Mad River

August 27, 2012
In this high-octane thrill ride, bestseller Sandfordâs fifth novel featuring Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers (after 2011âs Shock Wave), Lucas Davenport, Virgilâs boss (and star of his own series), dispatches Virgil to a remote corner of the state to deal with âa bad one.â Four people are dead: a married couple in Shinder, another two in nearby Bigham. The gang responsibleâarmed and dangerous teens Jimmy Sharp, Tom McCall, and Becky Welshâhave already murdered one woman during a robbery, and Virgil soon suspects them in these other crimes. Fearful that the killing spree hasnât run its course, Virgil pulls out all the stops to get inside the minds of his quarry while he sorts through all the possible motives for the spate of deaths. Virgilâs penchant for wisecracking, which in less skilled hands could have been annoying, serves to deflate the tension, and his backstory is simple enough to allow new readers to easily keep up. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.

September 15, 2012
Virgil Flowers and the forces of Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension battle trigger-happy Bare County Sheriff Lewis Duke in pursuit of a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Tom McCall and Becky Welsh think that Jimmy Sharp has led them to Dr. John O'Leary's home to relieve Marsha O'Leary of a diamond necklace she recently showed off around town. No sooner have they broken in, however, than Jimmy shoots the O'Learys' oldest daughter, Agatha Murphy, without getting the necklace. In their haste to exit, Jimmy shoots Emmett Williams for his brother-in-law's Dodge Charger, and their murder spree has begun. First they clear the decks by killing Jimmy's father and Becky's parents; then they murder a McDonald's owner and his wife for some traveling money; then, when a bank robbery goes bad, they kill a Bare County deputy. Called in to the first murder scene, Virgil alertly realizes that Jimmy aimed for the one and only O'Leary window he could easily get through and wonders if Agatha's murder was something other than a panicky reaction--something like a murder-for-hire arranged by Agatha's estranged husband, smarmy insurance salesman Dick Murphy. As Virgil, who wants to talk the killers in, tilts with Duke, who wants to shoot them down on sight, Sandford explores the unstable dynamics among the three fugitives and raises questions about how any of the easily identified culprits can ever be brought to justice. None of these minor complications, though, are enough to raise Virgil's sixth (Shock Wave, 2011, etc.) much above the level of a highly competent but routine manhunt.

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2012

Three angry teenagers without prospects but with access to guns make like Bonnie and Clyde and a sidekick, often sending cell phone images of their crimes to a local Minnesota TV station. Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers joins the crowd hunting down these nasties--just before things get really bad. Flowers seems about as popular as Sandford regular John Prey; buy up.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2012
Three rural Minnesota teenagers, Jimmy Sharp, Becky Welsh, and Tom McCall, are on a crime spree. It started with the murder of a store clerk during a botched robbery. Victim number two died in a car heist as they made their getaway. Then they decide what the hell and settle a couple of personal scores. The kids are murderous but not dumb, and they avoid capture from an ever-growing cadre of pursuers that includes Virgil Flowers from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Flowers is the nominal head of the investigation, but he struggles to keep control of the various law-enforcement agencies involved. He's determined to take the kids alive, an end game that's not endorsed by his associates. As the pursuit continues, he's able to establish phone contact with Welsh. At least one of the killers has moved from abstraction to human, and Flowers becomes more determined than ever to bring them in alive. Flowers is a complex character camouflaged by his long hair, rock-'n'-roll T-shirts, smart mouth, and fearlessness. The son of a minister, he is burdened by a spirituality that subtly influences his every decision. It's more pronounced in this case as he fights the pack's need for revenge and, in the end, leaves readers assessing the morality of the kids as well as their pursuers. This may be the best entry in a stellar series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)