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    Storm Front
    Storm Front
    Storm Front
    Audiobook11 hours

    Storm Front

    Written by Susan May Warren

    Narrated by Cynthia Farrell

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A tornado has destroyed a small Minnesota community and among the missing are not only a group of students but PEAK Rescue team leader Chet King. Ty Remington will stop at nothing to rescue his mentor, not even when the girl he loved--and lost--walks back into his life. But Brette needs his help more than he knows, despite her stubborn determination to push him away. And when he gets a second chance, loving her just might cost him more than he can imagine. A blogger for Vortex Storm Chasers, Brette Arnold didn't expect her adventures to land her in the same place as Ty, the guy who she walked--no, ran--from over a year ago. She had her reasons--good ones. The kind that tell her that falling for him again would only lead to heartache. But Ty isn't the kind of man to give up--not on the missing students, or on her. Life and love hang in the balance in Susan May Warren's breathless story of holding on to hope during a deadly summer of storms.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateMay 1, 2018
    ISBN9781501999857
    Storm Front
    Author

    Susan May Warren

    Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling, Christy, Carol and RITA award–winning author of more than sixty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. In addition to her writing, Susan is a nationally acclaimed writing teacher and runs an academy for writers, Novel.Academy. For exciting updates on her new releases, previous books, and more, visit her website at www.susanmaywarren.com

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    Reviews for Storm Front

    4/5

    321 ratings42 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A fun romp through SE Minnesota chasing a Middle Eastern artifact that is of interest to numerous parties. JS brings in the Mossad, Hezbollah, PBS and introduces Ma Nobles, a new VF love interest. Not a lot of depth to this one until the end when. The ending pushed it to 4 stars. A good read with enough JS wise ass remarks to bring out the laughs.
    • 5/5
      Love this series and that Its here in audio! Thank you!
    • 4/5
      Virgil is on a roll. Hope he never goes away
    • 3/5
      My least favorite book so far of John Sandford's books.
    • 5/5
      Virgil Flowers is a sardonic cop for the Minnesota Crime Bureau. He finds himself up to his next in an international scandal, but barely breaks a sweat.
    • 3/5
      I found this book to sort of start out slow and with uninteresting characters, but I think a large part of that was because I was starting with the 7th book in a series. Either way, it didn't actually take very long for the plot to begin to really come together and start to get more than a little interesting and for the characters to do the same. I enjoyed this book and will probably a point to read some more in this series. Definitely an entertaining read, and it goes really fast. It's easy to get lost in.
    • 4/5
      Synopsis: Virgil, who works with Lucas Davenport occasionally, is a good ole country boy with a straw hat, levies, cowboy boots and a pick-up truck. Although he appears not too bright, he uses this affectation to go after criminals. His focus is on Ma and her 5 sons who are supposed to be selling antique barn lumber, but he suspects they are counterfeiting it. He gets a call that sends him to the airport to pick up an official with the Israeli Artifacts division who is on the trail of a pastor/professor who has stolen a treasure from a dig in Israel. This artifact throws doubt on the idea that Solomon was a Jew; it appears he may have been an Egyptian. In trying to get this back, Virgil must deal with a terrorist group, two Turkish thugs, a Mossaud agent, the daughter of the crazy professor (who is dying of cancer), a historian from Texas and a not particularly good TV ‘archeologist’, as well as Ma, all without letting anyone, including himself, get killed.Review: This was a delightful book that not only had me laughing out loud, but had a good plot with a surprisingly twisted ending. I can’t wait to read more about Virgil.
    • 4/5
      An artifact that could re-write the ancient history of King Solomon and the nation of Israel has been discovered and stolen by a Minnesota antiquities expert who is dying of cancer. Hezbollah, the Mossad and various US government agencies have an obvious interest in recovering the item, but the professor wants to sell it in order to provide for long-term care for his wife, who is demented. Virgil Flowers is chosen by the Minnesota BCA to interface with the Israeli's in particular in recovering the object.

      The characters were all individuals with their own clearly defined personalities and the plot worked. Storm Front reminds me of a Carl Hiiasen caper, containing the kind of expert dialog that Elmore Leonard wrote. I thoroughly enjoyed this funny and lighthearted romp and raced through the book, laughing aloud in spots. I enjoy John Sandford's ability to write novels of such vastly different moods. The last Virgil novel was so tragic. This one is comic.
    • 2/5
      I'm a fan of Sandford's Prey series. Storm Front falls flat on its face. There's not much suspense to make you want to continuing reading this book-which I did not. A confusing plot and characters that didn't hold my interest.
    • 3/5
      For the first half I thought Sanford had another winner on the order of Bad Blood and Shock Wave. An ancient stele is discovered during an archeological dig in Israel and immediately stolen by an American minister who has been participating in the dig. The stele, if authenticated, calls into question the biblical interpretation of Solomon, King of the Jews. The minister smuggles the stele into the United States and plans to auction it to the highest bidder. Representatives from the Hezbollah, Mossad, and Turkey, as well as two TV personalities known for their archeological discoveries are all trying to secure the stele. The price apparently is to be $3 million.Virgil is able to recover the stele half way through the book. End of story? No! Instead of spending an hour securing the stele in an evidence locker at the Mankato police station, or taking a couple of hours to drive to St. Paul and secure it in the BCA evidence locker, Virgil leaves the stone on his desk and goes to bed. It's worth millions and potentially of immense historical significance but Virgil decides to take no precautions at all.You can guess what happens. The stele is stolen and the rest of the story involves his attempts to reacquire the stele. His bonehead maneuver is not quite as bad as his cluelessness in Rough Country that resulted in the murder of an innocent man but only because no one dies as a result of his stupidity. The story recovers somewhat but the second half still has a feeling of anti-climax. Then it ends some 30 pages before Sandford stopped writing and persistent readers have to slog through a boring effort to relate what happened to several of the characters. As if we cared that much. In a final disappointment the last few pages spring a surprise that supposedly reveals the truth about the stele. The effort was boring and unconvincing.Sanford is one of my favorite writers but sometimes he is a bit lazy, takes the easy way out to forward the plot, and poor Virgil suffers. Sanford needs to take greater care in developing his plots, but his editor also needs to share the blame for some of the serious efforts that have marred the Virgil Flowers series. I'm not sorry I read Storm Front but what could have been a superior book is mediocre because of careless, lazy plotting.
    • 5/5
      Atypical Virgil Flowers mystery in that it's less bloody and more humorous than most of its predecessors. Still a great read, however.
    • 4/5
      Storm Front. A Virgil Flowers novel. John Sandford. 2013. Virgil is a favorite character of mine so it is always fun to read about him. An artifact from a site in Israel has been stolen by a professor from Minnesota. Lucas Davenport assigns Virgil to work with an Israeli archeological expert to find the artifact. In addition to working with the expert who may or may not be a Mossad agent, the other agent who shows up, several other unsavory and dangerous characters who want the relic; Virgil also has to deal with. Ma, a sexy mother of several sons, who is involved in a shady lumber deal and is also after his body.
    • 4/5
      I have never read a John Sandford novel that was not an excellent read. 'Nuff said.
    • 3/5
      I don't like to read Sanford books back to back, but I spied this in our lovely library's Quick Picks and grabbed it. I should have waited. His penchant for foul language had not settled down in my sensitive brain yet. This is one of the Virgil Flowers series and he is a great character. But the plot dealt with international elements ... a stolen stele from Israel ... an odd cast of foreign characters who were hard to keep track off ... had nothing to do with the title, etc. An okay read, I guess, but just barely.
    • 2/5
      I have been a Sanford fan for years and have read all of the Flowers novels. My gauge of a great read is how many pages I can read late at night before dozing off. Great Davenport novels have kept me up until 1 or 2 AM, reluctant to leave the story and the absorbing characters. Storm Front was a disappointment. After only a few pages I felt myself losing interest.What drives this story forward? The plot is cluttered with characters that come and go, some of them quite interesting, but I felt like an observer at a train station. I just wasn't engaged. There are potential love interests in the book, one of the most entertaining parts of the Flowers mythology, but they don't really go anywhere either.One of Sanford's strengths is his novels feel very real and un-plotted; they often take interesting turns and switch backs. There was nothing though in Storm Front that propelled me to the next chapter. I hate to say it, but I skimmed the last third of the book, worn out by the meandering tale.
    • 3/5
      I've been reading Sandford since his first Lucas Davenport novel and have loved every new book with as much interest as that first compelling read. Flowers has always been my favorite guy in the series and I have devoured every single story of his and loved it. This book was well written but the story and Virgil never find the groove in this one. Virgil goes out of character and actually starts what could be a relationship with a woman he has been investigating and is also a single mother. It just didn't read true to what we've come to know as that "f*%King Flowers." Looking forward to the next one to see the improvement.
    • 4/5
      One of my favorites starring That Fu*king Flowers.

      What I liked: The humor was front and center in Storm Front but the story was intriguing enough to keep me reading. Mr. Sandford seemed to give Virgil more life than in previous works. Virgil is at the top of his game with his insights and sneakiness in solving the Solomon Stone case. I loved all the by play and the mystery in Storm Front. I especially loved every instance Virgil poked at Davenport. I'm wondering if we'll see more of Ma or if Virgil will move on again. The ending was a big surprise.

      What I didn't like: Yeah, well I'm thinking here. There were some nuances that went over my head and I had to re-read them a few times. They were almost too subtle. Had to scramble for that one and it wasn't the writer's problem but mine.


      The last couple of the Virgil Flowers novels have not been what I expected. Storm Front more than makes up for the previous offerings. Virgil is in rare form and the mystery and tension is great.


      The hard cover price is reasonable, I guess, at $16.77 but the Kindle version is a bit steep at $11.99. If you're not a fanatic or a collector, borrow it from the library or a friend.
    • 4/5
      I've read all the Virgil Flowers books, and I have to say, I like this one most of all. It feels a bit different from the previous books, and I like this new direction. Virgil has always been an interesting and quirky character along with his smart, tough cop qualities and here we get to enjoy a few laughs from Virgil's smartass attitude and some really funny temporary (or not?) sidekicks too.
    • 4/5
      Great read. A mixture of Dan Brown and John Sandford. I enjoy that Virgil Flowers does not take himself too seriously, has a moral compass even when looking for relationships. He always touches base with Davenport (evil) and his father (good- moral guide) for guidance and walks a fine line between the two. The book's conclusion made me go back and reread the last two chapters to make sure I got it,
    • 4/5
      This review is an Early Review LibraryThing review. I really enjoyed this novel. It was a page turner and the author kept you guessing and changing your mind about his characters from the beginning to the very end. Virgil plows his way through one thought process after another and has the feeling he doesn't know where he will end up. I was very surprised as to how the story ends.
    • 4/5
      Storm Front by John Sanford is a very good story. The main character is Virgil Flowers who has appeared in a number of stories by Sanford. Flowers is a detective in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This story is about a Minnesota preacher/archaeologist who steals a relic from a dig in Israel and brings it back to Minnesota illegally. The story revolves around his attempt to sell the stele to interested parties and Flowers' attempts to capture him. There is a whole gamut of interested parties from terrorists, to spies, to treasure hunters, to the State of Israel.The story moves along fairly well and has enough twists and turns to keep you interested. The down home, easy going character can get a little old at times.
    • 4/5
      John Sanford's newest Virgil Flowers' book, Storm Front, is somewhat different than other Sanford books. I found it to be much less gruesome and more humorous; kind of refreshing! The plot of the book is centered around Virgil finding a stone brought illegally to the US from Israel and the weird characters involved. I looked forward to reading Storm Front each night but must admit not with the same mad intensity of pervious Sandford novels. Nevertheless, I would stil recommend the book to my friends. Happy reading!
    • 5/5
      John Sandford does it again! This is another Virgil Flowers winner of a novel - we very well done and kept my attention the whole way through. The pace and dialogue were wonderful, as was the story. Virgil plays the gray area of the law in a way that's both believable and entertaining. Since Lucas Davenport has settled down and become more of a family man, adding him sparingly to the plots of the Virgil books allows for more leeway to explore the rogue side of the characters and allows the main character to have more adventures. John Sandford does this well - I like Virgil a lot, he's definitely growing on me and I look forward to the next one!
    • 4/5
      Elijah Jones, a minister from a small town in Minnesota, had spent many years traveling to the Middle East to participate in archeological digs, including several in Israel. When STORM FRONT began, he was in Israel and had just found a stele. The stele, about 2000 years old, had writing in both hieroglyphics and an ancient Hebrew. Both told the story of a battle. In one, King Solomon was the hero. In the other, an Egyptian pharaoh, Siamun, was. Sandford stated: “David was not a rich and powerful king. He ran a small kingdom.” where most of the people were “rural and poor.” “Solomon suddenly has enormous riches, a huge treasury...and the Queen of Sheba comes to sleep with him.” “The insignificant kingdom had always been under the thumb of the Egyptians.” If the stele is true, the Pharoh Siamun was Solomon. It would completely change the history of Israel, raising questions about who its early settlers were and whether today’s Jews had a right to live their based on their historical ties. Sneaking out at night, he stole a car, took a cab, hired a boat, and made his way to Cyprus and back home to Minnesota, leaving a very obvious trail including some blood stains. He also took the stele with him.Elijah Jones was dying of cancer and had only weeks to live. For a reason that is explained about halfway in the book, he decided he needed a lot of money and thought selling the stele would be an easy way to get it. He was wrong. The Israeli government wants the stele returned, preferably before the information about it is publicized. Hezbollah wants it to support their claims against Israel. A Texan wants as part of his quest to find legendary antiquities and publicize himself. So Jones, who goes into hiding (when he is not hospitalized and snuck out of the hospital) decides to auction it off for $3,000,000. Virgil Flowers, a lawman from a small town in Minnesota, had as his biggest concern stopping one of the residents from selling fake old wood when he was charged with finding the stele. The task became very complicated as Jones and the stele keep disappearing, the potential buyers attempt to get it by any means possible, and a character’s identity is stolen. He finally doesn’t believe what anyone says but does his best to get to the truth and capture the stele.One conversation I found interesting was between Flowers and an Israeli:“Do you believe the Bible?” “Some parts of the histories, yes. Most of it is foundation myths, tall tales, and literature. Do you believe in Moby Dick?”“Moby Dick” is a novel, not a history.” Do you believe in the details about whaling ships and whaling boats and all that?” “That’s the Bible ,... I believe some of it.”Chapter 23 is probably the shortest chapter I’ve ever read in a book: “Sometimes, a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.” It coverer the topic entirely.The writing in STORM FRONT was breezy and laid back with wit and humor thrown in. I haven’t read any of John Sandford’s novels but I know this, the seventh of the series (he has two other series), will not be the last.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed the different flavor of this latest Virgil Flowers mystery, with the addition of the antiquities angle and the "foreign elements" --- Turks, Israelis, and Texans. At times it was a little slow moving, and sometimes it was hard to keep track of all the characters, but Sandford always provides a fun ride nonetheless. Any flaws are more than made up for by his always amusing dialogue, which is especially fun in this installment because there are several characters who are not native speakers of English.
    • 4/5
      I've read almost every single one of the Prey novels with Lucas Davenport. They are a hard-hitting and often with gruesome murders and psychopathic serial killers. I've met Virgil Flowers in those books. However, this is the first one of his books I've actually read and I have to say it's a happy/sad thing. Sad that I've missed out on the first 6 books and happy that I can now rectify the situation. I found Virgil to be an absolute riot. I laughed throughout the book.Virgil is investigating a women who is suspected of selling fake 'old' wood to rich folk back east when he gets a call from Lucas Davenport. Apparently some pastor has stolen a new found artifact from a dig site in Israel that could have a profound impact on the region. He came back home to Mankato Minnesota and is planning on selling it to the highest bidder. Some unsavory people are up for the bidding and not all of them are willing to pay for the stone.All Virgil wants is to return the stone to the Israelis and go back after more mundane criminals, but no one seems willing to let him solve the case and move on.
    • 4/5
      Sandford writes terrific thrillers, which are often very dark. Virgil Flowers is not a dark character, but he has confronted massive child abuse cases, organized attack squads and vicious criminals. Storm Front is different. It is lighter and more humorous; and a good read.There are bad guys and good guys in the book, as well as bad good guys and good bad guys. In this story, Flowers is trying to track down a stolen engraved stone from an archaeological site in Israel that is purportedly from the time of Solomon and threatens currently accepted history. The thief is an elderly minister who is dying of cancer and who seems to be smarter than anyone else in the book. In the action with Flowers are Israeli agents, Hezbollah terrorists, Turkish assassins, media hucksters, and beautiful and brilliant con women.The pacing is good, a Sandford strength. The involved plot is complicated, but not tortuous. Virgil Flowers is the most like-able of Sandford’s heroes and, for this book to work, his character has to make decisions that drive the story as well as react to inevitable misfortunes any thriller hero faces. He makes ethical decisions, even if they might not be the smartest; he is aware of this we he makes them. The dialog is good and very funny in places. Sandford does not go as far as Hiaasen in the humor department – his hero is smarter than most of Hiaasen’s – but is does have a farcical tone.I am not certain that I want all of Flowers future adventures to be like this, but this one is good.
    • 3/5
      I've read some of the Lucas Davenport novels and have enjoyed them. This was my first Virgil Flowers book. I found the story a little too 'lite' for my taste. The writing is breezy and filled with wit - it's a fun read. But I like my mysteries with a little more grit, intrigue, and, well, detail. Here, the story moves along quickly with a fair amount of action. But I never really believed anyone was going to end up dead (except the critically ill semi bad guy) or even be in serious danger. Plot details are available in the other reviews here on LibrayThing if you are interested. I always appreciate getting these early reviewers, but this one isn't up to my standards for a really interesting mystery novel.
    • 4/5
      John Sandford has been one of my favorite authors for many years and, while I still prefer Lucas Davenport (Prey Series), Virgil Flowers is coming in at a close second. This one reads well as a stand-alone, so it's not necessary to have read the previous books in this series.The plot here is fascinating. While we know right away who committed the crime, there is a lot of mystery and suspense surrounding the how and why. The subtleties within the plot give us a lot to think about.As with all Sanford's books, the cast of characters is fully entertaining. Virgil is great fun. He's a cop with a quick wit, who often works outside the lines. No one is all good or all bad. We see many shades of gray, which makes the characters feel real. Where the book fell short for me came in minor areas. Some of the 'bad' guys felt less than credible as they stumbled around in a bumbling way. And it seemed that everyone had an iPad with Google Earth. At times, it read like an Apple commercial.Overall, this book is a fast and entertaining read I'd recommend to all mystery and suspense fans.
    • 3/5
      I received an advance copy of this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. Storm Front, the latest Virgil Flowers book by John Sandford, just is not up to the standards I have come to expect from one of my favorite Minnesota based authors. Virgil is in fine form but the story just never got my attention, which is tough to do with a John Sandford novel. Indeed, this may be the first John Sandford that feels like his co-writer had too much influence in the writing.