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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.
The "maddog" murderer who is terrorizing the Twin Cities is two things: insane and extremely intelligent. He kills for the pleasure of it and thoroughly enjoys placing elaborate obstacles to keep police befuddled. Each clever move he makes is another point of pride. But when the brilliant Lieutenant Lucas Davenport, a dedicated cop and a serial killer's worst nightmare, is brought in to take up the investigation, the maddog suddenly has an adversary worthy of his genius.
In Washington, D.C., a cell phone rings. The White House chief of staff needs Jacob Winter now. His chief investigator and an Army Intelligence veteran, Winter knows how to move quickly and decisively, but he's never faced a problem like this. The disappearances are bad, but when the blackened body shows up barbed-wired to a tree, Winter knows there is much worse to come. And soon enough, there is. Large forces are at work, determined to do whatever it takes to achieve their ends.
When Kidd - artist, computer whiz, and professional criminal - learns of a colleague's murder, he doesn't buy the official story: that a jittery security guard caught the hacker raiding the files of a high-tech Texas corporation. It's not what his friend was looking for that got him killed. It's what he already knew. For Kidd and LuEllen, infiltrating the firm is the first move. Discovering the secrets of its devious entrepreneur is the next. But it's more than a secret.... It's a conspiracy. And it's landed Kidd and LuEllen in the cross-hairs of an unknown assassin hellbent on conning the life out of the ultimate con artists....
Shay Remby arrives in Hollywood with $58 and a handmade knife, searching for her brother, Odin. Odin’s a brilliant hacker but a bit of a loose cannon. He and a group of radical animal-rights activists hit a Singular Corp. research lab in Eugene, Oregon. The raid was a disaster, but Odin escaped with a set of highly encrypted flash drives and a post-surgical dog. When Shay gets a frantic 3 a.m. phone call from Odin - talking about evidence of unspeakable experiments, and a ruthless corporation, and how he must hide - she’s concerned.
The year is 2066. A Caltech intern inadvertently notices an anomaly from a space telescope - something is approaching Saturn and decelerating. Space objects don't decelerate. Spaceships do. A flurry of top-level government meetings produces the inescapable conclusion: Whatever built that ship is at least one hundred years ahead in hard and soft technology, and whoever can get their hands on it exclusively and bring it back will have an advantage so large, no other nation can compete.
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.
The "maddog" murderer who is terrorizing the Twin Cities is two things: insane and extremely intelligent. He kills for the pleasure of it and thoroughly enjoys placing elaborate obstacles to keep police befuddled. Each clever move he makes is another point of pride. But when the brilliant Lieutenant Lucas Davenport, a dedicated cop and a serial killer's worst nightmare, is brought in to take up the investigation, the maddog suddenly has an adversary worthy of his genius.
In Washington, D.C., a cell phone rings. The White House chief of staff needs Jacob Winter now. His chief investigator and an Army Intelligence veteran, Winter knows how to move quickly and decisively, but he's never faced a problem like this. The disappearances are bad, but when the blackened body shows up barbed-wired to a tree, Winter knows there is much worse to come. And soon enough, there is. Large forces are at work, determined to do whatever it takes to achieve their ends.
When Kidd - artist, computer whiz, and professional criminal - learns of a colleague's murder, he doesn't buy the official story: that a jittery security guard caught the hacker raiding the files of a high-tech Texas corporation. It's not what his friend was looking for that got him killed. It's what he already knew. For Kidd and LuEllen, infiltrating the firm is the first move. Discovering the secrets of its devious entrepreneur is the next. But it's more than a secret.... It's a conspiracy. And it's landed Kidd and LuEllen in the cross-hairs of an unknown assassin hellbent on conning the life out of the ultimate con artists....
Shay Remby arrives in Hollywood with $58 and a handmade knife, searching for her brother, Odin. Odin’s a brilliant hacker but a bit of a loose cannon. He and a group of radical animal-rights activists hit a Singular Corp. research lab in Eugene, Oregon. The raid was a disaster, but Odin escaped with a set of highly encrypted flash drives and a post-surgical dog. When Shay gets a frantic 3 a.m. phone call from Odin - talking about evidence of unspeakable experiments, and a ruthless corporation, and how he must hide - she’s concerned.
The year is 2066. A Caltech intern inadvertently notices an anomaly from a space telescope - something is approaching Saturn and decelerating. Space objects don't decelerate. Spaceships do. A flurry of top-level government meetings produces the inescapable conclusion: Whatever built that ship is at least one hundred years ahead in hard and soft technology, and whoever can get their hands on it exclusively and bring it back will have an advantage so large, no other nation can compete.
Best-selling author John Sandford takes all the action and suspense of his acclaimed Prey novels and heads west to the dark gleam of L.A.- where the Night Crew works. A mobile unit of video freelancers, they prowl the midnight streets to sell to the highest network bidder. Murders. Robberies. High-speed chases. For them, it is an exhilerating life. But tonight, two deaths will change everything.
Joe Pickett is the new game warden in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming, a town where nearly everyone hunts and the game warden—especially one like Joe who won't take bribes or look the other way—is far from popular. When he finds a local hunting outfitter dead, splayed out on the woodpile behind his state-owned home, he takes it personally. There had to be a reason that the outfitter, with whom he's had run-ins before, chose his backyard, his woodpile to die in.
In the early hours of a quiet weekend morning in Manhattan's Diamond District, a brutal triple murder shocks the city. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs quickly take the case. Curiously, the killer has left behind a half-million dollars' worth of gems at the murder scene, a jewelry store on 47th street. As more crimes follow, it becomes clear that the killer's target is not gems but engaged couples themselves.
Welcome to Trippton, Minnesota, where life moves at a leisurely pace...until your dog gets stolen, someone decides to cook meth next door, or the school board votes on a motion to murder you. Sandford's beloved sleuth takes on three intertwining mysteries in Deadline, a fun and intriguing addition to the Virgil Flowers series.
In the ninth installment of New York Times best-selling author Sheldon Siegel's iconic San Francisco series, ex-spouses Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez have come a long way from their days as small-time defense attorneys. No longer working in a converted martial arts studio on the earthy side of Mission Street. Rosie is now San Francisco's Public Defender, and Mike is the head of the Felony Division. Their daughter is in college. Their son is in middle school. For the first time in years, there is a semblance of order in their lives. It doesn't last long.
Dr. Morton Handler practiced a strange brand of psychiatry. Among his specialties were fraud, extortion, and sexual manipulation. Handler paid for his sins when he was brutally murdered in his luxurious Pacific Palisades apartment. The police have no leads, but they do have one possible witness: seven-year-old Melody Quinn.
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 veterans' 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 only he could find out what connectsthem all...and then he does, and he's almost sorry he did. Because if it's true, then thiswhole thing leads down a lot more trails than he thought it did - and every one of them is booby-trapped.
Filled with the audacious plotting, rich characters, and brilliant suspense, this is Sandford writing at the topof his game.
"That F*!#ing Flowers!" We've all heard that exclamation coming from Lucas Davenport, his boss Rosemarie Roux, and other working compatriots of Virgil Flowers over the years of John Sandford's novels, but we've never really known why. Now, we know! Virgil Flowers is brought forward in this Sandford book and is really given some character. The story line has lots of twists and turns-- CIA involvement in a 30-plus year Viet Nam War-era coverup that extends into a current-day Minnesota killing spree-- and like his boss Lucas Davenport in his Porsche, Virgil drives his old pickup truck through them all, getting shot at the whole time. Flowers is an amazing investigator-- a little crazy, perhaps, or maybe just "unconventional"-- but with an uncanny ability to figure out the "who dunit" of the crimes while on one of his well-known fishing trips. Muskie and Northern Pike fishing will never be the same... Virgil Flowers really comes out as a "fleshed-in" character-- more than just an honorable mention in a Lucas Davenport story. A great "listen"-- I loved it!
9 of 9 people found this review helpful
What made the experience of listening to Heat Lightning the most enjoyable?
John Sandford is great at description. His characters are real-bad habits and not always tightly wrapped! He makes you "see" an area that he clearly loves and he tells a good story. I like all of his books but especially the Virgil Flowers series! I love series with interesting characters that make you want to read more about them. You can't go wrong with a book by John Sandford.
Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?
Not "edge of my seat" but certainly in it until the story was finished.
What about Eric Conger’s performance did you like?
Narrators can make or break a good audiobook. Eric is a very good narrator. He is perfect for this series and I enjoy the sound of his voice.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
No, I can't say that. I just liked the whole thing which I think is more important.
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Less graphic description of torture before victims were killed.
What do you think your next listen will be?
Nothing by this author, that's for sure!
Did Eric Conger do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
No, not at all. He had a strange intonation in his reading that was distracting and irritating.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Revulsion.
Any additional comments?
I couldn't even finish this. I got less than eighth of the way through and couldn't bear it anymore. Neither the reading nor the content. A credit wasted...
Love to read or listen to this author. Can't wait until the his next book hits the market.