Storm Front by John Sandford

Reviewed by Gerti

I usually don’t read books about ancient treasures or the political implications of found relics. That’s why I avoid writers like Clive Cussler and Dan Brown. But John Sandford snuck one in on me, using protagonist Virgil Flowers as the lure. And I’m glad I did read it, even if I enjoyed the characters more than the plot.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers is called on to help retrieve a relic stolen from Israel. It’s an ancient stele uncovered during an archaeological dig involving some professors and enthusiasts from America, including Dr. Elijah Jones, professor emeritus from Gustavus Adolphus College in Mankato. Realizing its immense value, Jones uses stealth to bring it back to the US, hoping to sell it and pay for his Alzheimers-afflicted wife’s long-term nursing care. Jones has terminal cancer, so he doesn’t really care what happens to him, but he needs the millions of dollars the object would bring. But Jones is closely followed by bad guys and girls from various international organizations, because the object shows that King Solomon, mentioned in the Bible, was a myth, and the stories about him were really referring to a Pharoah named Siamun (a real historical person).

Virgil travels around with a woman named Yael Aronov, supposed to be from the Israel Antiquities Authority, who ends up being Mossad. When the real investigator (of the same name) arrives from Tel Aviv, Flowers’ realizes he’s been had, and how important and complicated the case really is if these groups who want the stone could delay her flight for days. There are other guys with guns, generally bumblers played for comic relief, and a few “Indiana Jones” wannabes who are looking to find this artifact so they can keep their lucrative TV shows. But the most interesting thing going on in this novel has to do with Virgil Flowers himself, and a local lady con-artist named Ma Nobles. She is a big-busted beauty with a bevy of sons by different fathers (hence the nickname), and Flowers started the book trying to find out where she was aging local lumber to sell it to East Coast snobs at a huge profit.

Instead, the pair begin working together, and against each other, each with their own motivation. Nobles knew Jones as a child, when he was a big, burly preacher who helped her family out of poverty. Flowers’ father was also a local pastor, and that gives Flowers an edge on information about the Holy Land, but he wants to catch Jones and get the stele back to Israel before anyone gets killed, including Jones’ daughter Ellen. I hate the plot, but I love the characters, and Sandford always injects enough humor to keep everything interesting. I would recommend the book, even if you don’t like ancient mysteries, because it’s as exciting as riding a dune buggy over ancient sands, modern fun on ancient ground. Another Sandford winner.