Rent: Dark of the Moon

It may say Sandford on the cover, but on the first page you discover in his Acknowledgement that the book was written “in cooperation” with another author (whatever that means). The result is a book that lacks what I have come to expect from Sandford. The book, although having some merit, rambles to the point where frustration sets in. It is not as well developed, exciting, or concise as Sandford’s previous books. I would suggest sticking with the Prey books, if you have not read them all.
Sandibea44

I wasn't expecting much from a "spin-off", but this book was a quick read, was pretty unpredictable, and not completely unbelievable as some novels are these days. Sandford does very well again.

Typical Sandford, very much like the Prey series. Great characters, including a small guest appearance by Lucas Davenport, and a plot with lots of twists and turns. One more Sandford novel that cost me a night's sleep in order to not put it down.

I was very disappointed with this book. It was clearly not up to John Sandford's standards. I knew that it was not part of his "prey" series. However, I expected it to be as well written. It appeared to be a concept presented to the author and then half-heartedly thrown together to get it over with. The plot was loose and never held together even at the conclusion. Similarly, the characters were vague and superficial. They never felt real, they were never developed and you never got to know them. Certain of the events were extraneous such as chasing back and forth to the hospital at 100+ MPH by the main character was superfluous when he could have remained on the scene and intertwined a realistic plot.

Had this been the first of Sandford's books that I read, it would have been the last one.

Not up to the Sandford usual quality story. While Flowers is an interesting character, he has not been developed enough to be the lead in a book. A possible better treatment would have been a Davenport novel with Flowers prominently featured while developing him. The story was somewhat muddled and the ending was almost like an old Perry Mason TV wrap up, where they sat around and discussed what had gone on.

I really had to force myself to finish this one, whereas I usually can't put his books down. Bring back Kidd.

I've read every John Sandford book, and like so many readers,love the Prey series. Dark of the Moon introduces a new protagonist -- Virgil Flowers (or, as he's often referred to, "that f**'in Flowers.") Like the Prey hero (Lucas Davenport), Flowers is also with BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension) in Minnesota, and like Lucas, Flowers is supernaturally cool, handsome, brilliant, successful with women, intrepid, brave ... in short, the kind of hero guys can readily identify with. Dark of the Moon is vintage Sandford -- tightly plotted, suspenseful, fun -- and the bottom line is, I read all 375 pages in one sitting. A crazed but crafty killer is murdering people at an alarming rate in a small town in Minnesota, and only Virgil can save the day. Unrealistic, maybe, but who cares? Take this one on a long business trip, but be sure to tear yourself away and make your meetings. And look for future Flowers books.