John Sandford is, to my mind, one of the foremost exponents of the cop story of the present time. He has written many books featuring an overlapping cast of characters, and the latest is set in the Biden-era USA amid the Covid mask days. It features his favourite detective, Lucas Davenport, now a US Marshall, together with his sidekick and friend Virgil Flowers, an agent with the Minnesota BCA – the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension in Minneapolis.
The plot revolves around a group of Bitcoin billionaires who decide to rid the world of a**holes by murdering them. The group is coordinated by an Asian/American woman who isn’t wealthy but wants to be.
Naturally, the authorities don’t like this, and the FBI, together with the US Marshall service and various others, conspire to take them down. There is also a connection to the US political apparatus.
The book is well-planned, moving along through a number of murders, and some well-constructed detection via various cities and areas of the US. As usual, Sandford has a great feel for America; you can almost taste the fast foods the heroes consume during their pursuit.
The book then moves to a shootout, becoming somewhat formulaic in Sandford novels, and ends with the possibility of two of the filthy rich escaping justice. It feels as though we may see them reappear in a subsequent novel to finally get their just deserts.
A good read if you like novels set in present-day America, with plenty of action and where the author knows his subject well.
I hired my copy from the local Hutt City library. I was the first person to check the book out, so not too many Covid germs, but it’s also available from Amazon instantly via kindle for US$14.99. The Hardcover price is US$29.95.