Holy Ghost by John Sandford

Virgil Flowers investigates a miracle... and a murder... in the wickedly entertaining new thriller from the master of pulse-pounding thrillers. Pinion, Minnesota: a huge city of all of seven hundred folks who define the phrase 'small town'. Nothing has ever happened in Pinion and nothing ever will... until the mayor of sorts (campaign promise: 'I'll Do What I Can') comes up with a scheme to put Pinion on the map. He's heard of a place where a floating image of the Virgin Mary turned the whole town into a shrine, attracting thousands of curious people and making the townsfolk rich overnight. Why not stage a prank in Pinion and do the same? No one gets hurt and everyone gets rich. What could go wrong? And then a dead body shows up. It turns out that lots can go wrong with a get-rich-quick scheme like this one... and lots will. It'll take everything Virgil Flowers has to put things to right - before someone else dies. * * * Praise for John Sandford and the Virgil Flower novels * * * 'Along the way to the satisfying ending, Virgil displays the rough humor and rough justice that make him such an appealing character' Publishers Weekly on Deep Freeze 'A knowing portrait of small-town life layered into a very well plotted mystery. Virgil understands that, in small towns, no one ever outgrows high school... One of the very best novels in a superior series'Booklist (starred review) on Deep Freeze 'Add a gripping storyline, a generous helping of exquisitely conceived characters and laugh-out-loud humor that produce explosive guffaws, not muted chuckles, and you're in for the usual late-night, don't-even-think-of-stopping treat when Flowers hits town' Richmond Times-Dispatch on Deep Freeze 'An outstanding novel' Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Escape Clause 'Perfect entertainment' Kirkus Reviews on Escape Clause

Another good “fuckin Flowers” story. Bonus points for counting number of references to “pot pies”

The Virgil Flowers series remains the only detective style mystery series I can remember where the dialogue and observations make me giggle on a regular basis, which is why I keep reading them, despite never quite shaking the occasional appearance of wince-worthy passages representing small town not-quite-elightnened mindsets towards women and trans people that don't get covered under ‘he meant well' because the protagonist never seems to challenge the viewpoints, and hey, unlike earlier books, this one was published in 2018.
I did appreciate Virgil losing his shit when a scared
civilian points a gun at him; it's pretty clear it wasn't the author's intention, but I think it acts well as an argument for gun control.
In that same theme, I did not expect to hear a short, cogent argument for the problem with bow hunting.
The heart-warming family moments and the community of quirky characters that pulls together to solve a murder keep me coming back for more.
I can see where readers might point out the repetitive points in the investigation, covering the same motives, not quite looking closely until later to serve the plot, but for whatever reason, this time round, I found the meandering pace with the multiple story lines amusing instead of aggravating. 🤷🏼‍♂️
Storygraph says there's only one more in this series, (as it was published five years ago, I think it's safe to call that the end), so after that I'll be open to suggestions for new books/series following likeable detectives solving not too grisly crimes.

⚠️ Domestic abuse