Dark of the Moon

By: John Sandford

Narrated by: Eric Conger

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Virgil Flowers kicked around for a while before joining the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. First it was the army and the military police, then the police in St. Paul, and finally Lucas Davenport brought him into the BCA, promising him, "We'll only give you the hard stuff."

He's been doing the hard stuff for three years now, but never anything like this.

In the small town of Bluestem, a house way up on a ridge explodes into flames, its owner, a man named Judd, trapped inside. There are a lot of reasons to hate him, Flowers discovers. In fact, he concludes, you'd probably have to dig around to find a person who doesn't despise Judd.

And that isn't even why Flowers came to Bluestem. Three weeks before, there'd been another murder, two, in fact, a doctor and his wife, the doctor found propped up in his backyard, both eyes shot out. Flowers knows two things: this wasn't a coincidence, and it had to be personal.

But just how personal is something even he doesn't realize, and may not find out until too late. Because the next victim may be himself.

©2007 John Sandford (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.

Critic reviews

“A book that will keep you turning pages, guessing, and completely immersed - and engrossed - in whatever Sandford wants to throw at you. It’s a great ride, and Sandford proves that sometimes it’s not the character, it’s not the series, it’s the writer.” (The Post)

“An adrenaline rush peppered with laugh-out-loud moments." (Booklist)

Blooming Good Mystery

John Sandford trots out a new detective, Virgil Flowers, in the Dark of the Moon. A bit player in one of Sandford's previous Prey books, Flowers holds his own as a down-home, good old boy detective tasked with solving a series of gruesome murders in rural Bluestem, Minnesota. The mystery roars along in typical Sandford fashion while Virgil's romance with the sister of the small town's sheriff heats up. I am no fan of romance novels but the steamy love scene in a secluded swimming hole is, well, hot until a sniper shows up to spoil the fun. While Sandford's usual hero, Lucas Davenport, is a sophisticated and suave solver of crimes, Flowers is more plodding, but no less heroic. Like Lucas in his early appearances, Flowers is a definite Tom Cat with an eye for the ladies. This fast-paced mystery contains one of the finest shoot-outs in modern detective fiction with Flowers coming off as a fearless fighter as he participates in a DEA raid on a drug lab. One of the most engaging features of the novel is the camaraderie among law enforcement types that permeates the book. Sandford has Lucas Davenport make only brief appearances in this outing, appearances in which Davenport generally comes off as annoyed at Flowers for bothering him too early. Still, Sandford has another winner with the Flowers character and I look forward to Virgil's next adventure. Before Sandford pens that one, I'd like to seem him resurrect one of his earliest and greatest crimer solvers, Kidd. Armed with today's staggering technology, a Kidd mystery would be irresistible.

Great Read

This was another great read from Sandford only wish there were more of his novals on-line. Great Author loved the book!

Love this new guy!

Was afraid I'd be disappointed in a Sanford novel without Lucas Davenport - not!! The way I judge a really good book is if I get to work in the am and want to sit in the car (at the risk of being late!) and keep listening. I suspected but didn't 'figure it out' until almost the end. I highly recommend.

Dark Of The Moon

It was great read. Love the Flowers character. I recommend this book to anyone who like action

Great Book

I have read the paper version which was wonderful and the audio book was just as good!

A good read.

beautifully written!! Excellent storyline . I really enjoy his personality. A good read and keeps your interest throughout the book.

Didn't see it Coming till the Last few chapters.

Great Read will Listen again. would recommend this Book. Gonna Be Looking for more by this author

Great story, poor narrator

Where does Dark of the Moon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The story line was great, but the narrator was the poorest (too slow and not enough emphasis. My favorite is Scott Brick as a narrator.

Which character – as performed by Eric Conger – was your favorite?

Virgil

Any additional comments?

Review would have been awesome if Scott Brick would have been the narrator. It was evident who the suspect was early on.

Good story, too much sex for me

I thought the book was very good, but sex has to always be a big part of the undertone.

Almost too many twists

Enjoyed the book...but there are so many twists in the plot - suspects just keep popping up!