Heat Lightning

John Sandford's introduction of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers in Dark of the Moon was an immediate critic al 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, and this is such a good story, that you'll be up late (Richmond Times-Dispatch). But now it's Flowers who's up late. Flowers is only in his late thirties, but he's been around the block a few time s, and he doesn't think much can surprise him anymore. He's wrong. 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.