up to haunt him, his marriage approaching a dangerous precipice, and, finally, a dark, cold fear building that he's met an adversary who can't be stopped. ~product description 
Summary: Arriving in the mail one day is a taunting letter that ends with a simple declaration "See how well I know your secrets-just think of a number." Eerily,the letter writer has predicted their random choice exactly. For Dave Gurney, just retired as the NYPD's top homicide investigator and forging a new life with his wife, Madeleine, in upstate New York, the letters are oddities that begin as a diverting puzzle but quickly ignite a massive serial-murder investigation. Brought in as an investigative "consultant," Gurney soon accomplishes deductive breakthroughs that have local police in awe. Yet, with each taunting move by his seemingly clairvoyant opponent, Gurney feels his tragedy-marred past rising up to haunt him, his marriage approaching a dangerous precipice, and, finally, a dark, cold fear building that he's met an adversary who can't be stopped.