Bloody Genius
Virgil Flowers 12
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4.4 • 30 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Virgil Flowers will have to watch his back – and his mouth – as he investigates a culture war turned deadly in this tense page-turner from the master of pulse-pounding thrillers.
At the local state university, renowned Professor Quill goes to the library one night – and winds up dead. With no suspects, no prints, no murder weapon – not even a time of death – Virgil Flowers is brought in to investigate.
Flowers discovers that, prior to his death, Quill had sparked a feud between two departments at the university. Each side carries their views to extremes, and Flowers soon realises he's dealing with people who, on this particular issue, are functionally crazy.
Somewhere among this group of diametrically opposed zealots lurks a murderer. But with no leads, little evidence and the media breathing down his neck, can Flowers find him before he kills again?
* * * Praise for John Sandford and the Virgil Flowers novels * * *
'John Sandford knows all there is to know about detonating the gut-level shocks of a good thriller' The New York Times Book Review
'Sandford has always been at the top of any list of great mystery writers. His writing and the appeal of his lead character are as fresh as ever' The Huffington Post
'Sandford is consistently brilliant' Cleveland Plain Dealer
‘Along the way to the satisfying ending, Virgil displays the rough humor and rough justice that make him such an appealing character’ Publishers Weekly on Deep Freeze
‘A knowing portrait of small-town life layered into a very well plotted mystery. Virgil understands that, in small towns, no one ever outgrows high school... One of the very best novels in a superior series’ Booklist (starred review) on Deep Freeze
‘Add a gripping storyline, a generous helping of exquisitely conceived characters and laugh-out-loud humor that produce explosive guffaws, not muted chuckles, and you’re in for the usual late-night, don’t-even-think-of-stopping treat when Flowers hits town’ Richmond Times-Dispatch on Deep Freeze
‘An outstanding novel’ Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Escape Clause
‘Perfect entertainment’ Kirkus Reviews on Escape Clause
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Sandford's compulsively readable 12th novel featuring astute Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers (after 2018's Holy Ghost) will please fair play fans. Thanks to some string-pulling, Flowers gets assigned to assist the Minneapolis PD with the investigation of a homicide at the University of Minnesota that has stalled two weeks after the crime. Someone bashed in the head of Barthelemy Quill with a laptop in the university library in the middle of the night; Quill, a professor who worked in a lab specializing in spinal injuries, was in the midst of a romantic rendezvous at the time. The dead man's sister, a major political campaign donor, prevailed on the governor to add resources to the case, a decision not welcomed by the veteran police detective in charge. Flowers finds no shortage of suspects, including a map thief and an academic rival whose theories were denounced as bunk by Quill during one of her lectures. Readers who like a bit of unrepentant wiseass in their sleuths will find Flowers fits the bill. Sandford makes blending humor and mystery look easy.
Customer Reviews
Not genius exactly, but clever enough
Author
American. Pulitzer prize-winning journo turned thriller writer. Several series, the largest (29 titles and counting) involving former Minneapolis cop turned US marshal Lucas Davenport, and the second largest based around Virgil Flowers, who is younger, three times divorced (although he seems to be settling down with his pregnant GF), and favours band T shirts. Flowers was recruited to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) by Davenport, and they remain friends. They're both really good at investigating, and get called in when things need sorting. You know the story.
Plot
Wealthy, maladjusted professor who researches novel therapies for spinal injuries is found bludgeoned to death in his carrel at the university library. The regular cops are getting nowhere, and the press are getting antsy. The governor says call in Flowers, who saved the gubernatorial ass in a previous volume. Virgil, who now lives on his GF's farm, bales the hay then rides into to town to do his thang, ably supported by a feisty local female detective who wears Louboutins. Speaking of Louboutins, there are plenty of red herrings (or possibly scarlet bass, or hot pink trout or something, given that Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes), before resolution is achieved.
Characters
Virgil doesn't remind me as much of "the Dude" from 'The Great Lebowsky' anymore, but I still like him better than Davenport. The female detective is okay. There are university students as well.
Narrative
Third person, principally from Virgil's POV.
Prose
This is far from Mr Sandford's first rodeo, and it shows. Slick, in other words.
Bottom line
Good entertainment worth suspending your disbelief for.