I haven’t talked here about my reading much in a long while. I am planning to start doing some limited book reviews again, but mostly I don’t do those unless I can praise a book because it isn’t worth upsetting a fellow author. Plus, if I can’t recommend a book, why bring it up?
In any case, today, I am recommended John Sandford’s incredible Virgil Flower series. I first discovered Sandford through his Lucas Davenport thrillers about a tough cop leading a specialized state police force, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, in Minnesota. It’s gritty, it’s fast paced, with good suspense and great characters. The plots are solid with nice twists, and even though some of the early ones fell into the “seen it before category,” what he did with it was so fresh it didn’t matter. I read all 30 Davenport books and they were a true pleasure. Books I could soar through in a few days.
Virgil Flowers is an investigator who works for Davenport in the BCA but covers rural areas in the Southern part of the state. Virgil is a surfer-type who’s good with the ladies and he is surrounded by a crew of colorful, eclectic characters who keep the story interesting. Sandford does well at mixing action and humor and these books are also great, fast reads with plenty of suspenseful twists and turns and fascinating characters while also being gritty and following real police procedures without bogging down in research detail.
There are 12 books in this series so far and I am on number 9 as of today. I have enjoyed them all. Unlike the Davenport, none of them ever felt cliche in plot and Sandford’s abilities were top of his form before this series started so the first book out of the gate, Dark of the Moon, was one of his best. Book 6, Mad River, was a chase story with nonstop action that was a highlight as well, though I have enjoyed them all so far and I think you will too.