Good day, Mystery Fans! Today’s stellar author is John Sandford. I could do two write-ups on his work as he has two heroes, and perhaps I will. For now, though, I would like to tell you about Virgil Flowers, my personal favorite. The thirteen book ongoing series started in 2007 with Dark of the Moon. T he latest one, published in 2021, is O cean Prey. Sandford’s Lucas Davenport series has titles that all have the word “Prey” in them, so you might be wondering what Flowers is doing in a “Prey” book. The answer must be that Sandford wanted to capture the fans of both of his heroes with just one book. Flowers is tall, lean, late thirties and has been divorced three times. Deciding he did not want to be a four time loser, he stopped getting married. He is still a bit of a lady’s man. He works for the fictional Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in the twin cities of St.Paul and Minneapolis. He has a university degree in environmental science, is an outdoorsman and a published author in hunting and fishing magazines. Flowers loves to fish, and often brings his fishing boat behind his car when seeking justice for the wrongdoer. In order to be completely transparent in my reviews, I should say that I grew up in St.Paul and thus recognize lots of the places where Virgil goes in his quest to catch or dispatch the villains. The books are thrillers, not cozys. There are some graphic scenes, but they don’t overwhelm the narratives. John Sandford is 77 years old. His real name is John Roswell Camp. He is a former journalist and has a Pulitzer Prize for his work. He went to college at the University of Iowa and as a journalist spent most of his time writing for the S t. Paul Pioneer Press as a features writer. He served in the Army and is deeply interested in painting and photography. He is an outdoorsman himself. For example, he has paddled solo from Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River, through New Orleans. Well, that’s it for today. New horizons with the wonderful vaccines! This is your Mystery Maven signing off: Jeanne Lombaer .