Rough Country: Virgil Flowers 3

By John Sandford

The third Virgil Flowers novel by internationally bestselling author John Sandford

While competing in a fishing tournament in a remote area of northern Minnesota, Virgil Flowers gets a call from his old friend Lucas Davenport to investigate a murder at a nearby resort, where a woman has been shot while kayaking. The resort is for women only: a place to relax, get fit, recover from plastic surgery, commune with nature, and sometimes get to know each other a little better.

As Flowers begins investigating, he finds a web of connections between the people at the resort, the victim, and some local women: notably a talented country singer. And the more he digs, the move he discovers a multitude of motivations for murder: jealousy, greed, anger, and blackmail.

And then Flowers learns that this is not the first death at this particular resort. Someone else died there, a year ago. And that there's about to be a third, definitely related death, any time now.

And as for the fourth... well, Virgil better hope he can catch the killer before that happens.

Because it could be his own. 

* * * 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

‘Perfect entertainment’ Kirkus Reviews on Escape Clause

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Apr 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781471181993

John Sandford

John Sandford is the pseudonym for the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of thirty Prey novels, four Kidd novels, twelve Virgil Flowers novels, and six other books, including three YA novels coauthored with his wife Michele Cook.

Reviews for Rough Country

[maryloudinon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lesbians gather at resort. Murders.

[fennecgirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As a long-time fan of Sandford, I have found the last couple of "Prey" novels to be disappointing. Davenport has just become too soft now that he's married and has kids. Now, in steps Virgil Flowers - a younger, single Protégé of Davenport. But until this book, I just couldn't appreciate the character. Virgil? Flowers? Really? Just the name alone has been a complete turnoff for me.

However, he's finally growing on me. Rough Country never had a dull moment, and reminded me of some of Sandford's earlier novels. If this continues, I may get used to the name after all. Bad Blood has been sitting on a shelf waiting for me....we'll see if JS has found his coveted story telling gift again....

[carol420 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A woman named McDill is murdered while kayaking at a lodge in the woods of Minnesota. Flowers is called into investigate because the victim had some political clout. He quickly discovers this lodge isn't like most others. It caters to mostly women, and women who prefer the company of women. Flowers is first flustered by the number of female suspects. But he soon narrows in on a few characters, including Wendy Ashback, a wannabe country singer, and Zoe, the accountant who hopes to buy the lodge someday. There are many more suspects and there is a lot of money, jealousy, and secrets to be unvieled.

My complaints would be in the handling of the points of view. Sandford writes mostly from Flowers' point of view, but switches to the killer on occasion. This usually works, but I thought perhaps the killer was revealled too early in this one. Also, the whole "whodunnit" and the reasons why, and the way in which Flowers figures everything out, wasn't one of Sandford's best. But the journey to get there was great.

I haven't read a bad John Sandford novel yet. He's been one of my favorite authors since I began reading him. This is a great book and a must read.

[thejeanette · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Virgil is sent to solve a murder in what amounts to ZZ Top's Planet of Women. He's a guy who usually gets the girl pretty handily. But here all the women want each other, not him. Poor Virg!

[bohemiangirl35 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my second Virgil Flowers novel. It got off to a slow start but picked up the pace partway through and delivered.Virgil "F%$!ing" Flowers is a detective with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He is on vacation when he gets a call from his boss, Lucas Davenport (the main character in John Sandford's Prey series) to take a case about a woman murdered at a nearby lodge. A lot of the narration focuses on the fact that the lodge caters to gay women. Despite the sexual preference of the suspects, it's the same love/sex triangles that get in the way for heterosexual characters.I liked Heat Lightning better, but I like the Flowers character and can't wait to read another book!

[gac53 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Standard, as in excellent, fare from John Sandford. Another Virgil Flowers adventure where he again gets a murderer but does he get the girl? The story had me guessing between 3 suspects but tied it all up nicely in the end. Enjoyed the humor but also the introspective elements.

[dickmanikowski · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Part of me wants to be Virgil Flowers when I grow up. But a larger part of me is both happily retired and reasonably realistic.

[debavp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

That damn Davenport has gone and screwed poor Virgil out of another well-deserved fishing expedition. Thank you Lucas, because that f.....g Flowers is just as funny and crazy and unorthodox as ever.  

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An off-beat detective with a penchant for vintage rock t-shirts and a bad habit of pulling a boat behind a state vehicle, Virgil Flowers really just wanted to enjoy his well-earned vacation. Too bad someone had to murder a guest at a fancy northwoods resort catering to a very special sort of clientele....Lesbians, violent-tempered musicians, crazy people... lots of suspects and not nearly enough time for fishing. Poor Virgil, lucky readers.

[zachmontana · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable and intriguing, especially whether Vigil will get the girl, which in the end he doesn't. Still he solves another very tough complex crime and keeps the reader on the hook throughout.

[joannsmithainsworth · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would have started the novel through the eyes of the villain and brought the villain in more often than happened in this novel. At the end, I had built up sympathy for two characters that got brutalized and I found that hard to take. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the story and recommend the novel.

[lynnes8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read Sandford for pure escape. This book is as fast-moving as the others, and I like Virgil Flowers the best of Sandford's protagonists. It's well-written and good entertainment.

[drled_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: Virgil is on vacation, but Davenport won't let him rest. Virgil is called in to investigate a murder at a resort for women. This puts him into contact with a lesbian singer and her band, as well as her father, brother and several lovers. As he investigates, he finds that there are several unsolved murders and that all of them lead to someone who is an expert with a rifle.Review: Lots of fun with this book and Virgil never does get to really go fishing or to add any romance to his life.

[jendoyle2000 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'd never heard of this author before the TV movie with Mark Harmon -- I don't know how I missed him! I was surprised at how much I liked this book, especially given the setting as I tend to like the more urban settings as a rule. Good writing, though, and good characters. Definitely worthy of a few hours on a lazy afternoon.

[waeschle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thought it was very good. Felt for Virgil at the end.

[iluvvideo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. The story was very entertaining, a page turner that I couldn't put down.I've read the prior two novels in the Virgil Flowers' series and found this one the best yet. Now understand. I'm not expecting a major classic work here. Just a well told, believable mystery with characters that engage me and ring somewhat true. I got both in spades!!A woman is murdered at a rustic resort in northern Minnesota. She was shot between the eyes while relaxing on a boat floating on a lake one early morning. Why? Thus starts the story. You are lead on a merry chase as Virgil Flowers from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension leads a team trying to solve the case. And what of Little Linda? Take the trip. You'll be glad you did!

[daisygrl09 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good read. Quick, easy to read.

[sonicquack · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Virgil Flowers returns, ever the horn-dog. This time the cowboy boot wearing detective is in a backwater Minnesota women's resort, the site of a murder for reasons unknown. Was she killed for money or sex, the trails lead in both directions. Sandford supllies plenty of misdirection, in fact there is little but wordy investigation and supposition for the first half of the novel; This is definitely his slowest novel in years. As the trail (and Virgil) heats up Rough Country emerges in to more familiar territory, delivering more engaging action pieces and entertaining dialogue. It's a story constricted, both by its plot and its characters, however its interesting following Virgil with his most liberating case yet.

[repb_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alright, I am a Sanford fan once again.This book had its share of raunchy, but manageable raunchy, Well, borderline, anyway. I love his characters - Virgil Flowers is terrific as usual. And mostly I liked the plot; a little twistyturney towards the end, but a very enjoyable 'whodunnit' nevertheless.

[amf0001 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My problem with Virgil Flowers is that he is not as smart as Lucas Davenport. I figured out who the murderer was early on and then thought it was too obvious and that's why Virgil wasn't following it, and I figured out the twist and Virgil only got it at the very end. He asks one character, did you touch the body and the the character says, of course not, i've seen movies. Well, it looks like Virgil has never read any books - he seemed stymied by the most obvious cliches.So these books are not as satisfying for me as the Prey series. I like the writing - Sandford is a confident professional and he sentences flow easily. But I don't like the main character and Virgil doesn't have the support system of his own regular characters that Lucas does, and his books feel weaker for it. While I buy and keep the Prey books, I'm happy to read these, but the library suffices me.To jog my memory -this was the one about the lesbians up in the lake cabins and the band with the charismatic lead singer, who seemed to have death follow her...

[mrtall_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Rough Country is a murder mystery that recounts the back-country sleuthing of Virgil Flowers, one of the peripheral characters from John Sandford's better-known Lucas Davenport police procedural series. Davenport has a few phone cameos, but this is Flowers's show, and it's good fun. Although Rough Country falls short of the Davenport novels' intensity and depth of character development, its protagonist is a fun, even sometimes charming, character, and the setting and story are both entertaining. Briefly, a rich lesbian is cut down by a sniper while boating at 'ladies only' north country resort; the suspects comprise both her business connections and her sexual entanglements. Recommended.

[reacherfan · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The plot is simple. A woman is killed in a canoe while paddling alone a river, shot with a high powered rifle. Believe it or not, that kind of a plot has potential, but Sandford never takes advantage of it. The woman gets killed at a lesbian resort. Again, that could lead to a lot of potential, again, Sandford missing a great chance for a story. I read that a lot of people had a problem with the Lesbian theme, I didn't have a problem with it. My problem is that it's such a light read. There are certain things that make a "thriller" a "thriller", Rough Country has none of these elements. This is a boring read with so much nonsense to it, it makes it hard to read. An example is that we read about 4 pages about Flowers in a Lesbian Bar, and nothing happens. So who cares. As I said, I really wanted to like this, badly. Sandford seems to be putting Flowers through the same thing as Davenport is going through. A lot of fluff and not plot in the adventures. There's just so much fluff in it, I couldn't get through it.

[pmatson_4 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was okay, but nothing special. I didn't think it was as interesting as the first two Virgil Flowers books, and as a character, he has yet to involve me the way Lucas Davenport did from the beginning. Sandford is trying to develop a younger protagonist than Davenport, which is understandable. I'll read the next Flowers book or two, hoping that he grows on me (it's not that I dislike him, but that I just don't care all that much).

[housecarl_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the fifth or sixth Sandford book I have read. I began reading them at the recommendation of my youngest son, who lives in Minneapolis. It is a good deal racier, sexually, than the other Sandford books I know. I suppose this is because Flowers is more of a stud than Lucas Davenport was in the Prey books. I almost wish I had listened to it on cd instead of reading it, because I think the reader for Sandford's books would give a good performance.

[cjz111 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rough Country is actually the third is a series by John Sandford written around Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers. I have not read the first two books but I was able to glisten from this one that Virgil is somewhat of a ladies man and has been successful in using this to his advantage in previous murder investigations. Well, this is not going to work in this case.The discovery of Erica McDill’s body in a cove at the Eagle Nest Lodge opens up the proverbial can of worms when it comes to suspects. Love triangles (and squares), money, prejudice, and every other motive are all exposed when Virgil starts taking at closer look at Erica’s associates – personal and business – as well as the locals surrounding the Lodge. Is the killer a local who has something against lesbians, the primary guests at the lodge? Or is it an act of jealousy since Erica has had her share of affairs and was planning on leaving her live-in partner? Virgil’s sexual prowess will not provide him with any secret information with this band of suspects and the fact that information is hidden, lies are told and secrets are kept does not make his job any easier.I enjoyed the fast pace of this book. And I especially like Virgil Flowers as a lead character. He is a authority bucking, lady loving, rock and roll t-shirt wearing man’s man who happens to pray every night before bed and he is just plain fun to follow. The mystery aspect of the story was decent and there were some great moments of humor. Most of the minor players added a nice local flavor of being in the rough country of Minnesota. There were a few moment of displeasure though. Quite a bit of the actions and dialogue of many of the female (and mostly lesbian) characters were somewhat stereotypical in nature and there were some derogatory remarks, of course made by men, concerning the ladies in the story. Perhaps these remarks were made to relay that feeling of being in the back woods and to provide a reason for the killing but I found them a tad disconcerting and distracting. These minor faults did not take away from a quick and entertaining read though and have made me curious about the two other Virgil Flower’s books.

[yogiabb_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rough Country is a new whodunnit by John Sandford. It stars Virgil Flowers, investigator for the Bureau of Criminal Investigation in Minnesota. Boy, I wish we had something like that in Oklahoma. It would be nice to apprehend more criminals. Virgil is quite a guy. He has long hair. For work he wears jeans and obscure rock band tshirts. He doesn't like carrying a gun. He keeps it under the seat of his car. He talks to God every night before he goes to bed.He is also pretty confident. Mostly about the women he pursues. He has "an active social life" as he describes it. He has this bad habit though of keeping his cell phone close to hand. One of the memorable lines in the novel is "Virgil . . . For God's sake you left your phone on." I think he likes his phone better than female companionship.In this book Virgil has his work cut out for him. I'm not going to spoil anything for you. Lets just say he has to solve a murder that involves country music, multiple lesbian and heterosexual love triangles, some Deliverance type guys, old unsolved murders, fishing, gardening, boating, hunting dogs, and NASCAR. There is something in this book for everybody

[atechwreck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Virgil Flowers returns in this entertaining story of an investigation into the murder of a prominent lesbian vacationing at a women only retreat. The plot twists and turns as Flowers investigates and longs for the vacation interrupted by the murder.

[live2read_read2live · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a fun ride with John Sandford's Virgil Flowers character. I figured out plot quickly but the character is engaging enough to entertain me despite that. I would recommend starting at the beginning of the Virgil Flower's series or you not quite understand the character depth enough to enjoy this book. If you really want to get more background on Virgil you need to go back to John Sandford's 'Prey' series.

[ecw0647 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

John Sandford writes several series. I think I enjoy the Flowers’ books the best. Davenport is too self-absorbed and the Kidd books, because of their reliance on technology, become dated rapidly. Virgil Flowers, one of Davenport’s BCA investigators, known for pulling his fishing boat all over Minnesota, has just the right mix of savoir-faire, investigative skill, sarcasm, dedication, and common sense.This is the 3rd in the series and involves a resort solely for women, a man who loves his daughter too much, a son with extraordinary woodsman skills, a band, some high-priced shoe tracks, and a series of murders that suddenly become connected in strange ways and a plethora of suspects. Good story and audiobook very well read by Eric Conger.

[tatoosh-3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The hallmarks of a Virgil Flowers are quite familiar by this, the third novel featuring this character. Virgil has an endless supply of t-shirts featuring obscure bands, he drives back and forth between various Minnesota locations (and even flies to Iowa) in this novel, and he apparently has never heard of laundromats. His irresistibility to women a la Jack Reacher is also apparent in this novel but circumstances constantly interrupt the effort to actually have sex. Actually, that part is somewhat humorous and more interesting than in previous novels when the coupling is described in routine manner. One quite troubling aspect of this novel is that Virgil essentially causes an innocent man to be killed. You can attribute the murder to Virgil's cluelessness, but it is quite apparent to the reader that the man will be killed unless Virgil wakes up and exercises a teeny, tiny bit of caution. I'm sure Sanford does not mean to depict Virgil in such a negative manner so this seems to be more the consequence of a poorly thought out plot element than a feature attributable to Flowers' character.In any event, the book is still a more or less enjoyable read. This is the fourth novel I have read featuring Flowers and I would rate it lower than Heat Lightening (my favorite so far), and Dark of the Moon, but slightly ahead of Mad river.