MysteryPeople Review: ‘Shock Wave’ by John Sandford

~Post by MysteryPeople Crime Fiction Coordinator Scott M.

John Sandford has pulled off a major feat with his fishing-obsessed, Bible quoting Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent, Virgil Flowers. Originally a supporting character in Sandford’s popular Lucas Davenport books, Flowers has become just as well loved by readers with his own series. Sandford’s brilliance was taking that quirky character, who also had more dimension than the usual sidekick, and bringing him to the forefront. Flowers is also thought to be a little more relatable than Davenport.

In the latest Flowers book, Shock Wave, Virgil is interrupted while watching a Minnesota-style women’s beach volleyball game (in a barn in the middle of spring, with pale, stocky Minnesota girls as opposed to tan, thin California beach bums) to look into a series of bombings. He goes to the scene of the latest explosion in the town of Butter Nut and is thrown into a team including an explosives expert, local and state police, a Native American lawyer, and a sexy scuba diver with a snake tattoo. Much of the book’s fun is watching Flowers’ work and his interactions with this motley yet incredibly professional crew. It reminded me a lot of Tommy Lee Jones’ group of marshals in the movie The Fugitive, only a little less alpha male.

Sandford also gives us an interesting target for the bombings, Willard Pye, the founder and CEO of PyeMart. He’s trying to build his latest big box store in Butter Nut, to the dislike of half the town which is accusing him of killing local business and the environment and buying off the city council. While Virgil is determined to get the bomber who has killed innocents in his wake, he doesn’t care for Pye who treats him like an employee. If he’s not guilty of a crime, he’s certainly guilty of arrogance.

It’s the not-so-innocent victim that brings a serious undercurrent to a fun, fast-paced thriller. It asks if our system can no longer protect us, if our best hope is with the the extremists and their damage. Sandford doesn’t give us an easy answer, just an offbeat, decent man trying to bring order to the problem.

I hope you’ll be able to join us on Tuesday, October 11th at 7p when MysteryPeople welcomes the one and only John Sandford to speak and sign this great new thriller.