Holy Ghost

John Sandford

It's been interesting to watch thriller master Sandford evolve his two superstar series — first the franchise Lucas Davenport books and then, hard as it is to believe, the 11 novels in the Virgil Flowers series. While Davenport adheres to the (admittedly witty) crime procedural formula, Flowers — equally funny — have veered off with slightly surreal but totally entertaining plot lines. After a pair of unlikely smalltown visionaries conspire to make a fortune through recurring "sightings" of the Virgin Mary, the community is suddenly flush with tourist dollars until a sniper starts shooting the visitors. Flowers, the endearingly weird longhair from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, takes over the investigation. New characters and familiar sidekicks are just as fun, and Sandford once again comes up with a substantially enteraining read.