whiskers_and_lipstick's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
robotswithpersonality's review against another edition
Phew! Not exactly a 'fun' read, but certainly engrossing, with third act high octane shenanigans that would make Hollywood proud. I continue to love the character of Virgil Flowers and how he goes about solving mysteries and associated problems in this series, even if this book in particular dealt with
REALLY rough subject matter.
The writing really kept the pace taught, the bad guys and the good guys both meticulously plotting out how to achieve their desired outcomes, Flowers et al methodically working leads and getting at the truth. It's a higher quality suspense when you get moments of matching wits. All the more satisfying when good triumphs.
I appreciate how entries in this series always manage to have a low stakes running joke or two throughout the narrative, a breather from the tension.
If by any chance you find yourself in an urban, temperate area in mid-February, nostalgic for real, rural winter atmosphere, this will cure you of the rosy remembrance by detailing the snow and the cold.
It glances the territory of moralizing/denigrating anything outside 'vanilla' sex, but mainly focuses on non-consensual/coerced acts where the character's and reader's abhorrence is shared. Might just be Midwestern values of the author muddying the waters between unconventional and perverse, but it's worth saying: polygamy, group sex, BDSM elements are not, in and of themselves, a wrongdoing, when safe, sane and between consenting adults.
⚠️ SA, statutory SA, incest, child abuse, spousal abuse, sex enslavement, grooming, cult indoctrination
REALLY rough subject matter.
The writing really kept the pace taught, the bad guys and the good guys both meticulously plotting out how to achieve their desired outcomes, Flowers et al methodically working leads and getting at the truth. It's a higher quality suspense when you get moments of matching wits. All the more satisfying when good triumphs.
I appreciate how entries in this series always manage to have a low stakes running joke or two throughout the narrative, a breather from the tension.
If by any chance you find yourself in an urban, temperate area in mid-February, nostalgic for real, rural winter atmosphere, this will cure you of the rosy remembrance by detailing the snow and the cold.
It glances the territory of moralizing/denigrating anything outside 'vanilla' sex, but mainly focuses on non-consensual/coerced acts where the character's and reader's abhorrence is shared. Might just be Midwestern values of the author muddying the waters between unconventional and perverse, but it's worth saying: polygamy, group sex, BDSM elements are not, in and of themselves, a wrongdoing, when safe, sane and between consenting adults.
⚠️ SA, statutory SA, incest, child abuse, spousal abuse, sex enslavement, grooming, cult indoctrination
kmpuzzled's review
adventurous
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Rape
Minor: Gun violence and Religious bigotry
xkay_readsx's review
4.0
A 911 call report of a fatal accident at a grain elevator. However, the medical examiner is 99% sure it's a murder with a blow to the head and no accident. The only person at the scene, a high school football star is arrested for the crime. The following day he's found dead by hanging in his jail cell. Suspicious, Warren County Sheriff Lee Coakley seeks Virgil Flowers to help investigate.
As always John Sandford delivers another great crime thriller. I enjoy his writing and subtle humor where it's needed. Beware this one has some heinous sexual violence content.
As always John Sandford delivers another great crime thriller. I enjoy his writing and subtle humor where it's needed. Beware this one has some heinous sexual violence content.
ker95's review against another edition
4.0
It's John Sandford writing with Virgil Flowers as the main character. What's not to love?
burnman325's review against another edition
3.0
The topic of this investigation was tough. abuse of women and children. Besides that the story didnt flow. I didn't feel the author was developing any of the characters.
cindyann62's review against another edition
3.0
Audio
My first Virgil Flowers book. Probably not the best to start with but doesn't mean I won't try another one.
My first Virgil Flowers book. Probably not the best to start with but doesn't mean I won't try another one.
cozyesther's review against another edition
5.0
I think I stared off at a wall for a long long time after I finished this book.
The end was when shit hit the fan, rained down and hit the fan maybe a couple more times before settling. Only this book was anything but settling. This one might be the most disturbing book I've read in the series so far.
This time, in the fourth book of the Virgil Flower series, Virgil is looking into a case where a high school star athlete with his life planned and perfect in front of him is jailed after murdering a man for unknown reasons. A good kid with no past history and definitely no known motive. Later on, that teenager dies, "suicide". When Virgil looks deeper into the suspicious deaths, another body appears.
As Virgil tries to connect the three bodies, he slowly uncovers a disturbing secret. And in a small town where every other house seem to be in on some secret and nobody talking, it gets very hard to track down and pinpoint what exactly is going on here.
I loved this book. I really hated the theme behind the plot. Quite disliked the ending, people who deserved to rot in prison ended up managing to flee. But when you uncover a cult, it's like turning the light on in a room full of roaches. Some get killed but there's always some that manage to escape into a random part of your house and start up over again.
Loved the book. Loved the crazy gunfight towards the end. There wasn't just LIES, it was a giant web of lies that half the town was in on. Fast-paced book and no putting it down.
The end was when shit hit the fan, rained down and hit the fan maybe a couple more times before settling. Only this book was anything but settling. This one might be the most disturbing book I've read in the series so far.
This time, in the fourth book of the Virgil Flower series, Virgil is looking into a case where a high school star athlete with his life planned and perfect in front of him is jailed after murdering a man for unknown reasons. A good kid with no past history and definitely no known motive. Later on, that teenager dies, "suicide". When Virgil looks deeper into the suspicious deaths, another body appears.
As Virgil tries to connect the three bodies, he slowly uncovers a disturbing secret. And in a small town where every other house seem to be in on some secret and nobody talking, it gets very hard to track down and pinpoint what exactly is going on here.
I loved this book. I really hated the theme behind the plot. Quite disliked the ending, people who deserved to rot in prison ended up managing to flee. But when you uncover a cult, it's like turning the light on in a room full of roaches. Some get killed but there's always some that manage to escape into a random part of your house and start up over again.
Loved the book. Loved the crazy gunfight towards the end. There wasn't just LIES, it was a giant web of lies that half the town was in on. Fast-paced book and no putting it down.
ericwelch's review against another edition
4.0
An excellent addition to the Virgil Flowers series, a series I prefer to the Lucas Davenport books which often devolve into psychobabble with Weather and Ellen.
The case begins with the baseball bat head-bashing murder of a local farmer delivering soybeans to the local mill. The killer is a well-liked football star and his actions puzzle the community, but not as much as the string of killings that follow. BCA detective Flowers is asked to help with the investigation by the local newly elected sheriff who fears her election at the expense of one of her deputies might compromise the investigation.
If you read the reviews on Amazon, the one-star comments seem to fall into a couple of groups: those who object to "bad" words and/or the subject matter (child abuse and its connection to a religious cult or it's just "pornography", a bizarre complaint indeed), and those who complain about the Kindle price (get a life folks, you don't have to buy the book.) In other words the one star reviews have little substance to them and can be safely ignored as trite.
Some of the dialogue, especially with the children of the cultish group, seemed forced and whether such a group could be as large as it was in a rural community without raising more than a few eyebrows is problematic. It's a good story. My quibbling minor complaint is that perhaps Sandford could have used the story to examine the ramifications of a mindset that teaches a belief system to children they believe to be good that is in direct opposition to normal societal values.
One line I really liked: "Nothing scares a shit-kicker like somebody shooting up his truck."
The case begins with the baseball bat head-bashing murder of a local farmer delivering soybeans to the local mill. The killer is a well-liked football star and his actions puzzle the community, but not as much as the string of killings that follow. BCA detective Flowers is asked to help with the investigation by the local newly elected sheriff who fears her election at the expense of one of her deputies might compromise the investigation.
If you read the reviews on Amazon, the one-star comments seem to fall into a couple of groups: those who object to "bad" words and/or the subject matter (child abuse and its connection to a religious cult or it's just "pornography", a bizarre complaint indeed), and those who complain about the Kindle price (get a life folks, you don't have to buy the book.) In other words the one star reviews have little substance to them and can be safely ignored as trite.
Some of the dialogue, especially with the children of the cultish group, seemed forced and whether such a group could be as large as it was in a rural community without raising more than a few eyebrows is problematic. It's a good story. My quibbling minor complaint is that perhaps Sandford could have used the story to examine the ramifications of a mindset that teaches a belief system to children they believe to be good that is in direct opposition to normal societal values.
One line I really liked: "Nothing scares a shit-kicker like somebody shooting up his truck."
toriypen's review
4.0
I seriously loved this book, in the way that makes it not creepy to love a book that has this topic. Its perfect for those of you, like myself who just finished season 10 of CRIMINAL MINDS, and just need a little more bizarre, sadistic, grossness. The premise was unique and executed well. BAC agent Virgil Flowers (I know the same is really really stupid) and Chief Coakley are drawn together to investigate the murder of a man, which suddenly spawns into 3 other murders. Upon further investigation they discover the worst crime ring/church organization "in Minnesota history". I had only one major issue with the book, which was my edition was from the UK and must be one of the first ones they printed without actually checking for errors. I cannot tell you how may typos were actually in this book because after about 10 I lost count. The part that really pissed me off was that it was not just like 'oh I'm going to type this guy's name George' and accidentally put an f so it read feorge. oh no no it was so much worse, the typo was 1/4eorge... how the hell does that even happen. I cannot fathom how you mistook a fraction for a g...or how an editor never noticed. Anyway I really love this book, and cannot wait to put it on my favorites shelf.