Whenever you hear the sky rumble, that usually means a storm. In Virgil Flowers case, make that two. The exceptional new thriller from the writer whose books are pure reading pleasure (Booklist).
The first storm comes from, of all places, the Minnesota zoo. Two large, and very rare, Amur tigers have vanished from their cage, and authorities are worried sick that theyve been stolen for their body parts. Traditional Chinese medicine prizes those parts for home remedies, and people will do extreme things to get what they need. Some of them are a great deal more extreme than othersas Virgil is about to find out.
Then theres the homefront. Virgils relationship with his girlfriend Frankie has been getting kind of serious, but when Frankies sister Sparkle moves in for the summer, the situation gets a lot more complicated. For one thing, her research into migrant workers is about to bring her up against some very violent people who emphatically do not want to be researched. For anothershe thinks Virgils kind of cute.
You mess around with Sparkle, Frankie told Virgil, you could get yourself stabbed.
She carries a knife?
No, but I do.
Forget a stormthis ones a tornado.
**
Review
PRAISE FOR THE VIRGIL FLOWERS SERIES
Another brainy thriller from a prolific author, Deadline fulfills readers expectations of Sandfords fiction: tense, smart and character-driven. Richmond Times-Dispatch
Sandfords best Flowers book to date. This book is the most fun I have had reading in a long time. The Huffington Post
The biggest joys of this series are Flowers himself (his boss is Lucas Davenport from Sandfords Prey novels), the case of eccentric supporting characters, and the humorous dialogue.Shelf Awareness
Pure reading pleasure. Booklist
Sandford keeps one last surprise up his sleeve, and its a doozy. Exhilaratingly professional work by both Virgil and his creator. Kirkus Reviews
Rich characters [and] the descriptions of small-town life, politics and corruption and the concurrent trails of action make for a fast and entertaining read. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
About the Author
John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist John Camp. He is the author of twenty-six Prey novels, most recently Extreme Prey; four Kidd novels; nine Virgil Flowers novels; three YA novels coauthored with his wife, Michele Cook; and three stand-alones, most recently Saturn Run.