Rough Country (Virgil Flowers #3)

The \’guy\’ point of view gets a little tiresome, but the plot is extraordinary yet again. This is the second Virgil Flowers novel for me and I\’ll get more.

This is the most completely entertaining audiobook I\’ve listened to in quite some time. It\’s a well-plotted story played-out by a really likable protagonist and a great mix of supporting characters. The story has considerable humor, dry and otherwise, woven into it which actually enhances the listening experience. The reader is very good — especially his interpretation of Virgil Flowers. This is audiobook dollars well spent.

I\’m a big fan of Sandford\’s Lucas Davenport novels but have been disappointed with his Virgil Flowers spinoff. Not any more. Rough Country is a very good story with interesting characters, humor and a storyline that relies less on implausible twists and more on reasoned deduction. I also felt like Sandford didn\’t pad the story with a lot of details that were not germane to the story. He treated us to 10+ hours of narrative that was just enough to tell the story. I like long listens but I don\’t like it when I finish an 18-hour book and feel like it could have been told in 12-hours without losing anything. This book was the right length. Good narration makes this a must-listen for Sandford fans.

Sorry, couldn\’t resist. When Sandford first spun off the Virgil Flowers novels, my reaction as a dedicated Davenport fan was \”oh no, please don\’t distract your efforts from the next Davenport novel!\” I listened to the first Flowers novel (Heat Lightning?), though, and really enjoyed it. This latest story is no different. As always, Sandford spins a complex plot with an unknown killer in an unusual situation in the Minnesota north country. As is often the case in Sandford\’s work, there are many characters and while they give the novel a sense of reality and complexity it is somewhat difficult to keep track of them all (a special challenge for an audiobook). In my view the way many of the characters are in the spotlight for a short time and then kind of fade away quickly leads too strongly to the real villain by a simple process of elimination in the reader\’s mind. That said, though, I really did not figure this one out until Virgil did. And when that key clue came to light – mentioned almost in passing – there was an AHA! moment that made the whole book worthwhile. And there was a twist at the very end in one of the book\’s key sub-plots that really got me. Others will see this coming but for me it was a bolt from the blue that again made the book really enjoyable. Eric Conger does a perfect job of the narration. For me his voice is now as much a part of Virgil Flowers as Richard Ferrone\’s voice is of Lucas Davenport. Production is flawless, well directed, and clear and easy to listen to. If Sandford holds to his usual cadence there\’ll be another Davenport story to listen to later this year, and another Flowers story at the beginning of 2011. I already can\’t wait. Thanks Audible for bringing back one of my favorites.

Okay, y\’gotta read Rough Country to get my title up there. But you gotta read it to have a good time too. Eric Conger brings Virgil Flowers to full bloom once again and he squeezes the stitching out of every character and plot twist that John Sandford imagined in this ass kickin\’ adventure. If you\’re looking for fun wrapped inside of a nice puzzle… here it be! I\’ll be reading another Virgil Flowers adventure with murder, wild folks and hot women. Why? Because this one was cool. OH… BTW… don\’t start with this Flowers novel. Too many flashbacks to previous stories in this series. And most of them are spoilers if and when you go back to earlier books. So… do read this, but start earlier on with the series. You\’ll thank me… or John Sandford.

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