Rough Country

August 10, 2009
Near the start of bestseller Sandford's winning third thriller to feature Virgil Flowers of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (after Heat Lightning
), Virgil gets a call while muskie fishing from his boss, Lucas Davenport (the hero of Sandford's long-running Prey series). Lucas orders Virgil to look into the shooting death of Erica McDill, an ad agency exec from Minneapolis and a big supporter of the Democratic Party, who was staying at the Eagle Nest Lodge in nearby Grand Rapids. A talk with lodge owner Margery Stanhope turns up unusual details: Margery's clientele is mostly lesbian; an all-female rock band is involved; guests who are so inclined can buy young men for an evening's pleasure; and financial reasons could explain the murder. It's a complicated case, but Virgil is up to the task, and, as always, he's funny, smart and tough when he needs to be—and catnip to the ladies. 500,000 first printing.

Virgil Flowers might seem too laid-back and good-looking to be a cop, but he has an uncanny knack for applying his languid masculine charms to suspects who harbor secrets. When Flowers's Northern Minnesota fishing trip is interrupted by a murder at a nearby lodge, he quickly discovers intriguing and unsettling details. Eric Conger infuses Flowers with a well-balanced combination of charm and bluster as he unravels the connection between the mostly lesbian clientele at the rustic lodge and an all-female country band from the local watering hole. Conger adds depth to some of the women in the story, including an attractive local resident who might have more association with the murder than Flowers would like to find. N.M.C. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine