Dark of the Moon (Virgil Flowers Series #1)

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0641987676 Author Signed Hardcover. 2007 NY: Penguin First edition, first printing, mint, new/unread in a flawless dustjacket, signed by the author. Each dust jacket is ... protected in an acid-free archival quality acetate cover. Read more Show Less

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Overview

Virgil Flowers-tall, lean, late thirties, three times divorced, hair way too long for a cop's-had 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 had brought him into the BCA, promising him, "We'll only give you the hard stuff."

He'd been doing the hard stuff for three years now-but never anything like this. In the small town of Bluestem, where everybody knows everybody, a house way up on a ridge explodes into flames, its owner, a man named Judd, trapped inside. There is a lot of reason to hate him, Flowers discovers. Years ago, Judd had ...

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Overview

Virgil Flowers-tall, lean, late thirties, three times divorced, hair way too long for a cop's-had 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 had brought him into the BCA, promising him, "We'll only give you the hard stuff."

He'd been doing the hard stuff for three years now-but never anything like this. In the small town of Bluestem, where everybody knows everybody, a house way up on a ridge explodes into flames, its owner, a man named Judd, trapped inside. There is a lot of reason to hate him, Flowers discovers. Years ago, Judd had perpetrated a scam that'd driven a lot of local farmers out of business, even to suicide. There are also rumors swirling around: of some very dicey activities with other men's wives; of involvement with some nutcase religious guy; of an out-of-wedlock daughter. In fact, Flowers concludes, you'd probably have to dig around to find a person who didn't despise him.

And that wasn't even the reason Flowers had come to Bluestem. Three weeks before, there'd been another murder-two, in fact-a doctor and his wife, the doctor found propped up in his backyard, both eyes shot out. There hadn't been a murder in Bluestem in years-and now, suddenly, three? Flowers knows two things: This wasn't a coincidence, and this had to be personal.

But just how personal is something even he doesn't realize, and may not find out until too late. Because the next victim . . .may be himself.

Filled with the audacious plotting, rich characters, and brilliant suspense that have always made his books "compulsively readable" (Los Angeles Times), Dark of the Moon is vintage Sandford, further proof that he "is in a class of his own" (The Orlando Sentinel).

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble
Somebody is killing old people in Bluestem, Minnesota. When star Minnesota cop Virgil Flowers arrives in town to investigate the murder of an elderly couple, the local police chief invites him to help search for the slayer of another aged person, Bill Judd. Aware that octogenarians aren't the usual targets of serial killers, Lucas Davenport's ace assistant begins probing for this strange geriatric backlash. It doesn't take him long to realize that the friendly little town conceals some big, ugly secrets.
Publishers Weekly

What a pleasure to find a novel with an upbeat hero paired with a reader who is more interested in telling a story well than in demonstrating the outer limits of his vocal range. Far from the usual cynical, borderline-depressed investigator, Virgil Flowers is a likable, hang-loose sort of sleuth who enjoys life and seems to relish handling the "hard stuff" for his boss, Lucas Davenport (Sandford's Preyseries hero makes a brief cameo). Flowers's assignment is to investigate several gruesome murders in a small town. Unlike the harder-edged Preyseries, Moonis more of an entertainment, allowing Flowers to supplement his determined quest for justice with witty conversation and several romantic interludes. Conger matches the lighter moods with a mellow, almost mesmerizing matter-of-fact delivery, adjusting his vocal range just slightly to differentiate speakers. But when the action demands it-such as the grim opening murder scene or the suspenseful storming of the cult leader's encampment-Conger's voice takes on a properly hardboiled intensity. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Reviews, July 23). (Oct.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews
From The Critics
Virgil Flowers, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator introduced as a sidekick to Lucas Davenport in Invisible Prey (2007), gets a death-enriched case of his own. In a little town like Bluestem, everybody knows everybody's business, and what everybody knows these days is that everybody's getting killed. The flagship victim is Bill Judd, 82, the wealthy lawyer/banker/trader who made enemies right and left with a Jerusalem artichoke pyramid scheme 20 years ago. He's an obvious target for the methodical arsonist who burned down his house with him inside. But the other victims are much more inoffensive: ancient physician Russell Gleason and his wife, retired Stark County sheriff Roman Schmidt and his wife. The current sheriff, Jimmy Stryker, doesn't mind working with a BCA type like Virgil. He doesn't even mind the sidelong gazes Virgil casts at his recently divorced sister, Joan Carson. And he brings up his share of promising ideas about the case, which involves money laundering, a meth lab, a surprise claimant to the Judd estate and a truly nasty man of the cloth. But could he be the target of his own manhunt? The advanced age of the victims makes Virgil think that the crimes could have deep roots-maybe as deep as a "man on the moon" party Bill Judd hosted back in 1969. Sadly, it seems to take another 38 years for Virgil and company, making endless rounds of Bluestem to ask really obvious questions, to close the case. The pace is so much slower than when Davenport is in charge that you may wonder if Virgil, a perfectly reasonable hero, is under sedation. It's not until the Acknowledgments, which are deferred till the end of the story, that this last and deepest mysteryis cleared up. A high-fatality, low-octane procedural that has its points but lacks the wow factor. Bring back Lucas Davenport. First printing of 500,000

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780641987670
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
  • Publication date: 10/2/2007
  • Pages: 384
  • Series: Virgil Flowers Series, #1
  • Product dimensions: 5.90 (w) x 9.10 (h) x 1.40 (d)

Meet the Author

John Sandford
John Sandford
John Sandford began his career as a journalist using his real name, John Camp. He won a Pulitzer for feature writing before turning to mystery-suspense novels, simultaneously releasing two “first” novels under two different names in 1989.

Biography

John Camp (better known to readers as thrillmeister John Sandford) began his career as a journalist -- first as a crime reporter for The Miami Herald, then as a general reporter, columnist, and features writer for the Saint Paul Pioneer Press & Dispatch. In 1986, he won the Pulitzer Prize for "Life on the Land: An American Farm Family," a five-part series examining the farm crisis in southwest Minnesota.

Camp's interests turned to fiction in the mid-1980s, and he took time off to write two novels which were ultimately accepted for publication: The Fool's Run, a techno-thriller featuring a complex con man known as Kidd, and Rules of Prey, a police procedural starring maverick Minneapolis detective Lucas Davenport. When both books were scheduled (by different publishers) to be released three months apart in 1989, Camp was persuaded to adopt a pseudonym for one. He chose his paternal grandmother's maiden name, "Sandford" for Rules of Prey, and the nom de plume has remained attached to all the books in the series.

Less Dick Tracy than Dirty Harry, hard-boiled, iconoclastic Lucas Davenport is a composite of the cops Camp met while working the crime beat as a reporter. Intelligent and street smart, Davenport is also manipulative and not above bending the rules to get results. And although he has mellowed over time (something of a skirt chaser in his youth, he is now married with children), he remains one of the edgiest and most popular protagonists in detective fiction. Fans keep returning to the Prey books for their intelligently hatched plots, high-octane pacing, and deft, fully human characterizations.

From time to time, Camp strays from his bestselling series for standalone thrillers (The Night Crew, Dead Watch), and in 2007 he introduced a new series hero, Virgil Flowers of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, who debuted in Dark of the Moon. Although he is no longer a full-time journalist, Camp contributes occasional articles and book reviews to various publications. He is also a passionate archaeologist and has worked at a number of digs, mainly in Israel.

Good To Know

Don't confuse John Sandford with John Sanford -- it's one of Sandford's pet peeves. Sanford (without the "d") is a Christian philosophy writer.

The Sandford pseudonym has caused a few problems for Camp in the past. At an airport once, his ticket was reserved under Sandford, while all of his identification, of course, had the name Camp. Luckily, he had one of his novels with him, and thanks to the book jacket photo, he was able to convince airport security to let him on the plane.

The books in Camp's less successful Kidd series (The Fool's Run, The Empress File, The Devil's Code, and The Hanged Man's Song) have been re-released under the Sandford pseudonym.

    1. Also Known As:
      John Roswell Camp
    2. Hometown:
      St. Paul, Minnesota
    1. Date of Birth:
      February 23, 1944
    2. Place of Birth:
      Cedar Rapids, Iowa
    1. Education:
      State University of Iowa, Iowa City: B.A., American History; M.A., Journalism
    2. Website:
      http://www.johnsandford.org
Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4
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  • Posted October 16, 2008

    more from this reviewer

    Best of John Sanford

    I have always been first in line for all Lucas Davenport books for a long time. I haven't read the plot outline on the jacket for the last 15 books, just take for granted it will live up to my expectations. When I realized this book was about another character, Virgil Flowers, I didn't hesitate but jumped right in. Of course this novel proved to be another score for Sanford. I really like Virgil and his cool, laidback approach to law inforcement. Can hardly wait for the next in this exciting series.

    5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 25, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I loved this book!

    I thought that this book was worth the read. I found it thoroughly entertaining and looked forward to reading the whole thing. I am excited to finish the series!

    3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 9, 2008

    more from this reviewer

    A reviewer

    To look at him nobody would believe that Virgil Flowers is a police officer one of Lucas Davenport¿s best (see INVISIBLE PREY for the case in which Flowers assisted the Minnesota Bureau of Crime Apprehension Chief). He wears casual clothing, has long hair, looks younger than his years and has a breezy amiable manner which enables him to make friends easily. He is on his way to Bluestem, Minnesota to investigate the deaths of the octogenarian Gleasons, who apparently knew their killer.----------------- As he enters the town he sees a house belonging to the recently deceased wealthy Bill Judd. The sheriff asks Virgil to help him with the Judd murder another eighty-something year old person killed in a horrendous fashion. Judd scammed the townsfolk with a pyramid scheme making millions so he had plenty of enemies. In a town where murder almost never occurs three in a short period of time doesn¿t strike Flowers as coincidental especially the age of the victims. When another couple also in their eighties is killed, Flower is certain that there is a methodical organized sociopath killer hiding in plain sight. During the course of his investigations he discovers a meth lab, a mole in the police department, and a church dealing with criminals. For one independent police officer he finds himself involved with a serial killer, townsfolk, the sheriff, a lover and the dead all lead him to the killer if he is clever to find the link.-------------- John Sandford¿s latest protagonist is an adrenaline junkie living on the edge but within the rules of an excellent police officer. Flower deserves his own series because his style and methods is as good as his boss Lucas Davenport even though there are ying and yang. There are many different mysteries that tie into the storyline and they are easy to follow although the reader will be perplexed until the very last page of a very fine and exciting police procedural.----------- Harriet Klausner

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 4, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Dark of the Moon by John Sandford

    You cannot go wrong when you choose any of John Sandford's books. His 'Prey' series is without a doubt one of the best crime novel series I have ever read. Dark of the Moon presents Virgil Flowers as the pursuing investigator and is equally as riveting in character development, plot and edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting moments. I highly recommend this book as a must read.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 1, 2009

    Dark of the moon

    Very suspenseful..held my interest all throught the booki

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 23, 2008

    New Detective Shines

    I really liked the unusual setting of this mystery: a small town in southeastern Minnesota. Virgil Flowers is the type of anti-hero detective who's hard not to like. A stunning description of a shootout at a rural drug lord's house is definitely a highlight.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 14, 2012

    5 stars - highly recommended

    This is a book by an author who was very highly recommended to me. I love mysteries and especially ones with recurring characters. I'm glad I started with the Virgil Flowers series #1, and will continue to read more!
    It's an easy read, and entertaining to boot.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 7, 2011

    one in a series -

    i love series - love mysteries am reading Sandford series now and enjoy it -
    main character is very smart and clever -

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  • Posted November 25, 2011

    Awesome Book, Great Beginning for New Series!!

    A Hard book to put down!!

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  • Posted October 14, 2011

    Read this

    The first of too few books about Virgil Flowers. I love all of them and wish that I could meet someone like him in real life. He is such a well thought out character that it seems like he's real.

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  • Posted August 7, 2011

    more from this reviewer

    very captivating!!!!

    what a great author, i love his other series & im glad to have a new series to start!!! must read!!!

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  • Posted May 17, 2011

    A Great New Series, Great New Hero

    A new series and you must read each in order! The cop, Virgil Flowers, is a hippie at heart with a badge, gun, and too many ex-wifes.

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  • Posted March 17, 2011

    pppptttt!

    unable to open, very disappointed

    0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 20, 2011

    Yawn.

    Definitely is not the Prey series. I had very high hopes and yet, it was my first nook book I archived without having read.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted July 18, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    Dark of the Moon, will keep you up late reading.

    As a series of murders shocks the small town of Bluestem, Minnesota. Virgil Flowers of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, who is sent in to investigate the murder of Dr. Gleason and his wife, soon realizes the murders are likely connected and almost everyone in this small town could be a suspect. Very action packed, page turner.

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  • Posted February 13, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    An engaging mystery

    An engaging thriller. It follows Virgil Flowers of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension while trying to solve a series of murders in the rural heartland of America.

    It's hard to keep secrets in a small town, but much harder to dig through the myriad truths and rumors that develop in such an intimate group.

    Evidence of Bill Judd senior's murder is found in the ruins of his recently burned mansion. Many people wanted him dead, but who enough to murder him? Virgil, a small town guy himself, works through the maze while being a very visible figure to the locals. Will he be able to solve the mystery before anyone else dies?

    John Sandford has an engaging, easy to read style that allows you to become quickly locked in to the mystery. He personalizes the quirky characters and helps to bring them alive. He dosen't try to reinvent the genre. But he engages the reader while drawing a picture of small town life.

    It was an entertaining read. What more could I ask for?

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  • Posted January 25, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    John Sandford has a new fan!

    Dark of the Mood is an very well written story. The characters are well developed and the plot twists and turns. Great ending. I will continue to read the series.

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  • Posted December 5, 2009

    Great Sandford Novel

    As usual John Sandford writes another detective story. Glad to see he's developing Virgil with a tiny smattering of Davenport. Great plot, fast read. Loved it.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 26, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    A Great Read!

    This is the kind of thrill read you want for a cold night, with a warm drink. Fireplace preferred. Great fun.

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  • Posted July 16, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Finding the Moon

    This was pretty good, I've read several of his other books. This one was good, too. Now I want to find the first one.

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