Heat Lightning (Virgil Flowers Series #2) Book

"When the going gets tough, try to unload it on that fuckin' Flowers."

This philosophy is put into practice when several men are murdered and the bodies are left prominently displayed on various veteran's memorials with lemons in their mouths. With Minneapolis about to host the Republican National Convention it's a bad time for a bloody murder spree. Since Lucas Davenport is wrapped up with all the convention planning he puts his man Virgil Flowers on the case. Virgil finds connections that indicate the killings are linked to Vietnam veterans, but bodies keep dropping.

I liked but didn't love the first three Virgil spin-offs from the Prey series when I originally read them, but this one gets a big boost from a reread of it. There was a lot more action than I remembered, and Virgil's laid back manner is severely tested in interesting ways by the increasing pressure to solve the crimes. I particularly liked how seeing Davenport in his role as Virgil's boss makes him seem like more of a bastard than usual.

The ending brings about some unexpected twists, and there was a lot more of the tense action and sense of momentum that Sandford is so good at delivering. All in all this another remarkably solid thriller that adds a lot to the on-going adventures of Flowers.