HOLY GHOST by John Sandford
Any book written by John Sandford is a reason for excitement. I am particularly fond of his “Lucas Davenport“ series but running a close second are the Virgil Flowers books. His latest novel, HOLY GHOST, is a Virgil Flowers book. This generally means you will have a crime caper mixed with a lot of Flowers brand of off the wall humor. I was eager for HOLY GHOST to fulfill those expectations. It didn’t.
There is a crime that takes place in the small town of Pinion, Minnesota. A person is shot while standing in front of the church where a sighting of the Virgin Mary has taken place. Virgil Flowers is sent in to investigate and he might as well have been invited to the Twilight Zone. There are a lot of strange people who make up the town’s population of around seven hundred citizens.
Virgil has barely gotten to town when there is a second shooting and then a third. It seems trouble came to town with him. He brings in some of his buddies to help with the investigation but it is a difficult case to crack. Flowers knows he has to find the shooter quickly or he might be the next person shot.
The quirky people and the case of the shooter should make for a fun and interesting read, but this time out Sandford is shooting blanks. The drama of the shooting never takes off. As a matter of fact it slows down as Virgil grasps at one straw after another. And when it finally is solved the reveal of the shooter’s identity is a big thud.
The same is true for the humor. In the past Virgil has been one funny fell;ow. He makes quiet statements about his situation and they are all hilarious. Not here. His jokes fall flat and without humor Flowers is just another lifeless character.
Having laid all that out I do have to say HOLY GHOST is an average read. It has its moments. The problem is I have to compare it to all the other John Sandford books I have read in the past. Faced with that kind of competition this story fails. It is just a lesser effort from a brilliant writer. For some of you that might be enough.
HOLY GHOST is published by G P Putnam’s Sons. It contains 400 pages and sells for $29.00.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
