Scan barcode
whiskers_and_lipstick's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
cjeanne99's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
“What you did was probably the most fucked-up crime in the history of the state of Minnesota,” Virgil said.
I had to read this FAST - because the sexual abuse of women and children was too much for my imagination. Sandford doesn’t go into great detail - but you know what is happening. This book took a lot out of me. Not for the feint of hear.
The third in the Virgil Flowers installments - with a few quips that were classic early John Sandford. Virgil is called in to help investigate three murders that happen within a few days of each other in a farming county in southern Minnesota. As he starts to put the pieces together about a religious group that doesn’t own a church building - but has a tight knit community - one of the men in charge says:
“It really ain’t what Flowers knows. It’s what he can figure out.“
And that’s why I love the Sandford books - Virgil - or Lucas - always figures it out.
I had to read this FAST - because the sexual abuse of women and children was too much for my imagination. Sandford doesn’t go into great detail - but you know what is happening. This book took a lot out of me. Not for the feint of hear.
The third in the Virgil Flowers installments - with a few quips that were classic early John Sandford. Virgil is called in to help investigate three murders that happen within a few days of each other in a farming county in southern Minnesota. As he starts to put the pieces together about a religious group that doesn’t own a church building - but has a tight knit community - one of the men in charge says:
“It really ain’t what Flowers knows. It’s what he can figure out.“
And that’s why I love the Sandford books - Virgil - or Lucas - always figures it out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
fishwitch's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been a devotes fan of John Sandford’s Prey series from the start, but have only recently started his Virgil Flowers series. The author has an awesome sense of humor and the absurd that shows in these books. And really, that Fucking Flowers is such a perfect sobriquet
emp1234's review against another edition
3.0
I'm enjoying the Virgil Flowers series overall. I'll give this one 3.5 stars. Up from my usual 3. Lots of sickos in this one. Murder, cults, sexual abuse. Definitely dark. I'm still listening to the series. Eric Conger is the narrator for all of them and does an excellent job.
trash_reader_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
I don't see how John Sandford could ever top this. Everything was just so crazy and I was hooked from the very beginning. Definitely one of my favorites.
robotswithpersonality's review
Phew! Not exactly a 'fun' read, but certainly engrossing, with third act high octane shenanigans that would make Hollywood proud. I continue to love the character of Virgil Flowers and how he goes about solving mysteries and associated problems in this series, even if this book in particular dealt with
REALLY rough subject matter.
The writing really kept the pace taught, the bad guys and the good guys both meticulously plotting out how to achieve their desired outcomes, Flowers et al methodically working leads and getting at the truth. It's a higher quality suspense when you get moments of matching wits. All the more satisfying when good triumphs.
I appreciate how entries in this series always manage to have a low stakes running joke or two throughout the narrative, a breather from the tension.
If by any chance you find yourself in an urban, temperate area in mid-February, nostalgic for real, rural winter atmosphere, this will cure you of the rosy remembrance by detailing the snow and the cold.
It glances the territory of moralizing/denigrating anything outside 'vanilla' sex, but mainly focuses on non-consensual/coerced acts where the character's and reader's abhorrence is shared. Might just be Midwestern values of the author muddying the waters between unconventional and perverse, but it's worth saying: polygamy, group sex, BDSM elements are not, in and of themselves, a wrongdoing, when safe, sane and between consenting adults.
⚠️ SA, statutory SA, incest, child abuse, spousal abuse, sex enslavement, grooming, cult indoctrination
REALLY rough subject matter.
The writing really kept the pace taught, the bad guys and the good guys both meticulously plotting out how to achieve their desired outcomes, Flowers et al methodically working leads and getting at the truth. It's a higher quality suspense when you get moments of matching wits. All the more satisfying when good triumphs.
I appreciate how entries in this series always manage to have a low stakes running joke or two throughout the narrative, a breather from the tension.
If by any chance you find yourself in an urban, temperate area in mid-February, nostalgic for real, rural winter atmosphere, this will cure you of the rosy remembrance by detailing the snow and the cold.
It glances the territory of moralizing/denigrating anything outside 'vanilla' sex, but mainly focuses on non-consensual/coerced acts where the character's and reader's abhorrence is shared. Might just be Midwestern values of the author muddying the waters between unconventional and perverse, but it's worth saying: polygamy, group sex, BDSM elements are not, in and of themselves, a wrongdoing, when safe, sane and between consenting adults.
⚠️ SA, statutory SA, incest, child abuse, spousal abuse, sex enslavement, grooming, cult indoctrination
manadabomb's review against another edition
4.0
Another F*ckin' Flowers book. He might be topping Davenport as my favorite character...might.
Spoilers ahead:
We start this one off with a young adult murdering another adult. It's all very vague, there's no background or particular reason why this young man, Tripp, committed the murder. While Tripp is in jail, he is murdered. His death is made to look like a suicide by Crocker, one of the cops in charge of the station that night. Then Crocker is murdered, made to look like a suicide.
This trail of deaths prompts Lee Coakley, the lady sheriff, to bring in Virgil Flowers. The little area that Coakley is in charge of usually has maybe 1 murder every 5 years, so 3 in a week is more than they can handle. Flowers comes in and does his thing that leads him to another murder years earlier.
After a lot of digging, something even more heinous than the murders turn up. A church, called the World of Spirit, has a large congregation among the farmers but rumors of child abuse keep surfacing. Emmett Einstadt is the head of the church and pretty despicable.
It's a long haul to get the church taken down but well worth it. Full of frightening concepts that actually make the murders the tamest part of the book.
Spoilers ahead:
We start this one off with a young adult murdering another adult. It's all very vague, there's no background or particular reason why this young man, Tripp, committed the murder. While Tripp is in jail, he is murdered. His death is made to look like a suicide by Crocker, one of the cops in charge of the station that night. Then Crocker is murdered, made to look like a suicide.
This trail of deaths prompts Lee Coakley, the lady sheriff, to bring in Virgil Flowers. The little area that Coakley is in charge of usually has maybe 1 murder every 5 years, so 3 in a week is more than they can handle. Flowers comes in and does his thing that leads him to another murder years earlier.
After a lot of digging, something even more heinous than the murders turn up. A church, called the World of Spirit, has a large congregation among the farmers but rumors of child abuse keep surfacing. Emmett Einstadt is the head of the church and pretty despicable.
It's a long haul to get the church taken down but well worth it. Full of frightening concepts that actually make the murders the tamest part of the book.
shellic88's review against another edition
5.0
This book was awesome, Virgil Flowers is a Great BCA Agent.