Deadline

It's Virgil Flowers! And one of the thrilling novels in the #1 "New York Times" bestselling series.

In Southeast Minnesota, down on the Mississippi, a school board meeting is coming to an end. The board chair announces that the rest of the meeting will be closed, due to a personnel issue. “Issue” is the correct word. It's also an understatement. The proposal up for a vote is whether to authorize the killing of a local reporter. The vote is unanimous, five to zero in favor.

Meanwhile, not far away, Virgil Flowers is helping a friend by looking into a dognapping. It seems to be turning into something much bigger and uglier—a team of dognappers supplying medical labs—when he gets a call from Lucas Davenport. A murdered body has been found—and the victim is a local reporter!