Escape Clause

A Virgil Flowers Novel, Book 9

By: John Sandford

Narrated by: Eric Conger

Whenever you hear the sky rumble, that usually means a storm. In Virgil Flowers’ case, make that two. The exceptional new thriller from the writer whose books are “pure reading pleasure” (Booklist).

The first storm comes from, of all places, the Minnesota zoo. Two large, and very rare, Amur tigers have vanished from their cage, and authorities are worried sick that they’ve been stolen for their body parts. Traditional Chinese medicine prizes those parts for home remedies, and people will do extreme things to get what they need. Some of them are a great deal more extreme than others—as Virgil is about to find out.

Then there’s the homefront. Virgil’s relationship with his girlfriend Frankie has been getting kind of serious, but when Frankie’s sister Sparkle moves in for the summer, the situation gets a lot more complicated. For one thing, her research into migrant workers is about to bring her up against some very violent people who emphatically do not want to be researched. For another…she thinks Virgil’s kind of cute.

“You mess around with Sparkle,” Frankie told Virgil, “you could get yourself stabbed.”
“She carries a knife?”
“No, but I do.”

Forget a storm—this one’s a tornado.

Critic reviews

PRAISE FOR THE VIRGIL FLOWERS SERIES

“Another brainy thriller from a prolific author, Deadline fulfills readers’ expectations of Sandford’s fiction: tense, smart and character-driven.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Sandford’s best Flowers book to date. This book is the most fun I have had reading in a long time.”—The Huffington Post

“The biggest joys of this series are Flowers himself (his boss is Lucas Davenport from Sandford’s Prey novels), the case of eccentric supporting characters, and the humorous dialogue.”—Shelf Awareness

“Pure reading pleasure.”—Booklist

“Sandford keeps one last surprise up his sleeve, and it’s a doozy. Exhilaratingly professional work by both Virgil and his creator.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Rich characters [and] the descriptions of small-town life, politics and corruption and the concurrent trails of action make for a fast and entertaining read.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

a good story

Maybe not the best Virgil book, but still much better than the average book I listen to.
Sandford still favorite writer, Conger still favorite narrator, Virgil still favorite character.
Hope there are more adventures for Virgil.

Never enough!

Virgil, Virgil, you pass through my life so fleetingly... Another great adventure but I'm always sad when they end.

Sanford is MACHINE!

Great, great, great - Sandford keeps turning out high quality entertainment. in a world where most authors generate a handful of memorable books in a lifetime, Sandford seems to put out winners at an unbelievable rate. Moreover, they keep getting better. Don't think twice, get this one.

Animal lovers delight plus Virgil Flowers.

An excellent book. The plot was well written and the characters were interesting. Virgil Flowers was at the top of his game. A pleasure to listen to. The end of the book was very good.

Best FF book yet

I've enjoyed all of Sanford's books. This one is the best of the already outstanding Virgil Flowers series.