Shock Wave

Starred review from August 8, 2011
Wry humor, a fully realized lead, and tense atmospherics lift Sandford’s suspenseful fifth novel featuring Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers (after Edgar-winner Bad Blood). When a bomb kills a construction superintendent in Butternut Falls, a small community divided over the imminent arrival of a PyeMart megastore, Virgil gets on the case, even though it’s his day off. Three weeks earlier, a bomb exploded at PyeMart’s Michigan headquarters shortly before a board meeting. Willard Pye, the company head, was unharmed, but his executive assistant was blown to pieces. Given the number of locals hostile to the company, Virgil has no shortage of possible suspects, and the ante rises as more bombs are detonated. Coupling a thoroughly modern investigative approach with old-fashioned logical deduction, Virgil narrows in on his target. Sandford effortlessly conjures up the rhythms and personalities of a small town in one of his best outings to date. Author tour.

Content to spend his life buying vintage T-shirts featuring classic rock bands and fishing in quiet lakes, Virgil Flowers is a smart crime solver despite his passive demeanor. When a series of bombings attempts to derail the construction of a big-box store in a small community, Virgil initially appears inadequate to the task of stopping the violence, but the town's residents soon learn better. Eric Conger capably portrays Virgil's placid exterior, the intensity and focus he's more than able to dredge up when called for, and the drama generated by the bombings themselves. Conger also makes the most of the quirky small-town personalities that pepper the story and the attendant humor they generate. Sandford's easygoing yet immersive crime story is well served by Conger. J.P.M. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine