DEEP FREEZE

5 stars out of 5

I'd love to meet Virgil Flowers. There. I said it. He's long been a favorite character (this is, I believe, his 10th book). Actually, so is the author's other series hero, Lucas Davenport, but Virgil always won out (if only by a little bit). I'm not exactly sure why, except Virgil has that "bad boy" appeal - coupled with an irresistible offbeat - many would say irreverent - sense of humor.

But Virgil wasn't all that thrilled to get involved here, for a couple of reasons. First, he's still got a couple of days left on his week's vacation. Second, the case takes him back to Trippton, Minnesota, where a while back he dealt with members of a local school board who put a unique twist on the concept of education. Now, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent has been called in to help with the murder of a very wealthy, divorced businesswoman whose body literally was fished out of a mostly frozen river. On the suspected night of her death, she'd hosted a get-together of planners of their high school class's 20-year mid-winter reunion - and as Virgil somewhat reluctantly begins his investigation, he learns the planning committee members may have been closer to enemies than friends.

Then, along comes another investigation - this one at the insistence of the Minnesota governor - and Virgil is even more reluctant to get involved. Mattel, it seems, has paid a California lawyer to track down whoever's been buying up Barbie dolls - then modifying them to "talk" using, shall we say, very suggestive phrases and reselling them on the black market. Just for the record, being not even close to a fan of Barbies (Ken and Skipper? Not in this lifetime), I immediately gave the perps points for ingenuity despite realizing (of course) the gravity of the crime. 

The Barbie-doll lawyer isn't the most pleasant of women (that she keeps bugging Virgil to work harder to catch the culprits while he's busy on the other murder case is one of her less endearing qualities). To make matters worse, that murder is followed by a second - and now Virgil really has his hands full; dealing with two issues at once really puts his nose out of joint. As usual, Virgil works everything out in the end, taking readers along for another fun ride. 

Maybe it's just me, but I sense that Virgil seems to have mellowed a bit over the last couple of books (or at least, ever since he hooked up with girlfriend Frankie). Of course, no one can stay young and irresponsible forever - this, I believe, is the tenth book -  but I really do miss his feistiness. On the plus side, though, he's still got his chuckle-eliciting one-liners. When, for instance, Virgil is told that Amazon sells "sex toys" all of which are eligible for Amazon Prime, he doesn't miss a beat. 

"That's a relief. I'd hate to wait for three days," he quips.

Virgil, my man, you've still got it (and if you'd like to discuss that over a cold Leinenkugel next time you're passing through my part of Ohio, give me a jingle - I'm buying). Meantime,  many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Deep Freeze by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam's Sons, October 2017); 399 pp.