A Book A Week

Its that time of year again. No, I'm not talking about fall this time. Time for the latest Virgil Flowers novel, of course! For over a decade now, I've read and enjoyed every Virgil Flowers novel written by John Sandford. Each fall, a new installment is released, and I spend the next few days glued to the book. For the past couple of years, I've been fortunate to receive a copy of the latest Flowers novel from Sandford's publisher, and this year I was happy to accept Bloody Genius to review. Once again, Sandford proves why Virgil Flowers is one of the most endearing heroes in modern crime fiction.

A prominent doctor/professor at the University of Minnesota is bludgeoned to death in the school library.  There are immediately more questions than answers. He wasn't in the library when it closed the night before, so how did he get in and why was he in there? The professor wasn't well-liked by his colleagues, professional rivals, or even his family, so there's no shortage of potential suspects. A man with three ex-wives who is a complete jerk to everyone he encounters isn't exactly getting the key to the city anytime soon. Still, a brazen murder on a busy college campus can't be ignored.

Enter Virgil Flowers, the quirky but effective investigator for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Flowers's rough edges have started to smooth out since he began dating Frankie, a former suspect turned lover. The couple is expecting twins soon, and Flowers is struggling to balance his personal and professional responsibilities. He reluctantly begins investigating the murder, much to the chagrin of the local authorities and a female detective who has no trouble matching Virgil's dry wit. When all the potential suspects begin presenting solid alibis, Virgil is forced to dig deep and use his trademark unorthodox approach to bring justice and peace to the community.

At this point, Virgil Flowers may have actually eclipsed James Patterson's Alex Cross as my favorite detective in a crime series. With Bloody Genius, John Sandford continues to evolve his character in a way that is both natural and fun to read. Sandford bucks formula by placing his familiar character into new mysteries with different narrative paths in each book. Sometimes, the killer is known by the reader from the start, and the fun is in seeing Virgil discover what we already know. This time, we are in the dark with our hero, only discovering the murder when Virgil does. I truly did not see the ending coming! This is the twelfth novel in the series. While you don't have to read the previous books to understand this one, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by skipping ahead. Go ahead and start with the first book. If you're anything like me, you'll race through the series and be eagerly waiting for the next one.

For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
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