Bad Blood

A Virgil Flowers Novel

By: John Sandford

Narrated by: Eric Conger

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Thriller Award for Best Hard Cover Novel, 2011

The brilliant new Virgil Flowers thriller from the number-one New York Times-best-selling author.

One late fall Sunday in southern Minnesota, a farmer brings a load of soybeans to a local grain elevator - and a young man hits him on the head with a steel bar, drops him into the grain bin, waits until he's sure he's dead, and then calls the sheriff to report the "accident". Suspicious, the sheriff calls in Virgil Flowers, who quickly breaks the kid down...and the next day the boy's found hanging in his cell.

Remorse? Virgil isn't so sure, and as he investigates he begins to uncover a multigeneration, multifamily conspiracy - a series of crimes of such monstrosity that, though he's seen an awful lot in his life, even he has difficulty in comprehending it...and in figuring out what to do next.

Stemming crime: listen to another Virgil Flowers novel.

©2010 John Sandford (P)2010 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“Flowers is a fun character, smart and honest with a healthy supply of cynicism and snark...a thoroughly engaging, suspenseful, satisfying story.” (The Washington Examiner)

“Sandford’s exciting fourth thriller to feature Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Virgil Flowers. [His] biggest...case to date.” (Publishers Weekly)

"A Pandora’s box of multiple murders, criminal behavior…and revelations of deviancy that go back generations. As usual, Sandford delivers a great mystery with action, suspense, humor, and, yes, sex. Virgil always gets his man, but he also gets the girl. Good reading.” (Booklist)

F...... Flowers

I love John Sanford’s books, Lucas is my favorite but Virgil is moving up quickly as my second favorite character. He and Bosch are running neck and neck. Virgil has so many little quirks that really make his character stand out, minister father, sex appeal to the women, morals. What a combination!

Very Good!

Really enjoyed the story and the narrator. Highly recommended, though definitely adult fare. I'm really enjoying the Virgil Flowers character...nice complement to the Lucas Davenport character.

GREAT WHO DONE IT BOOKS

GREAT NARRATION, AND STORY,....VERY SUSPENSEFUL. GREAT AUTHOR . CAN'T WAIT TO READ ANOTHER BY SANFORD!

Ohhh Virgil

Another marvelously written story of Minnesota madness. Great police story and wonderful spin off of the Lucas Davenport series. This is my second time listening after about 2 years. Now I find I just have to listen to the next one and wait on all the new books I just purchased. That “f——-g Flowers!”

another Flowers adventure.

As expected, great read. Never disappointed with the Virgil
Flowers adventures and crime solving expertise.

Exciting to the end

I love that f****** Flowers! Once again John Sandford delivers another exciting Virgil Flowers novel. The beginning, middle and ending was great. Kudos to the narrator as well. Can't wait for the next adventure.

Bad Blood Runs Amuck in Minnesota

This story involves multi-families in a multi-generational religious cult. It involves murder, adultery, incest, rape and child molestation which are what most of the "ten commandments" tells that "thou shalt not" do.

While the mystery of this story begin with the opening paragraph, most of the first half of the novel is an introduction of who's who and what's what, but once the story really gets going, it quickly develops and becomes a good Virgil Flowers investigative mystery. Sandford wisely limits the more graphic descriptions of the really bad stuff and provides the listener with a vivid look at the perpetrators and the aftermath of the bad stuff. Virgil Flowers' investigative style, his likeable personality and his wry sense of humor helps to unravel the people's habits and the mysterious of the cult community's lifestyle.

Narrator, Eric Conger is a gem with excellent performance skills.

I've read a few of Sandford's novels including the Prey series and Lucas Davenport novels. While I like Virgil Flowers' laid-back way and his sense of humor, this storyline was uncomfortable, a little sickening and is definitely a one-time listen for me.

Worthy entry in the Virgil Flowers saga

I've probably read or listened to at least 3/4 of the books John Sandford has published, and as far as I can remember, there hasn't been a clunker yet -- which is very unusual for a prolific writer like Sandford. The Virgil Flowers books -- as compared to the Lucas Davenport series -- have really grown on me. I like both series, but with Flowers, there's a subtle undercurrent of wily humor that's different from the Davenport series and it tickles my funny bone every time. Example? One of the officers has been on duty for a long time, 'I'm so horny,' he laments, ' that even the crack of dawn is lookin' good.'

Yup! Love those Virgil Flowers books, not just for the plot but for the giggles, too.

The story line in this one is horrific -- child abuse/molestation of the most evil sort, which Sandford -- wisely -- doesn't describe in intimate detail. We see the aftermath, we get to see the perpetrators, but we don't have to endure very much description of the evil itself -- which I appreciate. A great writer like Sandford can do that, make you feel it all without getting graphic..

On the face of it, the kind of evil Sandford describes is -- or should be -- almost impossible to believe as having taken place in one of the small farming towns in northern Minnesota, let alone perpetrated by the kind of apparent salt-of-the-earth people involved. And yet, I had to laugh at myself when at one moment during the height of the action, I had a wayward thought flash through my mind: 'How in the world did I miss hearing about this on the news?'

Ridiculous, of course. I know it's fiction, but Sandford manages to draw the reader -- or listener -- into the tale so completely that -- improbable as it might seem -- there was a mind bending moment that I forgot it wasn't actually true.

Now that's a great book -- and with Eric Conger does his usual perfect job narrating, it's a classic. Perfect accent, perfect intonation, perfect dry wit.

All in all, don't miss this one,

Good Detective Story, Perfectly Read

This is the first Virgil Flowers book I've listened to and I really enjoyed it, but then I've been a John Sanford fan for a while. I've listened to all his Prey series and found his good guy characters and dialogue to be believable. I love the touches of humor, especially Virgil and Lee's book-ending conversation--it left me chuckling--MEN!

While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I did find the subject rather disquieting. And although Sanford at least did a little poking around in the brains of his predator characters, they remained pretty one-dimensional bad guys.

The reader was absolutely perfect for the story. He captured the accents and attitudes very well.

Good read.

Great book

This book was awesome! Fast paced well thought out. Cant wait for the next one.