Good work by Sandford. Moves along and is faster paced than the latest of the Prey series. Virgil Flowers is a good character with Davenport as his mentor. ( )

I've read most of the Prey book and really liked the way John Sandford has introduced a new series from the old one - I liked reading the bits with Davenport and Weather in them - like old friends! The story itself was good and I liked Virgil as a main character. It was an fast-paced and fun read. ( )

Good book. I prefer books with Lucas Davenport as the main character.

Excellent; fast moving, lots of suprises ( )

This book is for all those who are getting tired of Lucas Davenport and his domesticated boring ways and who are looking for a tough rugged cop to cheer for again. The fantastically named Virgil Flowers premiere appearance in "Dark Side Of The Moon" was depressingly boring which was ominously bad so I approached this book nervously. But ten pages in, I knew I was onto a winner and I was hooked to the very end.

This book reminded me a lot of the early Prey books, when Davenport was unmarried, a bit reckless and a skirt chaser. Flowers is nowhere near the thug that Davenport was (he goes to bed thinking about God!) but nevertheless, this book was packed full of action and there was never a dull moment to be had.

The plot is that a group of men who served in the US Special Forces in Vietnam are being targeted for execution by an assassin. One by one, they are being killed and no-one knows the reason (except the victims and they aren't in the mood to talk to the police). As they are each gunned down, the killer puts a lemon in their mouth which is what the Vietcong do when they kill their enemies. As each one dies, the surviving members of the group get even more scared and paranoid about their personal security and safety.

Obviously the state police are investigating the murders and Davenport sends in Virgil Flowers to take over the investigation. He quickly focuses on a pacifist university professor with strong ties to Vietnam who may or may not be a CIA agent, the professor's daughter who may or may not be falling in love with Flowers, two Vietnamese businessmen who may or may not be Vietnamese Intelligence agents, a Vietnamese Consular official who may or may not be the head of his intelligence service in the US and several former Vietnam soldiers who may know why these former special forces soldiers are being targeted.

But the bodies are stacking up fast, the assassin is relentless and he has a knack for knowing where Flowers is at all times - and he is now coming for Virgil Flowers - because Flowers is starting to learn too much and certain highly placed people have ordered his removal.

If you like the Prey books, you'll definately love this book. It has Davenport (and his annoying wife and family), Rose-Marie Roux, the Minnesota Governor, Davenport's cop colleagues and all the other familar faces - and a brilliant story. ( )