Helpful Score: 2
Good story as usual. Sandford is one of my two favorite authors and having read every one of his Flower's and Davenport books I look forward to each new one as it comes out. John
Helpful Score: 1
I am so sorry I actually bought this book--so far I have liked the Virgil Flowers series but this one is just boring!!!!!! I tried and tried to keep reading but it just moves so slow and is just boring---maybe a bomb goes off and another one goes off but it is just mostly talk talk talk and as I skipped through it I couldn't find anything exciting or thrilling about it.
Helpful Score: 1
"Shock Wave" is aptly named, as it involves a plot about a very busy bomber who has it in for "Pye-Mart", obviously a Walmart knockoff, that is in the early construction phase in Butternut Falls (MN), and expected to destroy the local merchants and pollute the river with runoff, etc., etc. While that's not exactly an original premise, the one or two bombings per day keep everyone hopping to an insane degree, with a similar increase in suspense to the reader. Not surprisingly, there appears to have been illegal payoffs to local politicos to make the approval for the new megastore a reality; and while he's trying to discover the identity of the bomber, Virgil uncovers those crimes as well, nicely cleaning up the local scene. Meanwhile, Virgil seems to be telephonically breaking up with his new sheriff sweetheart, which slows down his tendency to womanize key characters, but that only added to the "off-screen" fun.
In my opinion.....boring ...boring....boring! Hard to find anything to make me want to keep reading this one! Very disappointed!!!
Marlene W. (KansasSunflower) -
Boy, do I disagree with the review that thought this book was boring. I found it engrossing. It's well-written with Sanford's usual wit and entertaining plot. I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Sanford. One this I do not recommend is that you try to read one of these books without reading previous ones in the series as there would be so many references that wouldn't be explained. But having said that, the book is wonderful.
Never read a John Sandford book that I didn't enjoy. I just like Davenport characters a little more than Flowers. But, he is growing on me...ha ha.
A thoroughly absorbing and convoluted read with a colorful collection of characters and mercenary villains. Virgil's boss is Lucas Davenport from Sanford's other series. Seems Flowers is the fellow that the State sends out to the Minnesota hinterlands to unravel mysteries and figure out the murderer. And he does with flair and persistence. Virgil is a fun fellow, enjoys fishing, eyes the ladies, and wears collectible R&R T shirts with his sport coat, but when it comes to detecting, he is all business, and eventually he figures out 'who dunnit' in this case, who the bomber is trying to stop the construction of a Big Box store in a small town.
Another fantastic read, I just love John Sandford. I thought that maybe giving that "f---ing Flowers" his own series wouldn't work but now 5 books later I say Bravo! You won't be sorry you read this one either!
Another good book by Sandford about "that f****** Flowers". I rated this book a bit lower than previous ones because I felt that Flowers shared his thinking and suspicions with too many people, including suspects, which just didn't feel right. It was a good storyline, just a bit scattered for me.
Sallie M. (oldrockandroll) -
Each Virgil Flowers book I read gets better than the last. I've read all of the Lucas Davenport books, now I'm reading the Virgil Flowers books. I like John Sandford's writing style.
Great book! Virgil comes through again. This is the 5th book in the series, and I love them all. Sanford has done a good job of giving Virgil a life of his own, but still keeping him involved in the Minnesota BCI. We still get to hear from Lucas, but this is Virgil's show. Hopefully there will be many more to come.
Better than the first ones.
Start with number one and work your way through the series. This one is as good as the others. I love them as well as the "Prey" series with Lucas Davenport
Pretty good but didn't hold my interest.
My favorite man, Virgil, does it again. This was a
"who done it" right to the last page.
"who done it" right to the last page.
Great read!
