lanica's review against another edition
3.0
I love John Sandford, and enjoyed reading his books. The characters in this one were a bit annoying, but the mystery was good and the ending satisfying.
cjeanne99's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Someone is setting off bombs in an attempt to stop Pye-Mart from expanding to the town of Butternut Falls, MN. Virgil is on the case - and he solves it.
rmichno's review against another edition
3.0
Fast paced plot, but it was hard to get invested in any of the characters, including Virgil. At the end of the book I didn't know Virgil any better than I did at the beginning.
trash_reader_'s review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
sarah_ann_roth's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
manadabomb's review against another edition
3.0
I feel so ashamed that I missed that this came out and I didn't read it right away. I'm losing my touch.
Another f*ckin' Flowers book. Virgil is really holding his own now. Davenport was barely in here at all. Flowers is growing into his own and really impressing me.
PyeMart is being built in Butternut, MN and it's making lots of people angry. We start off with a bomb exploding at the headquarters of PyeMart in MI, with the apparent attempt to take out the board of directors. Instead, it ends up killing a secretary.
Another bomb happens at the construction site in Butternut and instead of killing anyone "important", the poor sap who is heading the construction is killed.
Now is the point you are pissed at the bomber. These people are every day folks working their jobs, not the head guy making the decisions. Flowers is called in, towing along his boat (just in case he gets time to fish) and starts making headway. Mr. Pye comes into town, all blustery and having his assistant take exact notes for his book, and starts throwing around money (has that ever helped??).
More bombs. Virgil loses someone dear to him. More bombs. More deaths. And eureka! Really?? That was the bomber all along? Didn't see that one.
Thank you, f*ckin' Flowers.
Another f*ckin' Flowers book. Virgil is really holding his own now. Davenport was barely in here at all. Flowers is growing into his own and really impressing me.
PyeMart is being built in Butternut, MN and it's making lots of people angry. We start off with a bomb exploding at the headquarters of PyeMart in MI, with the apparent attempt to take out the board of directors. Instead, it ends up killing a secretary.
Another bomb happens at the construction site in Butternut and instead of killing anyone "important", the poor sap who is heading the construction is killed.
Now is the point you are pissed at the bomber. These people are every day folks working their jobs, not the head guy making the decisions. Flowers is called in, towing along his boat (just in case he gets time to fish) and starts making headway. Mr. Pye comes into town, all blustery and having his assistant take exact notes for his book, and starts throwing around money (has that ever helped??).
More bombs. Virgil loses someone dear to him. More bombs. More deaths. And eureka! Really?? That was the bomber all along? Didn't see that one.
Thank you, f*ckin' Flowers.
robotswithpersonality's review
Honestly relieved that this one wasn't as dark in content as the last one I read in the series.
Virgil is Virgil, some recurring supporting and some fresh cast of characters is more agreeable than despicable, the mystery is twisty without being exasperating and, per the usual, there's a minor subplot with a hilarious end. Also appreciated the upending of the series' standard trajectory on another dependable subplot, IYKYK. 😉
Has moments where you can definitely tell it was written more than ten years ago (mild female objectification/sexism) but compared to the other detective series I'm following from the 70s...it's within my tolerance levels.
Virgil is Virgil, some recurring supporting and some fresh cast of characters is more agreeable than despicable, the mystery is twisty without being exasperating and, per the usual, there's a minor subplot with a hilarious end. Also appreciated the upending of the series' standard trajectory on another dependable subplot, IYKYK. 😉
Has moments where you can definitely tell it was written more than ten years ago (mild female objectification/sexism) but compared to the other detective series I'm following from the 70s...it's within my tolerance levels.
randyrasa's review against another edition
5.0
Solid story, great characters, quick pacing, lots of twists and turns and quirky asides. Typical brilliant work from John Sandford.
kmpuzzled's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5