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Virgil Flowers #5
Shock Wave
The fifth Virgil Flowers novel by internationally bestselling author John Sandford
The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. The protests don't seem to be slowing the project, though, until someone decides to take matters into his own hands.
The first bomb goes off on the top floor of PyeMart's headquarters. The second one explodes at the construction site itself. The blasts are meant to inflict maximum damage - and they do. Who's behind the bombs, and how far will they go? It's Virgil Flowers's job to find out . . . before more people get killed.
* * * Praise for John Sandford and the Virgil Flowers novels * * *
‘Along the way to the satisfying ending, Virgil displays the rough humor and rough justice that make him such an appealing character’ Publishers Weekly on Deep Freeze
‘A knowing portrait of small-town life layered into a very well plotted mystery. Virgil understands that, in small towns, no one ever outgrows high school... One of the very best novels in a superior series’ Booklist (starred review) on Deep Freeze
‘Add a gripping storyline, a generous helping of exquisitely conceived characters and laugh-out-loud humor that produce explosive guffaws, not muted chuckles, and you’re in for the usual late-night, don’t-even-think-of-stopping treat when Flowers hits town’ Richmond Times-Dispatch on Deep Freeze
‘An outstanding novel’ Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Escape Clause
The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. The protests don't seem to be slowing the project, though, until someone decides to take matters into his own hands.
The first bomb goes off on the top floor of PyeMart's headquarters. The second one explodes at the construction site itself. The blasts are meant to inflict maximum damage - and they do. Who's behind the bombs, and how far will they go? It's Virgil Flowers's job to find out . . . before more people get killed.
* * * Praise for John Sandford and the Virgil Flowers novels * * *
‘Along the way to the satisfying ending, Virgil displays the rough humor and rough justice that make him such an appealing character’ Publishers Weekly on Deep Freeze
‘A knowing portrait of small-town life layered into a very well plotted mystery. Virgil understands that, in small towns, no one ever outgrows high school... One of the very best novels in a superior series’ Booklist (starred review) on Deep Freeze
‘Add a gripping storyline, a generous helping of exquisitely conceived characters and laugh-out-loud humor that produce explosive guffaws, not muted chuckles, and you’re in for the usual late-night, don’t-even-think-of-stopping treat when Flowers hits town’ Richmond Times-Dispatch on Deep Freeze
‘An outstanding novel’ Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Escape Clause
401 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2011
4292 people are currently reading
5098 people want to read
About the author
John Sandford
237 books9,659 followersJohn Sandford is the pen name of John Roswell Camp, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author known for his gripping thrillers and popular crime series. After earning degrees in history, literature, and journalism from the University of Iowa, Camp began his writing career as a reporter, first at The Miami Herald and later at The Saint Paul Pioneer Press, where he earned critical acclaim for in-depth series on Native American communities and American farm life. His work won him the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1986.
In 1989, Camp transitioned into fiction, publishing two novels: The Fool's Run under his real name and Rules of Prey under the pseudonym John Sandford. The latter launched the long-running “Prey” series, starring Lucas Davenport, a sharp, fearless investigator navigating politically sensitive crimes across Minnesota and beyond. The series grew to include spin-offs and crossovers, notably featuring characters like Virgil Flowers, a laid-back BCA agent with a sharp wit, and Letty Davenport, Lucas's equally determined daughter, who stars in her own series starting in 2022.
Sandford’s books have consistently appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, with over two dozen debuting at number one. Known for his dynamic storytelling, fast pacing, and keen attention to detail, Sandford combines his journalistic roots with a gift for character-driven narratives. He remains an avid reader and outdoorsman, and continues to write compelling fiction that resonates with readers who enjoy intelligent thrillers grounded in realism and driven by memorable protagonists.
In 1989, Camp transitioned into fiction, publishing two novels: The Fool's Run under his real name and Rules of Prey under the pseudonym John Sandford. The latter launched the long-running “Prey” series, starring Lucas Davenport, a sharp, fearless investigator navigating politically sensitive crimes across Minnesota and beyond. The series grew to include spin-offs and crossovers, notably featuring characters like Virgil Flowers, a laid-back BCA agent with a sharp wit, and Letty Davenport, Lucas's equally determined daughter, who stars in her own series starting in 2022.
Sandford’s books have consistently appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, with over two dozen debuting at number one. Known for his dynamic storytelling, fast pacing, and keen attention to detail, Sandford combines his journalistic roots with a gift for character-driven narratives. He remains an avid reader and outdoorsman, and continues to write compelling fiction that resonates with readers who enjoy intelligent thrillers grounded in realism and driven by memorable protagonists.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,365 reviews
February 10, 2022
Can we please find out what John Sandford is eating and put every other thriller writer on the same diet? It’s insane that over 30 books into his career the last two he’s done, Bad Blood and Buried Prey, were among his very best. Now he delivers another top-notch crime story in Shock Wave.
The small city of Butternut Falls, Minnesota, is an uproar over a new big box discount store called PyeMart being built. Someone decides to do more than write angry posts on the Internet and powerful bombs go off at PyeMart’s corporate headquarters and at the construction site in Butternut.
Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension sends Agent Virgil Flowers to investigate. Virgil finds that there are plenty of suspects from the business owners who know they won’t be able to compete with PyeMart to angry environmentalists claiming that the store will pollute a nearby pristine creek and lake. There are also wide spread rumors that the city council got paid off to allow the store’s construction. As he hunts down the mad bomber Virgil will get tangled up in small town corruption and try a controversial experiment in identifying suspects.
While not quite up to the level of last year’s Bad Blood this is still another terrific page turner from Sandford and continues the growth of Virgil from spin-off character from the Davenport Prey series into a fun and off-beat protagonist.
And I owe a big ‘Thank you!’ to Dan for this one. I attended the Bouchrcon convention and Dan joined me for a day where we saw the likes of Eion Colfer and Robert Crais, and also learned that eating a big lunch and drinking beer at an Irish pub will impede your ability to stay awake at the afternoon panels.
Dan got an ARC of this in the freebie bag full of books you got for registering. My jealously was instant and enormous. I am not proud of the way I threw myself on the ground and began kicking and screaming that it wasn’t fair. Dan quieted my tantrum by offering me a bottle of beer and generously giving me this book. So thanks, Dan!
The small city of Butternut Falls, Minnesota, is an uproar over a new big box discount store called PyeMart being built. Someone decides to do more than write angry posts on the Internet and powerful bombs go off at PyeMart’s corporate headquarters and at the construction site in Butternut.
Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension sends Agent Virgil Flowers to investigate. Virgil finds that there are plenty of suspects from the business owners who know they won’t be able to compete with PyeMart to angry environmentalists claiming that the store will pollute a nearby pristine creek and lake. There are also wide spread rumors that the city council got paid off to allow the store’s construction. As he hunts down the mad bomber Virgil will get tangled up in small town corruption and try a controversial experiment in identifying suspects.
While not quite up to the level of last year’s Bad Blood this is still another terrific page turner from Sandford and continues the growth of Virgil from spin-off character from the Davenport Prey series into a fun and off-beat protagonist.
And I owe a big ‘Thank you!’ to Dan for this one. I attended the Bouchrcon convention and Dan joined me for a day where we saw the likes of Eion Colfer and Robert Crais, and also learned that eating a big lunch and drinking beer at an Irish pub will impede your ability to stay awake at the afternoon panels.
Dan got an ARC of this in the freebie bag full of books you got for registering. My jealously was instant and enormous. I am not proud of the way I threw myself on the ground and began kicking and screaming that it wasn’t fair. Dan quieted my tantrum by offering me a bottle of beer and generously giving me this book. So thanks, Dan!
July 27, 2021
Huh! Virgil #5 is a bit different and is a mystery. Usually, when reading Sandford's thriller, the reader knows who the villain is right off the bat. Not this time!
Someone is mad that a big chain store Pyemart is opening in Butternut Falls (I didn't know this is a real place). Bombs have been going off and innocent lives lost. The first victim was Pye's executive assistant. While preparing a conference room for a board meeting, the first bomb went off and killed her instantly. Then another at a new Pyemart construction site. ATF, and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were called to assist local law enforcement.
This is a good mystery with some county-level corruption and multiple twists that threw me off track, so many possible suspects! Another worthy Virgil Flowers book.
Someone is mad that a big chain store Pyemart is opening in Butternut Falls (I didn't know this is a real place). Bombs have been going off and innocent lives lost. The first victim was Pye's executive assistant. While preparing a conference room for a board meeting, the first bomb went off and killed her instantly. Then another at a new Pyemart construction site. ATF, and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were called to assist local law enforcement.
This is a good mystery with some county-level corruption and multiple twists that threw me off track, so many possible suspects! Another worthy Virgil Flowers book.
July 7, 2020
This is another very entertaining entry in John Sandford's Virgil Flowers series. Virgil is enjoying his day off, drinking beer and watching scantily-clad women play volleyball when some inconsiderate jerk sets off a bomb at a construction site in Butternut Falls, Minnesota, where PyeMart, a retail giant is building a new superstore. A couple of weeks earlier a bomb had exploded at the company's headquarters in Michigan, killing a secretary and nearly wiping out the company's CEO and board of directors.
Virgil's boss, Lucas Davenport, sends him to Butternut Falls to represent the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in the investigation. Virgil quickly discovers that a lot of people are unhappy about the fact that PyeMart is coming to town. Some local business people fear that the store will drive them out of buisness, while environmentalists fear that a pristene river near the site will be ruined by pollution from the store's operation. In short, the list of potential subjects is a long one and Virgil doesn't have a lot of time to sort things out, especially since the bomber continues to blow things up in and around Butternut Falls, apparently attempting to delay or force the cancellation of the project.
The mystery itself is a good one, but as is the case in all these books, the real fun in reading it is watching Virgil work and interact with the other characters. He's one of the most laid-back characters in crime fiction these days and his observations about the world around him are alone worth the price of the book. As, for example, the volleyball contestants referenced above: "The contestants were not the skinny, sun-blasted beach-blanket-bingo chicks who played in places like Venice Beach...They'd spent the early parts of their lives carrying heifers around barnyards, and jumping up and down from haylofts; they could get up in the air. Well, somewhat."
A person could very much enjoy hanging around with Virgil Flowers on a long, lazy weekend.
Virgil's boss, Lucas Davenport, sends him to Butternut Falls to represent the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in the investigation. Virgil quickly discovers that a lot of people are unhappy about the fact that PyeMart is coming to town. Some local business people fear that the store will drive them out of buisness, while environmentalists fear that a pristene river near the site will be ruined by pollution from the store's operation. In short, the list of potential subjects is a long one and Virgil doesn't have a lot of time to sort things out, especially since the bomber continues to blow things up in and around Butternut Falls, apparently attempting to delay or force the cancellation of the project.
The mystery itself is a good one, but as is the case in all these books, the real fun in reading it is watching Virgil work and interact with the other characters. He's one of the most laid-back characters in crime fiction these days and his observations about the world around him are alone worth the price of the book. As, for example, the volleyball contestants referenced above: "The contestants were not the skinny, sun-blasted beach-blanket-bingo chicks who played in places like Venice Beach...They'd spent the early parts of their lives carrying heifers around barnyards, and jumping up and down from haylofts; they could get up in the air. Well, somewhat."
A person could very much enjoy hanging around with Virgil Flowers on a long, lazy weekend.
October 28, 2024
I’ve really changed my mind about the Virgil Flowers books. I gave up on the first one, as I couldn’t get past the feeling that it wasn’t a Lucas Davenport tale and must therefore be, somehow, inferior. I didn’t try another for some time until I read some positive reviews from people whose judgement I trust. I’ve not looked back since.
This one is pretty typical. It meanders along with Flowers adopting his normal style of blending in with and befriending the local community whilst asking pretty much everyone who they thought had ‘done it’. He ends up on first name terms with most of most of the suspects and catches the eye of every attractive woman who crosses his path. He drinks a lot of diet coke, eats cheeseburgers and fries, and gets his fishing rod out (and no, this isn’t a euphemism) at any opportunity.
In this particular episode, Flowers is trying to track down a serial bomber set on preventing the building of a supermarket in a small Minnesota town. But the plot is unimportant, really. It’s just fun witnessing Flowers in operation; we know he’s going to catch the bomber, and it doesn’t much matter which one of his new friends it is. With Virgil its all about the journey: soaking up the atmosphere, laughing at some of the dialogue, wondering which of the female admirers he’s going to end up focussing his attention on and, for me, continuing to speculate on whether, in another parallel life, I’d rather be Virgil Flowers or his boss, Lucas Davenport. Actually, either would do.
And I really must get back to that first Flowers book… I just don’t know what came over me.
This one is pretty typical. It meanders along with Flowers adopting his normal style of blending in with and befriending the local community whilst asking pretty much everyone who they thought had ‘done it’. He ends up on first name terms with most of most of the suspects and catches the eye of every attractive woman who crosses his path. He drinks a lot of diet coke, eats cheeseburgers and fries, and gets his fishing rod out (and no, this isn’t a euphemism) at any opportunity.
In this particular episode, Flowers is trying to track down a serial bomber set on preventing the building of a supermarket in a small Minnesota town. But the plot is unimportant, really. It’s just fun witnessing Flowers in operation; we know he’s going to catch the bomber, and it doesn’t much matter which one of his new friends it is. With Virgil its all about the journey: soaking up the atmosphere, laughing at some of the dialogue, wondering which of the female admirers he’s going to end up focussing his attention on and, for me, continuing to speculate on whether, in another parallel life, I’d rather be Virgil Flowers or his boss, Lucas Davenport. Actually, either would do.
And I really must get back to that first Flowers book… I just don’t know what came over me.
May 27, 2024
Shock Wave brings Virgil Flowers to the small town of Butternut Falls in Minnesota.
Virgil is called in by Lucas Davenport his boss at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension after a couple of bombs go off.
The focus of the bombing is the PyeMarts. Someone is trying to prevent PyeMart from moving in. The first bomb goes off at the PyeMart headquarters in Michigan. The second one explodes at the new PyeMart's construction site. Two people are dead and Virgil needs to stop the bomber before the next one detonates. The problem is that so many are unhappy with a big corporation coming in and affecting the local business and the ecosystem. How can Virgil find the one from so many?
This one was interesting and John Sanford had us guessing for the bomber for a long while. Usually, he gives us the identity of the killer from the very beginning but not in this case.
With every book, I like Virgil more.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Virgil is called in by Lucas Davenport his boss at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension after a couple of bombs go off.
The focus of the bombing is the PyeMarts. Someone is trying to prevent PyeMart from moving in. The first bomb goes off at the PyeMart headquarters in Michigan. The second one explodes at the new PyeMart's construction site. Two people are dead and Virgil needs to stop the bomber before the next one detonates. The problem is that so many are unhappy with a big corporation coming in and affecting the local business and the ecosystem. How can Virgil find the one from so many?
This one was interesting and John Sanford had us guessing for the bomber for a long while. Usually, he gives us the identity of the killer from the very beginning but not in this case.
With every book, I like Virgil more.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
September 14, 2015
Hey. You.
Yeah, *you*. Come here a minute.
You reading John Sandford's Virgil Flowers books yet?
No? Well, why the hell not? Don't you like fantastic writing? I mean, knock-your-socks-off writing that you can chew on and savor like a perfectly-cooked steak?
No?
What about labyrinthine plots and vivid settings?
Didn't move the needle, huh?
What about a palpable sense of danger, a wry sense of humor, and an ability to keep the reader guessing?
None of that stuff entices you? Dude, you're a tough sell.
Then how about characterization? You want characterization, you'll get all you want and more in this series.
See, Virgil Flowers is a friend of mine. That's how real he is. I feel like he's up in Minnesota right now, idling in his outboard and trawling the cool lake water for muskie. Or he's lying in bed thinking about God. Or women.
In his spare time, he unravels deadly mysteries. The kind that make you gape at the pages because they're so shocking or depraved.
Enough. I did my best. You'll either read this series or you won't.
Me? I'm gonna go hang out with my pal Virgil.
Yeah, *you*. Come here a minute.
You reading John Sandford's Virgil Flowers books yet?
No? Well, why the hell not? Don't you like fantastic writing? I mean, knock-your-socks-off writing that you can chew on and savor like a perfectly-cooked steak?
No?
What about labyrinthine plots and vivid settings?
Didn't move the needle, huh?
What about a palpable sense of danger, a wry sense of humor, and an ability to keep the reader guessing?
None of that stuff entices you? Dude, you're a tough sell.
Then how about characterization? You want characterization, you'll get all you want and more in this series.
See, Virgil Flowers is a friend of mine. That's how real he is. I feel like he's up in Minnesota right now, idling in his outboard and trawling the cool lake water for muskie. Or he's lying in bed thinking about God. Or women.
In his spare time, he unravels deadly mysteries. The kind that make you gape at the pages because they're so shocking or depraved.
Enough. I did my best. You'll either read this series or you won't.
Me? I'm gonna go hang out with my pal Virgil.
July 25, 2020
However shallow it makes me, I enjoy the novels where Virgie is not in a monogamous relationship with Frankie
May 8, 2015
Audiobook. My favorite Sandford character, again decked out in cowboy boots and rock band t-shirts, and again on vacation, is charged with investigating the bombings of executives of a large chain.
It’s a scenario familiar to many smaller communities: a large chain like Walmart or Target (in this fictional case the store is called PyeMart) wants to move in and build a store. The community has many small businesses that will go under from the competition of the larger store. They are also worried about the environmental effects as one of the community draws is the trout stream they worry might be destroyed. So the list of suspects is substantial.
It was pleasant to read a story where the various agencies cooperate with each other and exchange information in order to solve the puzzle. It’s a very good story as Virgil pieces the puzzle together to find the killer.
As James Thane points out in his excellent review, the pleasure of reading the Flowers series comes as much from the evolving character of Virgil who has to be one of the most sympathetic detectives in crime fiction. Really 4.5 stars
It’s a scenario familiar to many smaller communities: a large chain like Walmart or Target (in this fictional case the store is called PyeMart) wants to move in and build a store. The community has many small businesses that will go under from the competition of the larger store. They are also worried about the environmental effects as one of the community draws is the trout stream they worry might be destroyed. So the list of suspects is substantial.
It was pleasant to read a story where the various agencies cooperate with each other and exchange information in order to solve the puzzle. It’s a very good story as Virgil pieces the puzzle together to find the killer.
As James Thane points out in his excellent review, the pleasure of reading the Flowers series comes as much from the evolving character of Virgil who has to be one of the most sympathetic detectives in crime fiction. Really 4.5 stars
September 10, 2018
This might be the best Flowers book yet. A great setup with a superstore moving into a small town where it threatens to wreck the living of many, yet the city council changed zoning to allow it. And then the bombs start going off. A lot of twists & turns follow with Virgil right on the trail doing some really great investigation & catching a lot of heat for it which he ignores in typical fashion.
I thought at one point it was going to run off the rails, but it swiftly changed into an unexpected & really great direction. The end was fantastic.
I should have read Buried Prey before this one, but goofed. Doesn't seem to have mattered. I'll read it next.
I thought at one point it was going to run off the rails, but it swiftly changed into an unexpected & really great direction. The end was fantastic.
I should have read Buried Prey before this one, but goofed. Doesn't seem to have mattered. I'll read it next.
November 8, 2020
4 Stars. Another great entry. Having experienced a degree of this first hand, I can attest to the accuracy of the basic ingredients in the novel. Sandford has wrapped a corker around the premise. A superstore coming to town can set off flights of craziness! Where the truth lies is another matter. That's what brings Virgil Flowers to Butternut Falls, Minnesota. A new PyeMart is under construction when two bombs go off, the first at Pye Headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the second in the construction trailer at the Falls. Someone seems to be using the Pelex explosives stolen from a quarrying business nearby. People are being blown to bits and Lucas Davenport sends in his best, that F'n Flowers! Local merchants are protesting about an imminent loss of business and trout fishermen are contacting the Department of Natural Resources with concerns about potential environmental damage to local creeks. Tempers are rising, and accusations are flying. The Mayor is fending off corruption charges over Council's approval of the store, while Willard Pye wants it all solved in a week. Just another day at the office for Virgil. (September 2020)
January 12, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. 9 of 10 stars
March 21, 2021
After reading through all of John Sandford’s Lucas Davenport “Prey” series, I am now making it through his second series focusing on the ever-popular, Virgil Flowers. After downing the first four in the series, I have finished the fifth book – “Shock Wave” – and keep finding that each one just gets better.
Virgil Flowers is in his late thirties, tall, lean, and long haired for law enforcement. He’s been married and divorced three times, but still loves and adores the ladies. He’s an outdoorsman, photographer, and writer in his spare time. Most importantly, his preferred dress style is jeans and indie rock-and-roll band t-shirts. Virgil also works as an investigator for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, being recruited by Lucas Davenport and reporting directly to him.
Flowers fifth book, “Shock Wave” starts off with two explosions. Deadly explosions. The first one occurs in the PyeMart Michigan corporate headquarters just before a board meeting, where a bomb goes off killing one employee, and seriously injuring another. Three weeks later at a PyeMart construction site in Butternut Falls, Minnesota, another bomb blows up a trailer killing the project superintendent and injuring a civil engineer.
PyeMart is a billion-dollar retail giant and a higher-end version of Walmart, trying to build a new outlet in Butternut, but there is opposition in at least two fronts – the local business owners and environmentalists worried about their rivers being polluted from the retailer’s run-off. They are fighting a town council that has suddenly changed their mind from being against letting PyeMart in to a four to three vote allowing the national business in. Many citizens think some of the council members and the mayor have been paid off PyeMart for their favorable votes and their town will pay a horrible price because of it.
Once the multiple bombs add a deadly twist to the fight, it’s time for the Minnesota governor and his enforcement arm, led by Lucas Davenport, to call in their number one investigator, Virgil Flowers to uncover the bomber’s identity and bring the criminal to justice. However, when Virgil hauls himself to Butternut, there seems to be a lot of suspects, but few with the skills and knowledge needed to pull off the complex activities needed to perform the bombing attacks. Then the unknown bomber decided it’s time to remove Flowers from his investigation permanently…
Now that I am five books into this series, Virgil is building on me more and more. I find him easier to relate to and cheer for than some of the other bestselling mystery series with serious and dark detectives battling inner struggles. Not that that they aren’t interesting and good reads; it’s just that Flowers is a fresh and unique approach that I found myself being drawn to like a moth to a flame. I wish I was as laid back as Virgil and appreciate how he breaks the standard investigative rules and purposely shares too much with others as a crime solving strategy. He is far from perfect and makes mistakes performing his investigative work. He is a hopeless romantic that falls easily for the women he interacts with, but always treats them with dignity, respect, and even a worshipful reverence. There are just so many things to like about him and his unique character.
Another thing that makes this series so refreshing and different is not just Virgil’s anti-hero character and behavior. Four of the first five books have primarily taken place in small Minnesota towns, filled with rural settings that emphasize outdoor activities, and down-to-earth characters that are quirky, flawed, and interesting. Sandford also instills an overlying sense of sarcastic whit and sharp humor that brings a different flavor to the reading experience from the usual hardcore brooding detective.
As for the plotting, I enjoyed the traditional mystery and I was easily immersed in trying to assess the various suspects to figure out who the bomber was before his or her identity was revealed. The prose was also fast paced and snappy, moving quickly from scene to scene without any excessive descriptions or unnecessary bunny trails. The book was tight and focused, making it a fast and easy summer escape-like read.
Overall, Sandford delivered another action-packed and fun mystery read that makes me want to immediately pick-up the next one in the series. Crime fiction has never been so much fun…
Virgil Flowers is in his late thirties, tall, lean, and long haired for law enforcement. He’s been married and divorced three times, but still loves and adores the ladies. He’s an outdoorsman, photographer, and writer in his spare time. Most importantly, his preferred dress style is jeans and indie rock-and-roll band t-shirts. Virgil also works as an investigator for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, being recruited by Lucas Davenport and reporting directly to him.
Flowers fifth book, “Shock Wave” starts off with two explosions. Deadly explosions. The first one occurs in the PyeMart Michigan corporate headquarters just before a board meeting, where a bomb goes off killing one employee, and seriously injuring another. Three weeks later at a PyeMart construction site in Butternut Falls, Minnesota, another bomb blows up a trailer killing the project superintendent and injuring a civil engineer.
PyeMart is a billion-dollar retail giant and a higher-end version of Walmart, trying to build a new outlet in Butternut, but there is opposition in at least two fronts – the local business owners and environmentalists worried about their rivers being polluted from the retailer’s run-off. They are fighting a town council that has suddenly changed their mind from being against letting PyeMart in to a four to three vote allowing the national business in. Many citizens think some of the council members and the mayor have been paid off PyeMart for their favorable votes and their town will pay a horrible price because of it.
Once the multiple bombs add a deadly twist to the fight, it’s time for the Minnesota governor and his enforcement arm, led by Lucas Davenport, to call in their number one investigator, Virgil Flowers to uncover the bomber’s identity and bring the criminal to justice. However, when Virgil hauls himself to Butternut, there seems to be a lot of suspects, but few with the skills and knowledge needed to pull off the complex activities needed to perform the bombing attacks. Then the unknown bomber decided it’s time to remove Flowers from his investigation permanently…
Now that I am five books into this series, Virgil is building on me more and more. I find him easier to relate to and cheer for than some of the other bestselling mystery series with serious and dark detectives battling inner struggles. Not that that they aren’t interesting and good reads; it’s just that Flowers is a fresh and unique approach that I found myself being drawn to like a moth to a flame. I wish I was as laid back as Virgil and appreciate how he breaks the standard investigative rules and purposely shares too much with others as a crime solving strategy. He is far from perfect and makes mistakes performing his investigative work. He is a hopeless romantic that falls easily for the women he interacts with, but always treats them with dignity, respect, and even a worshipful reverence. There are just so many things to like about him and his unique character.
Another thing that makes this series so refreshing and different is not just Virgil’s anti-hero character and behavior. Four of the first five books have primarily taken place in small Minnesota towns, filled with rural settings that emphasize outdoor activities, and down-to-earth characters that are quirky, flawed, and interesting. Sandford also instills an overlying sense of sarcastic whit and sharp humor that brings a different flavor to the reading experience from the usual hardcore brooding detective.
As for the plotting, I enjoyed the traditional mystery and I was easily immersed in trying to assess the various suspects to figure out who the bomber was before his or her identity was revealed. The prose was also fast paced and snappy, moving quickly from scene to scene without any excessive descriptions or unnecessary bunny trails. The book was tight and focused, making it a fast and easy summer escape-like read.
Overall, Sandford delivered another action-packed and fun mystery read that makes me want to immediately pick-up the next one in the series. Crime fiction has never been so much fun…
October 8, 2011
I don't think I've ever read a book by Sandford to which I'd give fewer than five stars. This one is written with the skill he always displays. Virgil Flowers, always engaging, grows in dimension, as JS's characters always do.
June 26, 2015
I almost forgot to add this one. Sandford is always good. Virgil Flowers is always good. This episode was easily as good as the rest. Between Flowers and Lucas Davenport, I'm now at 21 John Sandford novels and I'm not sick of him yet. I think it's safe to call me a fan.
January 10, 2016
Fifth in the Virgil Flowers detective mystery series and revolving around that effin' Flowers over there in Minnesota. It's been six months since
Bad Blood
, 4.
My Take
Virgil cracked me up with his response to Pye's threats at the start. Who cares? *snicker*
A lot of us can relate to the Butternut Falls issue. Having a big box store open up in town, killing off the local businesses, providing lots of minimum-wage jobs. Throw in those environmental issues…and it's war with the most obvious protesters the hunters and fishermen.
I do like how Virgil detects. He tells everyone a lot of what the police find and goes around town soliciting opinions from everyone. Then there's George's idea: doing a survey. I thought it was a good idea… Then Virgil comes up with that coding idea. Good 'un.
I loved it when Ahlquist got on O'Hara about the language. She's only partly sorry for it.
Man, Pye is so gonna regret coming to Butternut Falls…that, ahem, ceremony, ROFL.
The Story
The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop it: local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. The protests don't seem to be slowing the project, though, until someone decides to take matters into his own hands.
The first bomb goes off on the top floor of PyeMart's headquarters. The second one explodes at the construction site itself. The blasts are meant to inflict maximum damage — and they do.
Who's behind the bombs, and how far will they go? It's Virgil Flowers's job to find out…before more people get killed.
The Characters
Living in Mankato, Agent Virgil Flowers is a roving detective for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. His background includes a stint with the MPs, a degree in ecological science, and a Bible-thumping childhood. Today, he loves to write articles for various magazines — including the New York Times, and he loves the challenge of solving cases, getting out from behind the computer. He's in a long-distance relationship with Sheriff Lee Coakley ( Bad Blood ). David is one of her kids. Johnson Johnson is a friend of Virgil's; he runs a custom sawmill.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is…
…a state police agency where Lucas Davenport is Virgil's boss. Jenkins and Shrake are the resident thugs. And they crack me up. Sandy is their part-time researcher. Hendrix. Jack Thompson is good with electronics. Gabriel Moss will handle the disk drives.
Ruffe Ignace is a reporter at the Star Tribune. Thomas Shaver is a federal judge in Minneapolis.
Butternut Falls is…
… a small town in Kandiyohi County in Minnesota that is about to get a PyeMart. Jack LeCourt. Mable Bunson's Restaurant and Cheesery is the main restaurant in town. Larry is a reporter with the Clarion Call. Harvey Greene owned the limousine. Lawrence, who knows about workshops, works at Home Depot. Kiki Bjornsen is a bookkeeper with the Butternut Outdoor Patio Design Center. Thor is an eighteen-year-old desk clerk at the Holiday Inn. That boy is goin' places, lol. Jim Paulson owns the Soaring Center. Gretchen, Frank, and Retrief work at Butternut Scuba. Doug Mackey, the local golf pro by summer, schoolteacher the rest of the year, has a good tip.
The City Council
Geraldine Gore is the mayor; her husband, Dave, sells golf carts. The councilmen who were for PyeMart include Arnold Martin, a stock manager at a car parts place; Burt Block who runs a temp service and employment agency; and, Pat Shepard. Jeanne is Pat's angry wife. Marilyn Oaks and Carol Anne Moore are Pat's girlfriends. Bernice is Jeanne's friend. Edwin Kline, the town pharmacist, had been one of those against.
Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department
Sheriff Earl Ahlquist likes the camera; his wife is an unhappy realtor. Deputies O'Hara (did a tour with a Black Hawk unit), Tom Mack (two tours in Iraq), and Jimmy with Jeneret as the chief deputy have their turn in the story. Helen is a clerk. Shirley Good Thunder is the prosecutor, and Theodore Wills is the county attorney and Shirley's boss. Bill Check is the public defender. Tom LaRouche is a defense attorney. Coral Schmidt is the stenographer. Dick Pruess will be Virgil's temporary assistant.
Jim Barlow and David McCullough are with ATF. Tim is a bomb guy. Doug Mason and Charlie are computer techs.
PyeMart is…
…a Walmart-type store looking to expand. Willard T. Pye owns it. Marie Chapman is his "court reporter". She follows him around and writes down every word he says. Angela "Jelly" Brown is Pye's executive assistant. Sally Humboldt is in food services. Harry is a Pye driver. Bob Brown is the head of security and Barrett Newman runs the Pye Pinnacle building systems. John Dunn is an expediter. Gilbert Kingsley is the construction superintendent. Mike Sullivan is the civil engineer. Mary Sullivan is his wife. Donny Clark will replace Sullivan.
Suspects include…
…Ernie Stanton, redneck, hard worker, and owner of two fast-oil change places; Don Banning runs a clothing store; Beth Robertson runs the Book Nook; Greg Sawyer; Lyle McLachlan; Bill Barber; Gordon Wilson is a car salesman at the Ford dealership; and, Dick Gates is a power-hungry wildlife officer. Fishermen include Larry Butz, a trout guy who owns a jewelry store; Cameron Smith is a wet-fly man and the president of the local trout-fishing club; and, George Peck, the local photographer, is more dry and does love his antique fishing everything — he nominates himself on the survey.
Henry Erikson is a trout guy, likes to build nice guitars, and works at the Chevy dealership. Sarah is his wife. Ron is the manager at the dealership. Ron Mueller is Sarah's brother.
Butternut Technical College is…
…a two-year technical college. Jesse Card is the lead instructor in the metal shop. John Haden teaches; Barbara is his ex-wife. Bill Wyatt is getting divorced from his wife, Jennifer. Billie is their daughter.
Mary Trail is Virgil's insurance agent. Andy at East Coast Marine has what Virgil wants. Mark Douka with Xavier Homes provides Virgil with a possible motive for the bombings.
The Cover and Title
The cover makes me think of Turner's light with that gorgeous glow coming off the painting. It's as though there's gold foil underneath that fiery sky, billowing smoke roiling through the oranges over the city skyline. That's the bottom half. The top half is a deep, deep blue with the author's name in an embossed deep gold and bright white.
The title is a consequence of physics: there is a Shock Wave when a bomb goes off.
My Take
Virgil cracked me up with his response to Pye's threats at the start. Who cares? *snicker*
A lot of us can relate to the Butternut Falls issue. Having a big box store open up in town, killing off the local businesses, providing lots of minimum-wage jobs. Throw in those environmental issues…and it's war with the most obvious protesters the hunters and fishermen.
I did like that bumpersticker: "Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms… What's not to like?"Oh, man, the tips in here: Sandford did an interesting bit on the psychological escalation of the bombmaker mentality. It was a bit obvious, but extremely believable. Barlow notes that "most profiles are ninety percent bulls**t". Lee's comments about how her consulting in Hollywood works was fascinating. I had no idea they even did that much "blending"! Haden says he plants marigolds to deter the moles.
I do like how Virgil detects. He tells everyone a lot of what the police find and goes around town soliciting opinions from everyone. Then there's George's idea: doing a survey. I thought it was a good idea… Then Virgil comes up with that coding idea. Good 'un.
"That's where most of him was. His head was over there — popped right off, like they do."I had no idea there were such differences between trout, muskie, bullhead, etc., fishermen…*more laughter*…
I loved it when Ahlquist got on O'Hara about the language. She's only partly sorry for it.
Man, Pye is so gonna regret coming to Butternut Falls…that, ahem, ceremony, ROFL.
The Story
The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop it: local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. The protests don't seem to be slowing the project, though, until someone decides to take matters into his own hands.
The first bomb goes off on the top floor of PyeMart's headquarters. The second one explodes at the construction site itself. The blasts are meant to inflict maximum damage — and they do.
Who's behind the bombs, and how far will they go? It's Virgil Flowers's job to find out…before more people get killed.
The Characters
Living in Mankato, Agent Virgil Flowers is a roving detective for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. His background includes a stint with the MPs, a degree in ecological science, and a Bible-thumping childhood. Today, he loves to write articles for various magazines — including the New York Times, and he loves the challenge of solving cases, getting out from behind the computer. He's in a long-distance relationship with Sheriff Lee Coakley ( Bad Blood ). David is one of her kids. Johnson Johnson is a friend of Virgil's; he runs a custom sawmill.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is…
…a state police agency where Lucas Davenport is Virgil's boss. Jenkins and Shrake are the resident thugs. And they crack me up. Sandy is their part-time researcher. Hendrix. Jack Thompson is good with electronics. Gabriel Moss will handle the disk drives.
Ruffe Ignace is a reporter at the Star Tribune. Thomas Shaver is a federal judge in Minneapolis.
Butternut Falls is…
… a small town in Kandiyohi County in Minnesota that is about to get a PyeMart. Jack LeCourt. Mable Bunson's Restaurant and Cheesery is the main restaurant in town. Larry is a reporter with the Clarion Call. Harvey Greene owned the limousine. Lawrence, who knows about workshops, works at Home Depot. Kiki Bjornsen is a bookkeeper with the Butternut Outdoor Patio Design Center. Thor is an eighteen-year-old desk clerk at the Holiday Inn. That boy is goin' places, lol. Jim Paulson owns the Soaring Center. Gretchen, Frank, and Retrief work at Butternut Scuba. Doug Mackey, the local golf pro by summer, schoolteacher the rest of the year, has a good tip.
The City Council
Geraldine Gore is the mayor; her husband, Dave, sells golf carts. The councilmen who were for PyeMart include Arnold Martin, a stock manager at a car parts place; Burt Block who runs a temp service and employment agency; and, Pat Shepard. Jeanne is Pat's angry wife. Marilyn Oaks and Carol Anne Moore are Pat's girlfriends. Bernice is Jeanne's friend. Edwin Kline, the town pharmacist, had been one of those against.
Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department
Sheriff Earl Ahlquist likes the camera; his wife is an unhappy realtor. Deputies O'Hara (did a tour with a Black Hawk unit), Tom Mack (two tours in Iraq), and Jimmy with Jeneret as the chief deputy have their turn in the story. Helen is a clerk. Shirley Good Thunder is the prosecutor, and Theodore Wills is the county attorney and Shirley's boss. Bill Check is the public defender. Tom LaRouche is a defense attorney. Coral Schmidt is the stenographer. Dick Pruess will be Virgil's temporary assistant.
Jim Barlow and David McCullough are with ATF. Tim is a bomb guy. Doug Mason and Charlie are computer techs.
PyeMart is…
…a Walmart-type store looking to expand. Willard T. Pye owns it. Marie Chapman is his "court reporter". She follows him around and writes down every word he says. Angela "Jelly" Brown is Pye's executive assistant. Sally Humboldt is in food services. Harry is a Pye driver. Bob Brown is the head of security and Barrett Newman runs the Pye Pinnacle building systems. John Dunn is an expediter. Gilbert Kingsley is the construction superintendent. Mike Sullivan is the civil engineer. Mary Sullivan is his wife. Donny Clark will replace Sullivan.
Suspects include…
…Ernie Stanton, redneck, hard worker, and owner of two fast-oil change places; Don Banning runs a clothing store; Beth Robertson runs the Book Nook; Greg Sawyer; Lyle McLachlan; Bill Barber; Gordon Wilson is a car salesman at the Ford dealership; and, Dick Gates is a power-hungry wildlife officer. Fishermen include Larry Butz, a trout guy who owns a jewelry store; Cameron Smith is a wet-fly man and the president of the local trout-fishing club; and, George Peck, the local photographer, is more dry and does love his antique fishing everything — he nominates himself on the survey.
Henry Erikson is a trout guy, likes to build nice guitars, and works at the Chevy dealership. Sarah is his wife. Ron is the manager at the dealership. Ron Mueller is Sarah's brother.
Butternut Technical College is…
…a two-year technical college. Jesse Card is the lead instructor in the metal shop. John Haden teaches; Barbara is his ex-wife. Bill Wyatt is getting divorced from his wife, Jennifer. Billie is their daughter.
Mary Trail is Virgil's insurance agent. Andy at East Coast Marine has what Virgil wants. Mark Douka with Xavier Homes provides Virgil with a possible motive for the bombings.
The Cover and Title
The cover makes me think of Turner's light with that gorgeous glow coming off the painting. It's as though there's gold foil underneath that fiery sky, billowing smoke roiling through the oranges over the city skyline. That's the bottom half. The top half is a deep, deep blue with the author's name in an embossed deep gold and bright white.
The title is a consequence of physics: there is a Shock Wave when a bomb goes off.
July 12, 2018
Needed something for a Summer "Road Trip" & it was available at the library to help with the driving to & from Wyoming's Yellowstone basin...with Congers narration, I've upgraded from 4 to 5 stars...here's the original review:
"That F**kin' Flowers" is up to his neck invesatigating a bomber loose in "small town" Minnesota...Is the bomber, or is the bomber not targeting a "big box" store building a unit in the town?...Flower's love life with a rural sheriff is on hiatus and we find Virgil at loose romantic ends as well as deep in investigation...fun as always!!!
"That F**kin' Flowers" is up to his neck invesatigating a bomber loose in "small town" Minnesota...Is the bomber, or is the bomber not targeting a "big box" store building a unit in the town?...Flower's love life with a rural sheriff is on hiatus and we find Virgil at loose romantic ends as well as deep in investigation...fun as always!!!
October 14, 2018
Shockwave by John Sandford features BCA investigator Virgil Flowers. This is the fifth in the series and deals with a bomber who is targeting a successful businessman who is planning to build one of his stores in a small rural community. The first bomb goes off at the top of a towering office building and then the bomber begins to target the small town that is "selling out" to the businessman. Virgil is an engaging character and the mystery is entertaining.
January 26, 2012
Another excellent entry in the Virgil Flowers series. Virgil is like a good pair of jeans: comfortable, easy to get in to. Although the ending could have packed more punch, with Virgil, its all about the journey, and this was a good one.
June 4, 2024
Just read this one for the second time and it was as good as the 1st time.
Shock Wave, Virgil Flowers #5 by John Sandford is the most enjoyable book I've read in a good while, maybe a year. It's certainly been the best Virgil Flowers and that's a high bar indeed. Flowers is an investigator in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and he's sent to Butternut Falls to investigate a bombing at the construction site of a new PyeMart, a big box retailer that many in the town are dead set against. Lucas Davenport (of Prey Novel fame and Flowers' boss) believes that the bombing is tied to another that happened a short while ago in Michigan at the Pye headquarters.
Along with the bombing investigation there's corruption allegations in that several members of the town council changed their votes suddenly which allowed PyeMart into town.
Virgil is quite a character, what with his wardrobe of old rock band T-shirts, his love of fishing, his ovious intelligence and his relationships with the fair sex. The story moves fast with more and more bombs going off, lots of twists and turns, much incisive and inventive investigating along with the blind alleys and terrific dialog. There's much humor and I like that it's spread across so many people, not just Virgil. Different humor but all amusing.
I can't recommend this series enough and I'm hoping it continues to follow it's improving trajectory, though that's going to be very hard indeed. I liked this so much I'm breaking my own rule and reading the next book in the series immediately after this one.
Shock Wave, Virgil Flowers #5 by John Sandford is the most enjoyable book I've read in a good while, maybe a year. It's certainly been the best Virgil Flowers and that's a high bar indeed. Flowers is an investigator in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and he's sent to Butternut Falls to investigate a bombing at the construction site of a new PyeMart, a big box retailer that many in the town are dead set against. Lucas Davenport (of Prey Novel fame and Flowers' boss) believes that the bombing is tied to another that happened a short while ago in Michigan at the Pye headquarters.
Along with the bombing investigation there's corruption allegations in that several members of the town council changed their votes suddenly which allowed PyeMart into town.
Virgil is quite a character, what with his wardrobe of old rock band T-shirts, his love of fishing, his ovious intelligence and his relationships with the fair sex. The story moves fast with more and more bombs going off, lots of twists and turns, much incisive and inventive investigating along with the blind alleys and terrific dialog. There's much humor and I like that it's spread across so many people, not just Virgil. Different humor but all amusing.
I can't recommend this series enough and I'm hoping it continues to follow it's improving trajectory, though that's going to be very hard indeed. I liked this so much I'm breaking my own rule and reading the next book in the series immediately after this one.
October 2, 2025
Early in the fifth Virgil Flowers novel, a county sheriff refers to Virgil as a "social investigator," which is apt. In this book, for example, he actually undertakes an anonymous written survey to assemble a list of suspects. More generally, he pokes around a town, bouncing his case theories off people and getting their input until he solves the case. After two bombings kill employees of a modestly upscale discount store, Virgil travels to a town where small business owners and conservationists and fishermen are the likely suspects. Good surprise ending.
January 11, 2013
3.50 Stars.
Another classic Virgil Flowers thriller. No nonsense, hilarious at times and one dropped bomb after another. No pun intended. Virgil is on the case again; this time after a bomber with a plan. No plan is perfect and the bomber learns this quickly.
I love reading this series; and love the main character. Nice flow and good for a quick read.
Another classic Virgil Flowers thriller. No nonsense, hilarious at times and one dropped bomb after another. No pun intended. Virgil is on the case again; this time after a bomber with a plan. No plan is perfect and the bomber learns this quickly.
I love reading this series; and love the main character. Nice flow and good for a quick read.
February 16, 2020
Best of the Virgil Flowers books so far. Great fun!
Huge lots of good short humour here, mostly ribald, even better than previous books.
Virgil is even more literate and sharp here, as are many other characters.
41%
An extended ribald funny story for 3-4 pages. Guffaws guaranteed.
43%
Date with Pye's biographer doesn't ring true. It made Virgil look sleazy.
Huge lots of good short humour here, mostly ribald, even better than previous books.
Virgil is even more literate and sharp here, as are many other characters.
41%
An extended ribald funny story for 3-4 pages. Guffaws guaranteed.
43%
Date with Pye's biographer doesn't ring true. It made Virgil look sleazy.
January 6, 2018
Another Virgil Flowers murder solved. Virgil gets called to check out a couple of bombs that seem to be related, and another one goes off...
April 6, 2017
Another Worthy Crime Novel from John Sandford
Virgil Flowers considers himself a “shitkicker” and tends to dress, talk, and act like one, favoring T-shirts from rock bands, cowboy boots, fly fishing, fast motorboats, and, shall we say, casual language. Here he is in conversation with one of his suspects in Shock Wave, a trade school instructor:
Virgil: “So, where you at?”
Suspect: “You don’t need the ‘at’ at the end of that sentence. If you’d asked, ‘Where are you?’ that would have been fine.”
Virgil: “I’m colloquial.”
Virgil sometimes uses words like “colloquial” because, in reality, he has a college degree (in ecological science) and a scary-high IQ, and, though everyone seems to comment that he looks nothing like a cop, he is the most successful detective in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprensioin (BCA).
In Shock Wave, the fifth in John Sanders’ Virgil Flowers series, Virgil is sent to investigate a fatal bombing at the site of a future big-box store that is carefully positioned not to be a Wal-Mart even though it clearly is. There, he encounters the founder of the Wal-Mart-like chain, an irascible old man with a million-dollar secretary and $32 billion net work, along with the mayor and members of the city council of a small town in the far reaches of Minnesota. As the novel’s first bombing is followed by a second and then, in quick succession, another, Virgil and the local sherrif race to identify the bomber — and, along the way, come to grips with the corruption on the city council that gave the green light for the store to be built.
John Sandford is a master of novels like this. In addition to the Virgil Flowers series, he has published 21 entries in the “Prey” series featuring Virgil’s boss, Lucas Davenport, 4 more in another short-lived crime series, plus two unrelated novels and a couple of nonfiction books as well — starting in 1988. If your skills run more to language than to mathematics, please note that Sandford (a pseudonym for a former Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist) has been writing an average of about 1-1/2 books per year. Others are more prolific, but Sandford’s plots are invariably inventive, his characters three-dimensional, and his prose eminently readable.
(From www.malwarwickonbooks.com)
Virgil Flowers considers himself a “shitkicker” and tends to dress, talk, and act like one, favoring T-shirts from rock bands, cowboy boots, fly fishing, fast motorboats, and, shall we say, casual language. Here he is in conversation with one of his suspects in Shock Wave, a trade school instructor:
Virgil: “So, where you at?”
Suspect: “You don’t need the ‘at’ at the end of that sentence. If you’d asked, ‘Where are you?’ that would have been fine.”
Virgil: “I’m colloquial.”
Virgil sometimes uses words like “colloquial” because, in reality, he has a college degree (in ecological science) and a scary-high IQ, and, though everyone seems to comment that he looks nothing like a cop, he is the most successful detective in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprensioin (BCA).
In Shock Wave, the fifth in John Sanders’ Virgil Flowers series, Virgil is sent to investigate a fatal bombing at the site of a future big-box store that is carefully positioned not to be a Wal-Mart even though it clearly is. There, he encounters the founder of the Wal-Mart-like chain, an irascible old man with a million-dollar secretary and $32 billion net work, along with the mayor and members of the city council of a small town in the far reaches of Minnesota. As the novel’s first bombing is followed by a second and then, in quick succession, another, Virgil and the local sherrif race to identify the bomber — and, along the way, come to grips with the corruption on the city council that gave the green light for the store to be built.
John Sandford is a master of novels like this. In addition to the Virgil Flowers series, he has published 21 entries in the “Prey” series featuring Virgil’s boss, Lucas Davenport, 4 more in another short-lived crime series, plus two unrelated novels and a couple of nonfiction books as well — starting in 1988. If your skills run more to language than to mathematics, please note that Sandford (a pseudonym for a former Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist) has been writing an average of about 1-1/2 books per year. Others are more prolific, but Sandford’s plots are invariably inventive, his characters three-dimensional, and his prose eminently readable.
(From www.malwarwickonbooks.com)
October 19, 2011
Virgil Flowers is one of my favorite characters and I love what he does in this , the fifth, stand alone. He is very much Virgil, but a different side of him, more introspective, a bit deeper, more thought out , and definitely a ton of fun. The backdrop to all this is something most readers can appreciate: the angst behind a huge mega store coming in and crushing a community and its businesses. Using that, John Sandford again hits all the right notes and takes us the reader on nice wild ride .The motivations of the community, who really is the bomber, and a great social networking experiment to help find the killer. Would you take part in it? Me, I don’t think so, not my gig diming out my neighbor, whether they make bombs or not. Who else am I going to borrow sugar from in the future, who knows what may be in it if I did.I for one am glad this came buy when it did, now I need my Davenport and company fix. Can’t wait.
Here is what you are in for if you crack this open:
“Talk about risky business.
The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop it: the local merchants fearing for their businesses, and the environmentalists predicting ecological disaster. The protests don't seem to be slowing the project down, though, until someone decides to take matters into his own hands.
The first bomb goes off on the top floor of PyeMart's headquarters. The second one explodes at the construction site itself. The blasts are meant to inflict maximum damage—and they do. Who's behind the bombs and how far will they go? It's Virgil Flowers's job to find out . . . before more people get killed.”
July 11, 2020
I was looking for some light comic reading and this book provided just that. Butternut Falls, a fictional town in Minnesota (though there is a Butternut) is the setting for the mystery Virgil must unravel before more lives are lost to a resident bomber. Bombings may not sound like comic material, but in this case it works.
I did enjoy many of the jokes, but then they did get a bit tired. I have read other Virgil books I enjoyed more than this one.
Library Loan
I did enjoy many of the jokes, but then they did get a bit tired. I have read other Virgil books I enjoyed more than this one.
Library Loan
June 19, 2015
Virgil Flowers is an interesting character and Shock Wave is quite readable. Not quite believable, but intelligently written and entertaining. The Minnesota location is different and interesting.
January 15, 2021
I enjoyed reading John Sanford thrillers because it keeps you guessing about who done it. A master at writing a great thriller. A sense of humor too.
June 25, 2019
What a great book!!! Like every single one of the Lucas Davenport/Virgil Flowers novels, it was an excellent story from the first page. I've even read this one before, but could not remember until it was revealed who done it. John Sanford is just that great of a writer!
March 10, 2019
Really entertaining. But this is the second book referring to sodomizing a child.
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