Vapor Trail

By: Chuck Logan

Narrated by: J.K. Simmons

Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

It's hot.

The snow is gone, the ice is gone, winter is long forgotten. When the phone wakes Phil Broker at five a.m. on the morning of his forty-eighth birthday, six months removed from his surviving a January cold snap that (in Absolute Zero) nearly claimed his life, it's already ninety-two degrees. It's July, and Stillwater, Minnesota, finds itself in the middle of the worst heat wave in local memory.

The news on the phone has nothing to do with birthday wishes, however. A year earlier, an angry citizen served as jury and executioner by pumping twelve bullets into a known pedophile, and in the process became a folk hero, dubbed "the Saint" by locals. Despite protests to the contrary, everybody in the community (including the police department)felt justice had been served, and the investigation quickly went cold. Ever since, strong rumors have circulated that the real reason the Saint hasn't been apprehended is that he, or she, is a cop.

Now a priest has been murdered, and a clue left at the scene suggests it to be the work of a vigilante. Was the priest a sexual predator? Could the Saint be back? For the members of the Stillwater law-enforcement community, it means that a killer could be in their midst.

The caller begs for Broker's help: as an outsider, Broker can be counted on to follow the investigation wherever it leads. But as the temperature mounts and new victims begin surfacing, Broker wonders if he's been set up to catch a bullet for a scandal that threatens to bring down the Stillwater Police Department.

©2003 Chuck Logan (P)2003 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Logan crafts his plot with vigor and clarity, setting up what initially looks like a predictable finale, then pulling the rug out from under readers. With rich characters, a voice of unhesitating assurance, and a plot refreshingly free of gimmickry, Logan once again delivers good old-fashioned storytelling." (Publishers Weekly)

Simply cannot finish this junk!

What disappointed you about Vapor Trail?

I should have listened to the one negative review here instead of all the other 4 and 5 star reviews. Were they all listening to the same book? I cannot even try to explain how soporifically this book is written. All I know is I'm half way through and thanks to Audible I will get my money back!