Dark of the Moon by John Sandford Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Dark of the Moon
Book Review: A totally fascinating crime genre novel by a master
Summary: 4 Stars
Kinky sex and bloody violence is said to sell books, and I believe it. This effort by Sandford is one of his best. Some five bloody murders and as many prime suspects. Once the culprit is identified, obtaining proof requires much historical research. Along the way is a side action involving a DEA action taking down a meth lab. The final chase scene is a little weak, but dramatic, our protagonist somewhat tired from all of the casuaL sex he has encountered throughout the story.Book Review: Another great read from John Sandford
Summary: 5 Stars
I just love Virgil Flowers. One day he is going to get the woman of his dreams without being interrupted by an emergency! This is another great read from John Sandford, and can't wait for the next one. Thoroughly recomend this to all mystery enthusiasts.Book Review: BORING, BORing, Boring!
Summary: 1 Stars
I finished reading this book last night and it's one of the worst books I've read in a long time. Like another reviewer, I kept waiting for something to happen. It never did. The killer was never developed. The story just fizzed out. A real letdown. I may never read another Sandford novel.Book Review: Dark of the Moon
Summary: 1 Stars
Poorly written and badely edited. Did Sandford really write this or did he just put his name on it. Not his usual work.Book Review: Disappointing and Unsatisfying
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm a big fan of John Sandford, and have read and enjoyed most of his "Prey" novels.
This is not one of them.
At the outset -- and others have mentioned this -- the book is not authored by John Sandford. In an unusual page titled "Acknowledgement", we learn that the book was written "in cooperation with" Larry Millett. I don't know who Larry Millet is, and I don't know what was intended by the euphemistic phraseology of writing "in cooperation with", but after laboring through the book, I think it's code-speak for "not very good".
The set-up was fine. We learn about Virgil Flowers and a couple of murders. Good stuff.
After that, everything falls to pieces. Character development is nil. Standard detective work is ignored. As an example, Virgil theorizes that the killer must have crept under cover of a new-moon darkness along a river culvert, to arrive at the murder scene. Nice theory. In a Davenport "Prey" novel, there would be cops all over the culvert, trying to find evidence to support the theory, to find the point of entry, to find how long the killer might have lingered, traces left behind, etc.
Not so here. No detective work at all. In fact, the book itself underscores its inadequacies on this point in the following passage (page 62 of the paperback):
"Where did the killer come from? Where did the gun come from? Where did he/she learn to use the gun? Why was the body dragged to the yard, why were the lights turned on? Had the killer known about the lights on the exterior, and where the switch was, suggesting familiarity with the house, or had the acts been spontaneous? And why the shots in the eyes?"
All great questions that a competent investigator would ask, and that a reader wants answered. But not a single one of these questions is answered in this book. An investigative catastrophe.
Which leads to the "unsatisfying" part of the title for this review. <Very tiny spoiler ahead> Among the main points emphasized about the murders were shots through the eyes and posing of the victims. Vivid as these plot elements are, the reasons for them were never -- and I mean never-ever -- addressed. What a disappointment.
Don't bother with this one. John Sandford has many fine and enjoyable books, but this is not one of them.