Dark of the Moon
by John Sandford
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Book Reviews of Dark of the Moon
Book Review: Finally, a really clever thriller, and it's set in Minnesota!
Summary: 4 Stars
I picked this book up in desperation at a supermarket: I desperately needed some mind candy. I've read one or two of Sandford's "Prey" books, found them interesting enough to finish, but too disgusting to recommend to anyone. (I'm not a fan of serial-killer thrillers.) That said, I read Dark of the Moon with great pleasure. In fact, I savored many of the scenes. The characters are engaging and very realistic (one psychopath comes from Wichita Falls, TX, for instance). And best of all the story isn't set in New York City. In fact, it isn't even set in a city; it's set in rural Minnesota among ethanol farmers.
Then there's the truism that you can learn a lot if you read. One tidbit I particularly enjoyed in Dark of the Moon was the discussion of the "Jerusalem artichoke scam." It was so peculiar, I almost suspected there really had been a pyramid scheme involving Jerusalem artichokes. I can even remember once-upon-a-time buying a Jerusalem artichoke and trying to cook it, only to wind up with an inedible rutabaga-like object. So, I looked it up on the web and guess what? There really was a Jerusalem artichoke scam, and it's related to the current corn-for-ethanol scam.
Now, I admit there is a psychopathic serial killer in Dark of the Moon. But the description of the atrocities is fairly brief and not too disgusting (if you don't try to visualize the scene or dwell on it). And it really is a mystery: you really do keep guessing whodunit, and I really was convinced I had cleverly figured it out, and I was satisfyingly wrong.
I don't read many bestsellers, and the ones I do I usually don't finish. I finished this one. I would recommend Patterson's Judge & Jury for fans of Dark of the Moon, except that I wish Patterson didn't farm out his writing to partners, and Sanford seems to do it all himself (BTW, Mr. Patterson: where do I sign up?). I'm going to buy and read the first in the Virgil Flowers series, Dead Watch (Night Watch), probably in the Kindle edition--but I won't seek out a Patterson book unless its topic is enticing. This was a fun read.
Book Review: Sandford brings us Flowers
Summary: 4 Stars
Most of John Sandford's books feature his cop hero Lucas Davenport, and most of the remaining books feature other characters from the same world, most notably artist/problem-solver Kidd. Dark of the Moon stars another character from the Davenport universe, Virgil Flowers. Flowers has played a supporting role in the recent Davenport books as another detective in Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but this novel gives him a chance to shine on his own.
Flowers has been called to the small rural town of Bluestem to look into the murder of an old doctor and his wife. Even as Flowers gets into town, however, another murder takes place, the arson-killing of Bill Judd, the local big wig that plenty of people hated (kind of a nastier version of C. Montgomery Burns). It doesn't take long for Flowers to sense a connection between the two crimes. And since all three victims were getting on in years, Flowers also suspects a connection to the past.
The most likely culprit is a born-again crook who now leads a racist Christian sect that may or may not be involved with other criminal activities. But this man is a present-day problem and Flowers also looks back in time and a link to a "man-in-the-moon" that ties the victims together. Assisting Flowers is the local sheriff (an old childhood friend) and providing a romantic interest is the sheriff's sister.
Unlike most Davenport books, which have the killer identified early on and get the suspense from the killers capture or death, Dark of the Moon leaves the reader guessing as to who is responsible. It is not, however, a whodunit, as there is little way for the reader to guess the killer any earlier than Flowers.
As the protagonist, however, Flowers is unimpressive: though he is likeable enough with his little quirks (for example, he has a fondness for rock band tee shirts), he is not particularly memorable. When I first read the Davenport books, I thought that this was a character I wanted to read more about; with Flowers, I wouldn't feel bad if he never appeared in another book. However, if he did, I'm sure the book would be a lot like this one: an entertaining if forgettable effort by Sandford.
Book Review: A new character for Sandford
Summary: 4 Stars
Agatha Christie used to say that she regretted making Hercule Poirot as old as she did when she started writing novels featuring him as a detective. He was a Belgian police inspector who was in England as a refugee from the First World War, and he just never left. He was also, in the first books, almost retirement age. By the time she was writing her later books he would have been, chronologically, about 120. She just ignored it, but it bothered her.
Fast forward almost a century, and John Sandford created a character for a detective series, and put some years on him. Lucas Davenport has been in about 15 or 20 Prey novels now, and he's got to be getting a bit long in the tooth. Sandford decided to create some new characters, and this is one of them, a younger, more hip detective who works for Davenport in the Minnesota State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Davenport succeeded in hiring Virgil Flowers by promising to "only give you the hard ones." His first case in a stand-alone book is indeed hard.
A couple, older, married, are murdered in a strange fashion in the tiny rural town of Bluestem. As Flowers is arriving in the evening, he sees a burning mansion and figures it must be that of a local millionaire and eccentric who legally cheated the whole county out of buckets of money, and had orgies at his house when he was younger to celebrate. Now he's been killed, too, and of course given Bluestem's size it's almost certain the killings are related to one another. Soon after Virgil's arrival, yet another married couple is killed, and things begin to heat up.
I enjoyed this book reasonably well. The main character is an interesting guy, at times sort of seemingly aimless, though it usually turns out that he has purpose to what he's doing. There are lots of secondary characters, and the plot involves everything from local politics to a white supremacist religious leader with perhaps a more sinister agenda. Flowers has a romance with a local, and spends time chasing bad guys through the cornfields of Minnesota.
I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it. It's not Sandford's best, but it's still pretty good.
Book Review: Let's have more of Virgil Flowers
Summary: 4 Stars
Someone is killing people in Bluestem, Minnesota. And not in a nice way. In Dark of the Moon, Virgil Flowers, member of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), is called upon to investigate the murder of a doctor and his wife, but when a third brutal killing occurs, Virgil realizes there is a connection. As he investigates, and the bodies keep piling up, the evidence follows twisted roads in many directions and to every part of Bluestem, as the town itself becomes a critical part of his investigation. Virgil begins to suspect everyone. He sets a trap that may put innocent lives at risk . . . but is anyone in Bluestem really innocent?
As a longtime fan of John Sandford novels, and his other leading character, Lucas Davenport, I thoroughly enjoyed Dark of the Moon. Sandford's ability to construct a tangible, real world, and take the reader along with him on a wild ride continues at breakneck speed in this novel. Virgil Flowers is an appealing, good-humored hero and does his best to keep up with the wise-cracking women in his life. His penchant for wearing tee shirts advertising his favorite musical groups is an endearing quality that doesn't always sit well with his cohorts in crime investigation. Besides, "his hair was way too long for a cop's." The dialogue is snappy, the characters are well depicted and fleshed-out. Virgil Flowers promises to be as engaging and enjoyable as his boss, Lucas Davenport, hero of Sandford's "Prey" novels. My only caveat is that there are many characters involved in a complex plot - it's not a quick read and demands close attention to the details. But if you like to become immersed in mystery and suspense, Dark of the Moon is quite engaging. I recommend Dark of the Moon.
Book Review: Only a Half Moon
Summary: 3 Stars
This book goes lunar. A key character is called Moonie. There are references to the 1969 moon landing. There's a bit about a cheap tattoo depicting the man in the moon. A woman wears man-in-the-moon earrings. All of this inspired me to create a rating system based on the phases of the moon between the new moon (one star) and the full moon (five stars). I could only give this book a half moon (three stars).
There are just too many undeveloped characters. I wasn't able to (and didn't want to) read this in just a few sittings. It took me about a week. I often found myself looking back to identify obscure characters that I knew had been referenced earlier. Also, too many subplots and suspects. The main story concerns a psycho serial killer. But there is also a major meth operation, a gaggle of greedy/meddling octogenerians, a son embezzling from his father, a suspicious newspaper editor, and a sheriff sweating his next reelection campaign.
Working the crimes are the local sheriff's department, the DEA, and Virgil Flowers, a hotshot with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Flowers is the tough, womanizing, rock-band-T-shirt-wearing hero that author John Sandford has developed in his last few novels.
Large portions of this book were vividly written: clever interrogations, skillfully described stakeouts, and exciting gunfights. Sandford is a master at creating the atmosphere of a small Minnesota town where everybody knows everybody else's business. Unfortunately, such bursts of brilliance were often obscured by a cluttered cast.