Bloody Genius

John Sandford

Oct 2019 · A Virgil Flowers Novel Book 12 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

Virgil Flowers will have to watch his back--and his mouth--as he investigates a college culture war turned deadly in another one of Sandford's "madly entertaining Virgil Flowers mysteries" (New York Times Book Review).

At the local state university, two feuding departments have faced off on the battleground of science and medicine. Each carries their views to extremes that may seem absurd, but highly educated people of sound mind and good intentions can reasonably disagree, right?

Then a renowned and confrontational scholar winds up dead, and Virgil Flowers is brought in to investigate . . . and as he probes the recent ideological unrest, he soon comes to realize he's dealing with people who, on this one particular issue, are functionally crazy. Among this group of wildly impassioned, diametrically opposed zealots lurks a killer, and it will be up to Virgil to sort the murderer from the mere maniacs.

Ratings and reviews

I have been a fan of Virgil Flowers since he first showed up in the Prey series. He's funny, he's fierce, he draws all the ladies in. Bloody Genius started off very slow but once I hit 70%, it was like pedal to the metal suspense. There were a few too many people and subplots in this installment so I found myself skimming some parts to get to the good stuff. The best part of this book was Trane. I need her to show up in some more of Sandford's books because she. is. awesome!! As always, I love Virgil's humor and one-liners. I can't wait to see what kind of craziness he can get into next.

Virgil Flowers is back, and in addition to his personal life changing drastically, he gets a case that is anything but normal. Then again, when has Virgil ever done normal? I've been a fan of Virgil's since he was first introduced way back when in the Prey series, and the more I read of him, the more I like him. He's not your average cop, and he certainly doesn't dress like one. His investigation style may be different, and it doesn't really follow a procedure, but his out of the box ways do produce results. In Bloody Genius, we get plenty of Virgil's own brand of investigating. I always picture him casually strolling around, asking questions and plucking tidbits out of conversations. He does the same here, although it's not always with his usual almost lazy style. I don't want to give anything away, but I will add that Sandford gives us the answers, we just have to be paying attention. I'll admit, I very nearly missed it, but for me, I've grown to love these characters, so the books are as much about catching up with them as solving the mystery. Speaking of characters, we do get some Jenkins and Shrake time, which is always fun. You know things are going to start happening when those two show up. And in true Sandford form. once things all come together, it's a race to the finish. As always, we get Sandford's sharp wit and sense of timing in a wonderfully written book full of interesting and entertaining characters. If you're up to date with the series, you already know that Virgil has some big things on the horizon, and those things are only getting bigger. I can't wait to see what's next for this terrific character.

I liked the book as I do all of Sandford's books. However, the game of Clue was a little too hokey. Also, the town referred to as Black Duck is really Blackduck. And, the Minnesota colors are maroon and gold, not red. Sorry about being picky. I do love the humor that Sandford injects into his characters. Keep it up.

About the author

John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of twenty-eight Prey novels, most recently Twisted Prey; four Kidd novels, eleven Virgil Flowers novels, and six other books, including three YA novels coauthored with his wife, Michele Cook.