John
Sanford’s latest book, Storm Front, is a “fun
thriller.” It is a Virgil Flowers novel, which always
has a lighter plot than the Davenport series, but this one
can be classified as more of a satire. The multiple storylines
emphasize deceit and poke fun at those novels that use religious
artifacts for covers of ancient global conspiracies.
The book begins with an archeological dig in Israel that turns
up a stele, an inscribed piece of stone that can have a supposed
profound effect on the history of the Middle East. Elijah
Jones, a college professor who is dying, steals it to sell
on the black market. This is where the plot takes off, becoming
a cat and mouse chase to see who will end up with the stone.
Virgil must deal with the bumbling ways of mercenary Turks,
Mossad agents, Hezbollah terrorists, and Texas reality show
hosts. There is also a sub-plot that involves a woman who
is selling fake antique lumber. Sandford is able to weave
these two plots together in a suspenseful way with many twists
and turns.
Sandford stated, “It was not intended to be a hardcore
thriller. I wanted to write about a bunch of foreign rednecks
that are running around trying to find an object of power.
I had a good time writing this thriller where no one actually
gets killed. I hope my readers appreciate the skepticism of
the story. Since there are so many arguments today over politics
and religion I wanted to show the problem with the combination
of politicians and crazies. I decided to start it with an
archeological dig because it was a serious hobby for me. I
would go to Israel for six weeks every summer for a dig.”
He also gave a heads-up about his next book, which is a 180-degree
turn from Storm Front. It will be a throwback to the earlier
Davenport books whose antagonist is a violent crazy killer.
The plot involves women who disappear from Minnesota once
a year. No one knows their whereabouts until two high school
sweethearts go to a “lover’s lane” field
where they encounter a really bad smell. After mentioning
it to a policeman an investigation is started where twenty
skulls are found.
John Sandford writes two series of books. The Davenport series
is more serious and gripping while the Flowers series includes
more humor surrounding the mystery. He noted that Storm
Front “was not intended to be a hardcore thriller.
I think it is more realistic than a lot of the novels surrounding
religious conspiracy. The main plot has people running around
chasing after a sacred object. Flowers questions if it has
mystical powers, but soon realizes it is just a rock.”
Storm Front is a novel that includes an exciting plot, a lot
of satire, and a good cat and mouse chase.
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