E-book
Holy ghost [electronic resource] / John Sandford.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780735217331
- ISBN: 0735217335
- Physical Description: 1 online resource.
- Publisher: New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, [2018]
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| Subject: | Flowers, Virgil (Fictitious character) > Fiction. Cold cases (Criminal investigation) > Fiction. Murder > Investigation > Fiction. Minnesota > Fiction. FICTION / Thrillers / General. |
| Genre: | Electronic books. Suspense fiction. |
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Other Formats and Editions
Electronic resources
- AudioFile Reviews : AudioFile Reviews 2018 November
The eleventh in the Virgil Flowers series finds the investigator summoned to small-town Minnesota once again. A sniper is picking off folks who are flocking to Wheatfield to witness the recent miracle appearance of the Virgin Mary. Narrator Eric Conger confidently voices Virgil and a myriad of characters, male and female, old and young. The author's snappy dialogue requires Conger to use tone, pace, cadence, accent, and volume to deliver differentiated and credible personalities. As is typical of the Virgil Flowers books, listeners are spun around in circles as they meet interesting characters and puzzle over theories of potential motives and perpetrators. Fans of the series will find this an entertaining ride-along with that smart-talking Flowers. E.Q. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2018 August #1
*Starred Review* The prolific Sandford has produced 28 Lucas Davenport thrillers since 1989, many of which were best-sellers, as well as the Virgil Flowers novels, of which this is the eleventh (after Deep Freeze?, 2017). And, holy smoke, Holy Ghost is a hot one! Something is cooking in Pinion, Minnesota. Not just the bad cheeseburgers and fries at Mom's Cafe, the only restaurant in the small town of 700 souls, or the sad chicken pot pies available at Skinner & Holland Eats and Souvenirs. But what is really on fire is the town's once-crumbling economy. A floating apparition of the Virgin Mary has appeared in the local Catholic church, attracting thousands of pilgrims. When the miracle is eclipsed by random sniper shootings and murders, Flowers is at wit's end trying to figure out what's going on. He gets lots of help from his usual posse, as well as some of the locals, who are so well described that the reader could easily pick them out of a lineup. The dialogue is sometimes biting and always witty, and the entire book is at once wicked and sublime. This would be perfect for fans anxiously awaiting the next Carl Hiaasen. They will be delighted to learn the distinctions between Cheeto and Cheez-It residues. But no palm trees; just lots of good corn acreage. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Sandford is a bona fide A-lister, and every new novel, whether starring Lucas Davenport or Virgil Flowers, is sure to generate public-library demand. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2018 August #1
A drolly fraudulent plan to reverse the fortunes of a declining Minnesota town hits a snag in the form of a much more serious spate of felonies. Wheatfield mayor Wardell Holland, who lost a foot in Afghanistan, sees no reason why he shouldn't take intellectually and sexually precocious teenager John Jacob Skinner's advice about having Janet Fischer, Skinner's frequent bedmate, masquerade as the Blessed Virgin at St. Mary's Catholic Church. The apparently miraculous sightings of the faithful will put Wheatfield back on the map, increase tourism, and juice the local economy, all without hurting a soul. But then a series of shootings outside the church indicate that although souls may be getting saved, bodies are having a tougher time. Iowa visitor Harvey Coates isn't seriously injured, but Betty Rice, a second visitor, is wounded seriously enough to warrant a call to Virgil Flowers, of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (Deep Freeze, 2017, etc.). Leaving his pregnant girlfrien d, Frankie Nobles, back in Mankato, Virgil drives the hour to Wheatfield and findsânothing: no obvious suspects, no motive, no forensic evidence, not even a good place to get lunch. Looking for clues about the likely weapon, he stumbles on the rotting corpse of Glen Andorra, a farmer whose shooting range drew many local marksmen, and the mystery darkens. Andorra was almost certainly killed by someone who wanted the use of his .223 rifle for some long-distance target practice, but who and why? When the shooter scores a fatal shot on retired health care aide Marge Osborne, Virgil, immediately assuming she's been the real target from the beginning, narrows his focus, still to no avail. Why would anyone kill such an inoffensive old lady? It must be all about moneyâbut where's the money? It would be nice if the payoff were more closely linked to the amusing setup, but the detection, though often tediously routine, carries all the authenticity you'd expect from a pro l i ke Sandford. Copyright Kirkus 2018 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2018 May #2
In little Pinion, MN, the hapless mayor and his friend hope to increase revenue by creating a shrine around a manufactured vision of the Virgin Mary. They expect swarming pilgrims but instead get a dead bodyâand the services of Sandford stalwart Virgil Flowers.
Copyright 2018 Library Journal. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2018 October #1
Wendall Holland, the mayor of Wheatfield, MN, a dying small town of about 650, and his street-smart 17-year-old friend Skinner have a brilliant idea. If the Virgin Mary appears at the local Catholic Church, it will draw crowds and money to the area. The scheme works exquisitely until a tourist is shot by a sniper. After the second shooting, the mayor calls the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Virgil Flowers is assigned the case. Virgil assumes he can easily apprehend the sniper, but that's not the case in a small community where everyone has a gun. Then a local resident is targeted and Virgil finds a body. This fast-paced novel never lets up, in violence, police investigation, or wisecracks from Virgil and his fellow officers. The suspense will draw in readers initially, but the well-developed characters, especially Holland and Skinner, along with the irreverent agents and officers, will keep readers hanging on for the dark humor and banter.
Copyright 2018 Library Journal.VERDICT Sandford follows the nonstop action ofDeep Freeze with another satisfying case for the likable Flowers. [See Prepub Alert, 4/23/18.]âLesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2018 July #5
In bestseller Sandford's wickedly enjoyable 11th outing for Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers (after 2017's
Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly.Deep Freeze ), Wardell Holland, the maverick mayor of Wheatfield (pop. 650), and his 17-year-old sidekick, John Jacob Skinner, decide the town needs an economic boost, so they contrive for the Virgin Mary to appear at St. Mary's Catholic Church, with one of Skinner's many sexual conquests, Jennie Fischer, in the Mary role. The Marian Apparition succeeds in bringing flocks of tourists to Wheatfield. Then sniper-like shootings that wound two citizens threaten the bonanza. Flowers's subsequent investigation turns up suspects ranging from a few would-be Nazis to a farmer/gun range owner and Jennie's porn-loving boyfriend. When the shootings turn deadly, Flowers gets help, which he badly needs as he comes to realize that he must outwit a clever killer who proves one of his maxims: "If it's criminal, it's either stupid or crazy." Sandford's trademark sly humor shines throughout.Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM. (Oct.)
