Full disclosure upfront; while I am a fan of John Sandford’s,
Lucas Davenport series of Prey novels,
up to this point I have not read any of his other characters, the
technologist/artist Kidd and fellow police investigator Virgil Flowers.
While both Kidd and Flowers have crossed paths with
Davenport, Storm Front is my first foray into a Flowers book. All of
Sandford’s characters have a certain wisecracking, whatever it takes attitude
that is anchored by a certain Midwestern sturdiness. Flowers is certainly no
exception. The story begins at the site of an archeological dig in Israel with
an ailing Minnesota minister/college professor making off with what could be a
game changing artifact.
Sandford laces the story with the usual band of colorful
characters that ooze a certain outdoorsy, down home quirkiness. The hunt is on
to try to track down not only the felonious Reverend, but to recover the artifact
that could shake the foundations of world religions if it turns out to be
legitimate. While I was starting to think that this could end being Sandford’s
stab at Minnesota Davinci Code, he avoids the cliché by mixing things up with a
few hapless, mis-adventurers trying to track down the ancient stone.
While the storyline continues to move at a leisurely pace,
at points it begins to spin it’s wheels, losing traction as it continues to
turn and turn in smaller circles. While
it takes some unexpected turns along the way, in the end Storm Front sputters and seems to be missing the same punch as the
Davenport, Prey books. Not sure if it’s
just a difference in series or if Sandford’s acknowledgement in interviews that
he would be utilizing other writers to craft storylines so he could generate
more books, that contributed to the shortfall.
No comments:
Post a Comment