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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 against another edition
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
muddypuddle's review against another edition
5.0
It's official - I have such a crush on Virgil Flowers. I need another fix, soon.....
ssloeffler's review against another edition
4.0
I love Virgil. Love how he thinks. I get a kick out of the local sheriff in this one, too.
xkay_readsx's review against another edition
4.0
Huh! Virgil #5 is a bit different and is a mystery. Usually, when reading Sandford's thriller, the reader knows who the villain is right off the bat. Not this time!
Someone is mad that a big chain store Pyemart is opening in Butternut Falls (I didn't know this is a real place). Bombs have been going off and innocent lives lost. The first victim was Pye's executive assistant. While preparing a conference room for a board meeting, the first bomb went off and killed her instantly. Then another at a new Pyemart construction site. ATF, and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were called to assist local law enforcement.
This is a good mystery with some county-level corruption and multiple twists that threw me off track, so many possible suspects! Another worthy Virgil Flowers book.
Someone is mad that a big chain store Pyemart is opening in Butternut Falls (I didn't know this is a real place). Bombs have been going off and innocent lives lost. The first victim was Pye's executive assistant. While preparing a conference room for a board meeting, the first bomb went off and killed her instantly. Then another at a new Pyemart construction site. ATF, and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were called to assist local law enforcement.
This is a good mystery with some county-level corruption and multiple twists that threw me off track, so many possible suspects! Another worthy Virgil Flowers book.
martyfried's review against another edition
4.0
A fairly typical Virgil Flowers novel, not quite as good as some but if you're a fan, you'll like it. Perhaps it was the lack of an active love interest that made this one seem lacking a bit. He's still loosely involved with the Sheriff from the last book, but she's in Florida, and they don't seem to be getting along too well. Perhaps the fame went to her head.
But don't think the book isn't still good - it was. The center of attention in the story is the CEO of a WalMart-like chain called PyeMart that is planned for a small town, Butternut Falls, with a lake and a lot of nature lovers who don't want a PyeMart to destroy their lives. It seems that PyeMart has bribed the town leaders into supporting them, much to the chagrin of many in the town. Somebody is trying to stop the development by blowing things and people up, starting with a failed attempt on the CEO - killing his secretary instead - and including a failed attempt on Virgil. Surprisingly, I found the CEO to be somewhat of a likeable guy, despite being a bit of a jerk.
Virgil uses some fairly unconventional methods to finally find out who the bomber is, and we get some free secondary action as they go after the crooked town leaders.
I'm running out of books in this series, but I look forward to reading some of Sandford's other books, such as the Lucas Davenport series.
But don't think the book isn't still good - it was. The center of attention in the story is the CEO of a WalMart-like chain called PyeMart that is planned for a small town, Butternut Falls, with a lake and a lot of nature lovers who don't want a PyeMart to destroy their lives. It seems that PyeMart has bribed the town leaders into supporting them, much to the chagrin of many in the town. Somebody is trying to stop the development by blowing things and people up, starting with a failed attempt on the CEO - killing his secretary instead - and including a failed attempt on Virgil. Surprisingly, I found the CEO to be somewhat of a likeable guy, despite being a bit of a jerk.
Virgil uses some fairly unconventional methods to finally find out who the bomber is, and we get some free secondary action as they go after the crooked town leaders.
I'm running out of books in this series, but I look forward to reading some of Sandford's other books, such as the Lucas Davenport series.