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Literature & Fiction |
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Heat Lightning (Virgil Flowers)
written by John Sandford
Studio : Putnam Adult
by Putnam Adult
Publisher : Putnam Adult
Released : 2008-09-23
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780399155277
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 49 reviews)
List Price : $26.95
Our Price : $5.95
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Product Description |
Fresh from his “spectacular” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) debut in Dark of the Moon, investigator Virgil Flowers takes on a puzzling—and most alarming—case, in the new book from the #1 bestselling author.
John Sandford’s introduction of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers was an immediate critical and popular success: “laser-sharp characters and a plot that’s fast and surprising” (Cleveland Plain Dealer); “an idiosyncratic, thoroughly ingratiating hero” (Booklist). Flowers is only in his late thirties, but he’s been around the block a few times, and he doesn’t think much can surprise him anymore. He’s wrong.
It’s a hot, humid summer night in Minnesota, and Flowers is in bed with one of his ex-wives (the second one, if you’re keeping count), when the phone rings. It’s Lucas Davenport. There’s a body in Stillwater—two shots to the head, found near a veteran’s memorial. And the victim has a lemon in his mouth.
Exactly like the body they found last week.
The more Flowers works the murders, the more convinced he is that someone’s keeping a list, and that the list could have a lot more names on it. If he could only find out what connects them all . . . and then he does, and he’s almost sorry he did.
Because if it’s true, then this whole thing leads down a lot more trails than he thought—and every one of them is booby-trapped.
Filled with the audacious plotting, rich characters, and brilliant suspense that have always made his books “compulsively readable” (Los Angeles Times), this is vintage Sandford. |
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Prey for Flowers |
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If you loved the prey series, you will certainly enjoy the new series featuring a virulent new bud. |
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A Great Book |
The first Virgil Flowers book was ok, but seemed a little forced, a bit tentative. This one has the magic. Virgil is a fully realized, well rounded and quirky character. He's smart and he's unpredictable.
In this book, a series of Vietnam vets have been murdered. Lemons have been left in their mouths, supposedly something the Vietnamese did to prisoners who were about to be executed. It turns out that one of the American vets had gone on a rampage near the end of the war, killing an innocent family and raping a young woman. Now, the young woman's father, a high government official in Vietnam, has dispatched a hit team, seeking revenge.
Virgil, who made his first appearance in the Prey series, seemed in the last book to be a pale echo of Lucas Davenport. Sandford has evidently (and wisely) decided that the best way to lend Virgil his mentor's gravitas is to have the two spend a lot of time together. Davenport is a major character in this book, guiding and controlling the younger man's investigation, a little like M to Virgil's James Bond. Three times in the book, it is stated that Virgil is "just like Davenport," the last by Virgil himself, who adds, "when you were younger." Davenport smiles and says, "Not much younger."
The book ends with a ferocious bang, skewering the pomposity and pretensions of the Feds and setting us up for many more volumes of what has turned into a terrific series. |
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Another great audio read! |
I read this book on unabridged audio. The narrarator did a good job.
I enjoyed the book and the twists and turns to the plot. Sanford has done it again.
I, unlike one reviewer, like Virgil Flowers. He gets the woman and gets the job done.......hard to beat that combination! |
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Not great - but the best Sandford novel in a while |
I have to admit that my enthusiasm for John Sandford has waned a little in recent years. While never delivering a really bad novel, I've found most of Sandford's recent work has been pretty unremarkable. In particular, I was underwhelmed by both the last Virgil Flowers novel (Dark of the Moon) and the last Lucas Davenport novel (Phantom Prey). I wasn't going to bother with Heat Lightning, but in the end I decided I might as well give it a read.
It turns out its pretty good. Not great, but a solid Sandford novel.
Sandford forges into new territory (for the author) by incorporating a little international intrigue into the novel. While hardly a spy novel, Heat Lightning does include a CIA component, foreign assassins, and Homeland Security. The plot is sufficiently complex (although the twists were fairly predictable) and the author capably builds the suspense.
Flowers is more engaging in this novel than his first solo outing. `Heat Lightning' is a reasonable page-turner, but even if it weren't for the suspense, I might be inclined to keep reading just to find out what Virgil's next T-Shirt is going to be. I suspect Sandford searches the internet for indie bands with strange names, and probably isn't all that familiar with the artists on Virgil's shirts, but it's still nice to see `Death Cab for Cutie' get some shirt exposure; and while I'm not a huge fan, it's great to see Canadian artists like `Bif Naked' get recognition as well.
(In the unlikely event that the author happens to read this - I'd like to see Virgil don a `Sleater-Kinney' T-shirt next time around.)
I think most Sandford fans will enjoy this novel. I suspect a few people will be put off by Sandford's left leaning politics (I'm Canadian so this isn't an issue for me) and fans that prefer their fictional violence to be domestic in nature may find the international elements of the novel off-putting. In my opinion though, Heat Lightning may not measure up to Eyes of Prey and Rules of Prey, but it's the best Sandford novel in a long time. 3 ½ stars.
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Audio libraries specializing in mystery will find it a winner |
Eric Conger has won the Golden Earphones award and provides a gripping narration to accompany the equally compelling HEAT LIGHTNING, a Virgil Flowers thriller in which he faces a humid Minnesota summer, a body found near a veterans' memorial, and a rash of murders where victims have lemons in their mouths. His investigation reveals a possible hit list - and a long one, at that. Audio libraries specializing in mystery will find it a winner.
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