Flowers is only in his late thirties, but he's been around the block a few times, 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 last week.

The more Flowers works the murders, the more convinced he is that someone's keeping a list, and that the list could have a lot more names on it. If he could only find out what connects them all . . . and then he does, and he's almost sorry he did. Because if it's true, then this whole thing leads down a lot more trails than he thought and every one of them is booby-trapped.

Heat Lightning is the second book in The Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford. This thrilling crime novel follows the adventures of Virgil Flowers, a detective who is known for his unconventional methods and sharp intuition. In Heat Lightning, Virgil is called to investigate a series of murders in a small town that is being plagued by a heatwave. As he delves deeper into the case, he uncovers a web of secrets and a dangerous killer who will stop at nothing to cover their tracks. With its gripping plot and compelling characters, Heat Lightning is a must-read for fans of crime fiction.