How to write

Fans of John Sandford’s Prey series will find themselves in familiar territory in Dark of the Moon, even though Lucas Davenport is only a supporting character.  Virgil Flowers, introduced in Invisible Prey, works his own homicide investigation for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). 

The townsfolk of Bluestem are stunned with murders of two residents, Russell and Anna Gleason,   shot and posed in ritualistic fashion. Flowers’s arrival to town is marked by the death of Bill Judd, the town’s most notorious and hated citizen. The crimes seem unrelated, yet the coincidence of two sets of murders in a small town in a short period of time, is too great to ignore. The only link Flowers can see between the victims is their history in the town.  As Flowers begins to uncover secrets and past sins, the list of suspects grows: a nearby survivalist and religious fanatic, George Feur; the current sheriff Jim Stryker; Flowers’s new squeeze and Jim’s sister; Joan or Judd’s illegitimate daughter, Jesse.

Flowers has the ability to sprinkle information through the town, like seeds in a garden, and his efforts are rewarded with growing speculation. 

Sandford has a straight forward style and strutting confidence in his story telling. Virgil Flowers, like Lucas Davenport, is a man’s man, self deprecating and decent.

“He was a medium-tall man with blond hair and gray eyes, a half inch over six feet, lean, broad shouldered, long armed with big hands; his hair was way too long for a cop’s, but fell short of his shoulders.”

Flowers is a reasonable stand in for Davenport, but certainly no replacement.  The supporting cast are equally strong, especially the women who give as good as they get and challenge stereotypes.   The violence is not nearly as grisly as the Prey series, but there is plenty of action and suspense to satisfy Sandford’s fans.