Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
41st out of 490 books
—
185 voters
Heat Lightning (Virgil Flowers #2)
John Sandford's introduction of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers in Dark of the Moon was an immediate critical and popular success: "An immensely satisfying tale by a writer at the top of his game" (The Providence Journal); "an idiosyncratic, thoroughly ingratiating hero" (Booklist); "Sandford makes Flowers such an interesting character...more
Hardcover, 388 pages
Published
September 23rd 2008
by Putnam Adult
(first published 2007)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Of course, four stars in the brain candy category is not the same as four stars in the great literature category, but I really enjoyed the ride while reading this book.
This is the second in Sandford's new Virgil Flowers series, and I liked it more than the first one, Dark of the Moon. Good plot with lots of little kinks and curves, and Sandford's trademark guy humor. Also many familiar characters carried over from the Lucas Davenport series, so I felt I was hangin' with my old friends.
I especi...more
This is the second in Sandford's new Virgil Flowers series, and I liked it more than the first one, Dark of the Moon. Good plot with lots of little kinks and curves, and Sandford's trademark guy humor. Also many familiar characters carried over from the Lucas Davenport series, so I felt I was hangin' with my old friends.
I especi...more
Here is yet another example of a foot-flavored experience, meaning: after years of scoffing at every Sandford book that I saw on the shelf ("good grief, how many ways can you use the word 'Prey' in a title?"), I got curious. Oh wait, peeps at Mulholland Books think he's entertaining? Maybe he's actually pretty good...
The kicker was coming across a nice copy of the second Virgil Flowers book on one of those tables that you see on the sidewalks of New York. Even better, this was the day before a l...more
The kicker was coming across a nice copy of the second Virgil Flowers book on one of those tables that you see on the sidewalks of New York. Even better, this was the day before a l...more
6 likes · like · see review
This is the second book by John Sandford to feature Virgil (f***ing) Flowers, a state investigator that works for super cop Lucas Davenport. Davenport is the cop featured in Sandford's very real, character driven, Prey series. Lucas does show up in these books, but he is a minor character.
Heat Lightning was a little too predictable and uneventful than the first Virgil Flowers book Dark of the Moon but still very entertaining. I guess what I have always liked about Sandford's Prey series, and i...more
Heat Lightning was a little too predictable and uneventful than the first Virgil Flowers book Dark of the Moon but still very entertaining. I guess what I have always liked about Sandford's Prey series, and i...more
2 likes · like · see review
I enjoyed this a lot, but as a guilty pleasure I can’t quite stretch it to 4 stars. Our hero with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Virgil Flowers, is wonderfully likeable, genuinely happiest when he can fish or write about fishing, is prone to fall in love a lot, loves dancing, and always wears a t-shirts featuring old rock bands. He harnesses his charm and affability to solve his cases by drawing clues out of conversations. Here is case is a growing set of serial murders of elderl...more
5 likes · like · see review
This is an entertaining book but there is one scene in the book that is unintentionally hilariously funny. I am not being critical of the book as a whole but this is too funny not to mention. The author spends a great deal of time during the story trying to convince you that our hero Virgil Flowers is this macho cool guy which is fine because most mystery writers do that. It is just part of the genre. Sanford makes a big deal out of the fact Virgil wears an earring, has long blond hair, is a tou...more
Apr 24, 2011
Kathleen Hagen
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011-audio-books,
2011-mysteries
Heat Lightning, by John Sanford, A-minus, narrated by Eric Conger, produced by Penguin Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
This is the second in the Virgil Flowers series-an offshoot from the Lucas Davenport series, involving the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, BCA. Virgil, in bed with his former wife, gets a call from Lucas indicating that there is a body near the Veterans Memorial in Stillwater. It shares the same staging as another body found earlier in New Ulm. The body was shot tw...more
This is the second in the Virgil Flowers series-an offshoot from the Lucas Davenport series, involving the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, BCA. Virgil, in bed with his former wife, gets a call from Lucas indicating that there is a body near the Veterans Memorial in Stillwater. It shares the same staging as another body found earlier in New Ulm. The body was shot tw...more
Dec 30, 2008
Fara
added it
I do love Virgil - he's growing me more everytime I read him. Like Robert Parker, Sandford has created a new character (like Parker's Jesse Stone) but put him in a familiar setting and with familiar back-up characters. In Virgil's case, he's using Lucas Davenport's office so he's got Sandy the assistant, Carol the secretary, and several of Lucas' other secondary people at hand. Very well done!
2 likes · like · see review
I don't know, four stars may be a bit generous for this one (oh, for a half-star option!), but it is an entertaining thriller. Sandford knows what he's doing, and this one offers up his trademark brand of humour and tough-guy talk, though to his credit he does try to make Virgil Flowers a different sort of hero--religious to a degree, not keen on violence though capable of it when necessary, but likely to feel guilty about it afterwards (though the vintage rock t-shit etish seems a bit affected)...more
Someone is killing Vietnam War Veterans. Each time, the deceased man is left at a veteran's memorial with a lemon in his mouth. After two of these murders, it is clear to Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator, Lucas Davenport, that there is a connection. Unable to devote his own skills, (Davenport is featured in Sandford's "Prey" series), he calls in the only man who can clean up the mess. It is time to call in the man he hired to solve "the hard stuff".
Enter Virgil Flowers, the...more
Enter Virgil Flowers, the...more
2 likes · like · see review
Loved it! With "Heat Lightning" being the second in the Virgil Flowers series, I thought it was even better than the first. The story starts with the Vietnam War. Men who were over there, start getting killed off back in Minnesota years after the war ended. Then enters Virgil Flowers. As a member of the BCA, he is led on a wild goose chase in trying to find the killer or killers. The murders are not normal either. The men who are being killed are being placed after death in war memorials through...more
How does John Sandford crank out so many books (is this his second or third this year?) and stay so consistently good? Lucas "Prey" Davenport is cool, but I'm loving this new Virgil Flowers series, too. A cop with surfer hair, obscure rock t-shirts, and a sideline writing fishing articles? Awesome. This book had a little to much DRIVING AROUND for my taste -- I find chase scenes in books really dull -- but the plot was intriguing and twisty.
Okay, I've only given "Heat Lightning" 2-1/2 stars because after getting through "Dark of the Moon" I was expecting a much better pace, story, and little nuances now that the reader has become familiar with the main protaganist. But alas....nope.
Virgil Flowers is called in on a case after a couple of people have been assassinated (after interogation) and have had lemons stuck in their mouths. Nothing seems to be in common with them, but of course everything does have a reason.
Ends up coming dow...more
Virgil Flowers is called in on a case after a couple of people have been assassinated (after interogation) and have had lemons stuck in their mouths. Nothing seems to be in common with them, but of course everything does have a reason.
Ends up coming dow...more
A complicated mystery that kept me reading and thinking. But first I have to say that I can't help but love Virgil. He's such a macho hero who is definitely not someone a woman should marry. He's great at solving a mystery but, with three marriages in his history, he needs to stay single. Even so, women do love him, and the feeling is mutual.
Virgil is a detective with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. His boss, Lucas, (from the Prey series) assigned Virgil a case where men in their...more
Virgil is a detective with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. His boss, Lucas, (from the Prey series) assigned Virgil a case where men in their...more
This is book two in the Virgil Flowers series.
The wry humor, no-nonsense approach Virgil takes to solving these murders is refreshing. Virgil loves a pretty ass, he likes his hard rock/alternative rock t-shirts, and he thinks outside of the box. I like his character. It's unconventional, rough around the edges, yet he's not without compassion.
There is also a local appeal to these books - this one starts out with Virgil flying down I94 to I646 to Hwy 36 into Stillwater, MN. I know these roads, I...more
The wry humor, no-nonsense approach Virgil takes to solving these murders is refreshing. Virgil loves a pretty ass, he likes his hard rock/alternative rock t-shirts, and he thinks outside of the box. I like his character. It's unconventional, rough around the edges, yet he's not without compassion.
There is also a local appeal to these books - this one starts out with Virgil flying down I94 to I646 to Hwy 36 into Stillwater, MN. I know these roads, I...more
Definite summer beach read. Sanford novels usually center on davenport. This one is about one of his up and comers, Virgil flowers. Like davenport when he was younger, Flowers can't keep it in his pants because he falls in love with just about every woman he encounters. (this is to make women feel better, I suppose)
Anyway, Flowers is investigating a series of murders where the men are dumped at Vietnam vet memorials with a lemon in their mouths. This leads him back to a decades old crime. Pretty...more
Anyway, Flowers is investigating a series of murders where the men are dumped at Vietnam vet memorials with a lemon in their mouths. This leads him back to a decades old crime. Pretty...more
Oct 07, 2008
Jeffrey
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
cop and thriller fans
Shelves:
mystery,
read-in-2008
Virgil Flowers, the main character of John Sandford's latest non prey book is some king od detective and this novel about the killing of various men in Minnesota is a pure adrenelan rush, with enough action to satisfy any fan.
The only quibble I have is the fact that Lucas Davenport, Sandford's other major character has to be involved, but its a minor point.
A great read.
The only quibble I have is the fact that Lucas Davenport, Sandford's other major character has to be involved, but its a minor point.
A great read.
Heat Lightning is the second book of the Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford. This time around Virgil is assigned to the case of 2 men murdered in separate incidents and left at Vietnam War Memorials - each with a lemon stuck in his mouth. Virgil's investigation leads him to a connection between those two men and four others involved in a theft and murder in Vietnam in 1975. As time passes and three more of those men are murdered, Virgil finally solves the case, and a shootout ensues. All in...more
In John Sandford’s second in the series, Virgil Flowers of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension finds himself wrapped up in an intricate assassination plot that has its roots in the Vietnam War. Seeking revenge for atrocities committed just before the fall of Saigon, the hit team is systematically torturing and executing Minnesotans involved in the crimes of 1975.
As the bodies pile up, symbolically displayed at local war memorials, Virgil scrambles to untangle the web of lies, deceit, a...more
As the bodies pile up, symbolically displayed at local war memorials, Virgil scrambles to untangle the web of lies, deceit, a...more
Exactly what I sought - an entertaining read with out requiring too many brain cells .. a decompression book, evening reading, page turner, "beach" book, etc.
Mr. Sandford has quite a cast to weave through this character's unique cases. Fun, not totally predictable (although I had a pretty good, correct, guess with too much left), yet the way he ties it up is pleasing- like sitting down with an old friend and knowing what you are going to get - complete with the comfort that comes from that cert...more
Mr. Sandford has quite a cast to weave through this character's unique cases. Fun, not totally predictable (although I had a pretty good, correct, guess with too much left), yet the way he ties it up is pleasing- like sitting down with an old friend and knowing what you are going to get - complete with the comfort that comes from that cert...more
I'm a John Sandford fan. However, here in a while I've felt like Mr. Sandford was almost mailing it in. His books were good but they weren't great. Heat Lightning isn't great but it's a lot better. It has a very good plot line and I didn't figure out the killer until towards the end. It keeps you twisting and turning trying to discover what was next. This is the second book in the Virgil Flowers series, but this could be a standalone book.
You find out a little more about Virgil Flowers, the mai...more
You find out a little more about Virgil Flowers, the mai...more
having worn out his principle series hero, lucas davenport, this is the second of sandford's book to feature virgil flowers (with a cameo by davenport). the first was not all that successful. this one is much better.
i'll read the next one when it comes out.
i'll read the next one when it comes out.
1 like · like · see review
I said in my review of Dark Of The Moon that I hesitated to start a new series because I didn't know if I would 'connect' with the character. I also said I liked that book and would read more.
This second entry in the series is the equal of the first if not a tad better. Flowers is a little more fleshed out here, as he should be in a second book, a trait I hope Sandford continues. If his Lucas Davenport series is any indicator, he will.
This is a serial killer story with the standard 'signature' t...more
This second entry in the series is the equal of the first if not a tad better. Flowers is a little more fleshed out here, as he should be in a second book, a trait I hope Sandford continues. If his Lucas Davenport series is any indicator, he will.
This is a serial killer story with the standard 'signature' t...more
We are all more used to John Sandford's main character, Lucas Davenport. This book stars Virgil Flowers, who works under Davenport. Virgil is running an investigation of serial deaths of men who may have been Vietnam vets. One by one, the bodies of these men are found at veterans' memorials with a lemon in their mouths. Rumour has it that this was a method used in Vietnam to keep victims silent. Virgil is convinced that there is a list of names of men to be killed by the same method and goes to...more
Having married off Lucas Davenport in the Prey series, Sandord has no character to engage is sexual peccadillos, so he has a new series and a new detective. Virgil Flowers is a terrible name, and the character is charmless. A mystery with its origins in Vietnam could have been solved on p. 5 if Flowers had done what any detective would do and check out people's identities. But there would then be no reason for this book, and that would not be such a bad thing. Every 20 or 30 pages, Virgil talks...more
After reading the End of Your Life Book Club I needed something lighter to read and this author and character hit the spot. Virgil Flowers from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is back investigating a "contract type" series of murders against a group of seemly unconnected Vietnam veterans. Using his surfer boy good looks and affable charms he slowly begins to uncover why this group of men are being murdered and placed at Vietnam Memorial sites with a lemon stuffed into their mouths....more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A grand murder mystery. Minnesota BCA are trying to find what connects a string of murders where the victim is found with a lemon in his mouth. It turns out that all of the victims had been involved in stealing equipment at the end of the Vietnam War. When the equipment was loaded, one of the cohort, had murdered a house full of Vietnamese and raped one of the women. Now, the Vietnamese have learned a few of the names and are out for revenge. Unfortunately, the police aren't fighting just the Vi...more
I haven't read any of the other Virgil Flowers mysteries, but this was enjoyable enough. The main character is funny and entertaining, but there's a certain hollowness to a character when they have a real passion -- for Virgil it's rock band tee shirts and a penchant for fishing. C.f. The Big Over Easy for a detailed discussion of the character-through-quirk trope. It's an interesting choice to give us the killer's perspective for part of the time, particularly since the story didn't really need...more
I started to read John Sandford's books when I lived up in St. Paul, mainly because I am interested in seeing places I've been to in the books I read, but after my first experience in Davenportlandia, I was hooked.
Virgil Flowers is a more developed character than Lucas Davenport. He is a preacher's son from Marshall Minnesota, and has the best clearance rate in the BCA (Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension). He often hauls his fishing boat along to crimes scenes scattered throughout the...more
Virgil Flowers is a more developed character than Lucas Davenport. He is a preacher's son from Marshall Minnesota, and has the best clearance rate in the BCA (Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension). He often hauls his fishing boat along to crimes scenes scattered throughout the...more
Review Heat Lightning
I've read many of the Prey series and was very impressed with John Sandfords excellent characters and mystery plots. When I saw he also had a series with a new character (cop) called Virgil Flowers I was excited to read it.
The story was interesting with real life characters but no-one that was either unique or that wasn't a stereotype. The flow was smooth and easy to read but offered nothing that wasn't predictable or made it hard to put down. Heat Lightning offered nothing...more
I've read many of the Prey series and was very impressed with John Sandfords excellent characters and mystery plots. When I saw he also had a series with a new character (cop) called Virgil Flowers I was excited to read it.
The story was interesting with real life characters but no-one that was either unique or that wasn't a stereotype. The flow was smooth and easy to read but offered nothing that wasn't predictable or made it hard to put down. Heat Lightning offered nothing...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
John Sandford was born John Camp on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. He then spent four years at the University of Iowa, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966. In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. He was in th...more
More about John Sandford...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Jul 16, 2012 12:57pm