Whenever you hear the sky rumble, that usually means a storm. In Virgil Flowers’ case, make that two. The exceptional new thriller from the writer whose books are “pure reading pleasure” (Booklist). The first storm comes from, of all places, the Minnesota zoo. Two large, and very rare, Amur tigers have vanished from their cage, and authorities are worried sick that they’ve been stolen for their … sick that they’ve been stolen for their body parts. Traditional Chinese medicine prizes those parts for home remedies, and people will do extreme things to get what they need. Some of them are a great deal more extreme than others—as Virgil is about to find out.
Then there’s the homefront. Virgil’s relationship with his girlfriend Frankie has been getting kind of serious, but when Frankie’s sister Sparkle moves in for the summer, the situation gets a lot more complicated. For one thing, her research into migrant workers is about to bring her up against some very violent people who emphatically do not want to be researched. For another…she thinks Virgil’s kind of cute.
“You mess around with Sparkle,” Frankie told Virgil, “you could get yourself stabbed.”
“She carries a knife?”
“No, but I do.”
Forget a storm—this one’s a tornado.
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Mr. Sandford’ s police procedural crime thrillers are a always fast place, deftly plotted and entertaining. Seldom can it be said that a serious crime novel can have moments that will make the reader laugh, but his books are like that.
Escape Clause is worth reading, if you are a fan of the author, you already know that. If not here is a good place to begin catching up on a very good author.
It’s summer in Minnesota and things are about to get even more heated for Virgil Flowers. The first thing to go sideways is an unexpected interruption to Virgil and Frankie’s skinny dipping. After that his boss at BCA calls and stuff goes a little nuts. In other words, Flowers has his hands full, as usual.
This time it is with a pair of stolen Amur Tigers and thugs after his women. Then there are several Simonians running around looking for lost relatives and generally causing problems.
The main story, about the stolen tigers, is grisly. The secondary tale, about the assault on Virgil’s significant other is the kind of mean, ordinary crime that gets little coverage in the media. Both are tinged with a brutality and disregard for humanity that only appears on the covers of tabloids in the grocery checkout line. But, despite the blood, gore and casual murders, the black humor of “Escape Clause” will keep you chuckling to the end. I loved it.
I love Virgil Flowers and his way of thinking — a mix of wry and practical, with a fair bit of humor. Good plot, good mix of crime-solving and conflicted people. Highly recommend, especially the audiobook.
Virgil Flowers is back and as usual, he only gets the hard stuff. As if the hunt for a pair of rare tigers stolen from the zoo isn’t enough, things are further complicated by murder. And then there’s Virgil’s personal life and his relationship with Frankie, who is not at all what you’d expect in a cop’s girlfriend and neither is her family. One of my favorite things about Virgil is the way he goes about solving a case. It’s not so much procedural as a series of conversations where he gets a feel for the people involved and some lucky breaks in unlikely places. The Virgil Flowers series ties in with Sandford’s Prey series and many of the characters appear in both, including Jenkins and Shrake, two of my favorites. We also get a couple of peeks at Lucas, who pulled me in and got me started on this crazy journey all the way back in the first Prey novel. Any of the books can be read as standalones, but to get the full story of these characters, I would recommend reading the series in order. John Sandford has created some of the most colorful characters in crime fiction and thrown them into some wonderfully adventurous tales full of suspense, action, and even a bit of humor as they interact while solving their cases. As I did listen to this one, I should add that as a long time fan of the author who hasn’t missed a book, I was quite impressed with Eric Conger’s narration. He brings Virgil to life perfectly and kept me listening long past bedtime to hear what would happen next.
Escape Clause is the ninth book in John Sandford’s Virgil Flowers series. Virgil Flowers is assigned to a rather unique case. It seems that two rare Amur tigers have been kidnapped from the zoo and Winston Peck VI becomes a prime suspect. It turns out the tigers play an important part in Chinese medicine. The case takes an even darker twist when the accomplices in the crime are murdered. Meanwhile, Virgil’s girlfriend, Frankie, and her sister Sparkle are investigating a sweatshop.
A good story well told with a little humor thrown in. Winston Peck VI, who orchestrated the theft of two rare tigers, got what he deserved in the end.
I love this series I’m always amazed at the trouble Virgil Flowers can find to get in.
I love Virgil Flowers almost as much as Lucas Davenport.
Different situation for Virgil. Wasn’t bad.
i own it
I have really become a follower of the Virgil Flowers novels. I started reading the Prey series and really love them, but the Flowers books introduce an interesting character that leaves me laughing out loud at times. Since I listen to the books while walking, laughing out loud for no apparent reason can get some looks. This book does a good job of following the logic an investigator would follow to solve and case and has a satisfying ending. The bad guys get their just desserts.
Another excellent story with lots of action , some humor, fact paced, great characters – typical John Sandford book. Looking forward to next Virgil Flowers caper.
It’s that ‘^&*%&* Flowers. 🙂
I love that @#$# Flowers.
I LOVE IT Couldn’t put it down!!!