John Sandford: Rough Country (UK 2010)

From the Publisher:
Virgil Flowers heads north to solve a puzzling murder - and finds that the country is very rough indeed.
While competing in a fishing tournament in a remote area of northern Minnesota, Flowers gets a call from Lucas Davenport asking him 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 and commune with nature. As Flowers starts to ask questions, 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 more he discovers the resort to be a hotbed of jealousy, blackmail, greed, anger and fear. And then he discovers that this is not the first murder, that there was a second, seemingly unrelated killing the year before. And that there's about to be a third, definitely related one, any time now. And as for the fourth... well, Virgil had better hope he can catch the killer before that happens. Because it could be his own.

John Sandford: Rough Country. A land without law. A killer without mercy. Pocket Books, ISBN: 9781847397683 (September, 2010), 388 p., £6.99.

John Sandford: Rough Country (USA 2010)

From the Publisher:
The murder of a successful advertising executive leads Detective Virgil Flowers to the unlikely scene of the crime: a peaceful and bucolic wooded resort. But one with as many suspects as it has secrets.

John Sandford: Rough Country. A Virgil Flowers Novel. Berkley Books, ISBN: 9780425237342 (September, 2010), 417 p., $9.99.

John Sandford: Rough Country (UK 2009)

From the Publisher:
Virgil Flowers heads north to solve a puzzling murder - and finds that the country is very rough indeed.
While competing in a fishing tournament in a remote area of northern Minnesota, Flowers gets a call from Lucas Davenport asking him 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 and commune with nature. As Flowers starts to ask questions, 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 more he discovers the resort to be a hotbed of jealousy, blackmail, greed, anger and fear. And then he discovers that this is not the first murder, that there was a second, seemingly unrelated killing the year before. And that there's about to be a third, definitely related one, any time now. And as for the fourth... well, Virgil had better hope he can catch the killer before that happens. Because it could be his own.

John Sandford: Rough Country. A land without law. A killer without mercy. Simon & Schuster, ISBN: 9781847376190 (September, 2009), 388 p., £12.99.

John Sandford: Rough Country (USA 2009)

From the Publisher:
"It's a joy to announce that John Sandford is still doing everything right," wrote the Cleveland Plain Dealer about the second adventure of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers. "Virgil acts like the best series protagonists -- becoming someone we just enjoy spending time with."

Virgil's always been known for having a somewhat active, er, social life, but he's probably not going to be getting too many opportunities for that during his new case. While competing in a fishing tournament in a remote area of northern Minnesota, he gets a call from 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 while it didn't start out to be a place mostly for those with Sapphic inclinations, that's pretty much what it is today.

Which makes things all the more complicated for Virgil, because as he 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. The more he digs, the more he discovers the arrows of suspicion that point in many directions, encompassing a multitude of motivations: jealousy, blackmail, greed, anger, fear. Then he finds that this is not the first murder, that there was a second, seemingly unrelated one, the year before. And that there's about to be a third, definitely related one, 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.

Rich with the brilliant plotting and compulsively readable prose that are his hallmarks, Rough Country is another immensely satisfying tale by one of our very best suspense writers.

John Sandford: Rough Country. A Virgil Flowers Novel. Putnam's, ISBN: 9780399155987 (September, 2009), 388 p., $26.95.