Storm Front

Virgil Flowers, Book 7

By: John Sandford

Narrated by: Eric Conger

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

The thrilling new novel in the number one New York Times - bestselling series.

In Israel, a man clutching a backpack searches desperately for a boat. In Minnesota, Virgil Flowers gets a message from Lucas Davenport: You're about to get a visitor. It's an Israeli cop, and she's tailing a man who's smuggled out an extraordinary relic - a copper scroll revealing startling details about the man known as King Solomon.

Wait a minute, laughs Virgil. Is this one of those Da Vinci Code deals? The secret scroll, the blockbuster revelation, the teams of murderous bad guys? Should I be boning up on my Bible verses?

He looks at the cop. She's not laughing. As it turns out, there are very bad men chasing the relic, and they don't care who's in the way or what they have to do to get it. Maybe Virgil should start praying.

©2013 John Sandford (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“One of the best in that series so far...[it is] exciting, complex and funny.... The beauty of Sanford's writing is that the narrative of the book is told in perfect harmony with Flowers' personality. The descriptions of the plot and the locale of the story have the same laconic quality as Virgil's tone and speaking habits. You seem to be in Virgil's mind and thoughts as the narrative unfolds...Storm Front is an enjoyable and relaxing read. Sandford knows his characters, his locale and his plot. There are no missteps. It is entertaining reading all the way.” (Huffington Post)

“With another gritty storyline and appealing characters, Sandford has penned another winner, one sure to shoot to the top of the best-seller lists.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

“Clever, quirky...unusually good-natured intrigue distinguishes this outing.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Virgil is still on the job

Narrator keeps me listening... Virgil seems to get odd cases... but this one doesn't seem to have the same twist & turns as others.... still good listen.

That f@#$ing Flowers hard at work again!

I enjoyed this book in the Virgil Flowers series as much as the others. Most of the others involved Virgil tracking down murderers, but his one offered a bit of a refreshing break from that. Virgil has to track down a stolen relic from another country....stolen by a priest!!! The story left me guessing up to the end with a surprise ending. This was an enjoyable read and the reader does a nice job as usual with the characters' voices. I recommend the story. I love the fact that it was a Minnesota-based storyline. Anyone that lives in Minnesota will appreciate the part about the Mosquitoes and Poison Ivy. I had a good laugh!

One of the more far fetched entries

While I think Sandfords writing and characterization improves as this series goes on. This entry loses a lot of the grounding that makes the Virgil books feel believable. Convience, laziness, or just luck seems too keep an investigation that should have wrapped up half way though the novel still going. Certain characters contribute so little to the story and some just disappear unceremoniously. What might develop into a deeper plot or action sequence often goes the route of quick resolution. Not my favorite by a good margin but has important turning points for later books.

good story, but not John Sandford's best

Any additional comments?

The story was good, but many of the characters had conflicting loyalties and at times it was hard to keep them straight. Eric Conger is great, as usual, but I wish both he and Richard Ferrone, who reads Lucas Davenport, would ask someone from the mid-west how to pronounce crappies, bratwurst & lilacs.

Virgil is Fully Fleshed Out Now

When the Virgil Flowers line of books started he was kind of an unwelcome diversion from the Davenport series. A spinoff that I was not entirely sure I was going to like. The series started slowly, but I've listened to every one of them, and I am liking them more and more. Eric Conger delivers a good reading performance, and I've come to the point that I like Flowers and know pretty much what he's going to do. He's his own man, and a very different man than Davenport. You can almost predict what Davenport will do; not so with Flowers whom Sandford keeps us guessing about most of the time. This is a good listen and worth you time and money.

This is a fun read!

Any additional comments?

This book is a light, enjoyable read with a good story line. Nothing too heavy here but I liked it!

My favorite in the series

Great job on all fronts. Story keeps you guessing, the characters are so much fun, and the narration was excellent as always. Love that "Bleeping Flowers"

Flowers in another winner!

John Sandfords books are always detailed, suspenseful, and full of understanded and sometimes incredibly funny dialogue. This is no exception. One of the more amusing entries, Sandford strikes all the right notes in what has to be one of the best takeoffs of the 'DiVinci Code' type adventure novel, set in Minnisota, no less.

The narrator, Eric Conger, is perfect for Flowers, and is clearing having fun with the plot that seems more out of a Carl Hiassen novel than the violent crime that Sandford usually portrays.

Compared to some of the very dark books that Sandford has written in both his Virgil Flowers Series, as well as the Prey Series, this one is very humorous (in his usual understated way), and very clever. Eric Conger brings this out in his style of narration as he goes through the book. The accents, the emphasis - everything is spot on.

I always like Sandford's books, but I do believe this is one of his best ever.

Loved it but then I'm a little in love with Virgil

If you could sum up Storm Front in three words, what would they be?

I've listened to all of the Lucas Davenport books at least 4 times and love them. With Virgil Flowers, Sandford has given us another awesome character that engages in really interesting "whodunits". He gets the cases no one else can solve.

I recommend ALL of the Virgil Flowers books including Storm Front. Still, if you haven't read one, don't start with this one. It's better that you start with the first or second in the series and get to know Virgil first.

A Decididly Different Direction

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The voice is different, so I'm not sure that John Sandford actually penned this novel, but it is an absorbing tale of Middle Eastern politics encroaching on the tidy world of southern Minnesota.