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Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Virgil Flowers investigates a miracleâ??and a murderâ??in the wickedly entertaining new thriller from the master of "pure reading pleasure" (Booklist) Pinion, Minnesota: a metropolis of all of seven hundred souls, for which the word "moribund" might have been invented. Nothing ever happened there and nothing ever wouldâ??until the mayor of sorts (campaign slogan: "I'll Do What I Can") and a buddy come up with a scheme to put Pinion on the map. They'd heard of a place where a floating image of the Virgin Mary had turned the whole town into a shrine, attracting thousands of pilgrims. And all those pilgrims needed food, shelter, all kinds of crazy things, right? They'd all get rich! What could go wrong? When the dead body shows up, they find out, and that's only the beginning of their troublesâ??and Virgil Flowers'â??as they are all about to discove… (more)
User reviews
This is a rather low key —that’s my way of saying, “not particularly exciting”—mystery featuring Virgil “Fuckin” Flowers. Jensen and Shrake join Virgil in the hunt for the killer, and all three grow quite weary of eating chicken pot pies . It turns out that the food at the only local restaurant, run by the Mayor’s mother, is awful.
The endless string of chicken pot pies can stand as a metaphor for the increasing weariness of readers as the thin plot, slow pace and repetition take their toll. The story behind the appearance of the Virgin Mary is obvious from the first few pages of the book, so we are left with a couple of quickly resolved subplots and too many meals of chicken pot pie. I actually put the book down 35 pages from the end and went off for a day to do something else. Needless to say, the pending identification and apprehension of the killer did not keep me on the edge of my seat.
Sandford is one of my favorite authors, but this is not one of his best.
My only complaint is that I wish the author could "flesh" out
Coming from the Midwest myself, the area's that Sandford sets his novels in feel like home. In this book, it REALL:Y felt like home. A small town, overlooked in the world's eyes, Wheatfield could be any town in the Midwest. When a couple of enterprising citizens come up with a scheme to put the town on the map, it blows up beyond their wildest dreams. And triggers another citizen to put into action another scheme to get rich themself.
I had a hard time putting the novel down. The action moves right along. Just when you think that you have it figured out, the author throws in another twist to make you rethink everything.
The best part of Sandford's books is that the "bad guy" is usually never some super-villain, but instead could be one's neighbor or coworker. This book continues that trend. Which makes it even more frightening!
At times i think Sanford has a better handle on the Flowers character then he currently has on Davenport. The Flowers book are always written with a strong eye towards character development. As a result, despite weak plots on several outings, I've read every book in the series.
Holy Ghost's plot line is probably one of the weakest in the series. Several times throughout the book I found myself asking, "Do I really care?"
Luckily you've got Flowers and he brings along two strong supporting characters from the Prey series, Jenkins and Shrake.. It's the characters that will drag you through this one, hopefully ignoring several of the plot holes. Sometimes just visiting old friends is enough though.
Bet you never want to look at another chicken pot pie, and I was surprised that you weren't surprised that not only others in law enforcement call you ",that f***ing Flowers. Guess your reputation has spread. Looking forward to seeing you again in the near future.
ARC from Netgalley.
A solid whodunit mystery until the end.
You won't find nonstop action or edge-of-your-seat
The pace moves at a steady pace, with the last quarter getting more intense and giving us some great twists.
Virgil is a thoughtful guy, and Sandford slips some intriguing content into the plot. These aren't the kinds of themes that wack you in the face or preach at you, but instead they're little nuggets that make you stop and think a little.
Virgil and his supporting cast always make me smile, even when they're investigating murder.
*I received an advance copy from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.*
Start with a Mayberry type town loaded with eccentrics plus a few bad apples
And in entertaining often very funny dialogue
Plus crazy situations that spin completely out of control
And you have Holy Ghost. A town where the townsfolk and
This was a fun book.