Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

John Sandford (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lucas Davenport Mysteries | Publication Date: May 4, 2006

Lucas Davenport faces a living nightmare, in one of the scariest Prey novels yet from the number-one bestselling author.

Unabridged CD - 11 CDs, 12 1Ž2 hours

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sandford sends series hero Lucas Davenport's family off to London to ensure that domestic concerns never slow the action in this sexy, bloody thriller. Davenport, a Minnesota State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator, had lately been doing political fix-it jobs for the governor, but this time he's got a psychopathic serial killer on his hands. ("All major metro areas had them, sometimes two and three at a time. The public had the impression that they were rare. They weren't.") The first victim, a young woman, was "scourged" with a wire whip; number two, a young man, had his penis cut off. Evidence first points to recently released sex offender Charlie Pope. Though Charlie is pretty dumb and the killer is extremely smart, it takes Davenport and his series partner, Detective Sloan, a while to realize they're chasing the wrong guy. Sandford introduces some lighter moments, the most entertaining about Davenport's new iPod and his quest to compile a list of the 100 best rock songs ever recorded, which every cop on the force gives him suggestions for. These moments allow readers to catch their breath amid the otherwise nonstop tension as the killer taunts the authorities while snaring more victims, and the cops race around the countryside always just a few minutes too late. For those who thought Davenport (and Sandford) were slowing down and showing signs of age and prosperity, this superlative entry will dispel all such notions. This is tough, unstoppable, white-knuckle fiction.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The first victim is a young woman, probably flayed alive and raped. Lucas Davenport, head of Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, is assigned to the case by his boss, the governor, who fears political fallout if a serial killer is on the loose. A tip puts Davenport and his team on the trail of a recently paroled sexual offender. Charley Pope never killed anyone, but conventional wisdom indicates his rage may escalate. But the planning that went into the crimes seems to exceed Charley's capabilities. Lucas also entertains the possibility that Charley was a "robot" for three Hannibal Lecter types in the asylum's high-security section for the criminally insane. The seventeenth Prey thriller is a cut above recent entries in the series. For one, it's a real whodunit, with the killer not revealed until the last couple chapters. Second, it contains supersized servings of all the elements readers have come to treasure in the series: Davenport's quirky, self-deprecating, and ironic worldview; plenty of graveyard humor; and a dynamic sense of place, from the Minnesota countryside to bustling Minneapolis to the foreboding gothic architecture of the asylum. An extra treat is Davenport's ongoing mental gyrations as he compiles a list of rock's 100 greatest tunes for his new I-pod. His musical critiques are pure rock fan, and the final list is a hoot. Byzantine plot, memorable characters, and a subliminal soundtrack of classic rock 'n' roll. What's not to like? Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Audio CD
• Publisher: Penguin Audio (May 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143058851
• ISBN-13: 978-0143058854
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #614,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Sandford was born John Camp on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. He then spent four years at the University of Iowa, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966. In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. He was in the U.S. Army from 1966-68, worked as a reporter for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian from 1968-1970, and went back to the University of Iowa from 1970-1971, where he received a master's degree in journalism. He was a reporter for The Miami Herald from 1971-78, and then a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press from 1978-1990; in 1980, he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, and he won the Pulitzer in 1986 for a series of stories about a midwestern farm crisis. From 1990 to the present he has written thriller novels. He's also the author of two non-fiction books, one on plastic surgery and one on art. He is the principal financial backer of a major archaeological project in the Jordan Valley of Israel, with a website at www.rehov.org. In addition to archaeology, he is deeply interested in art (painting) and photography. He both hunts and fishes. He has two children, Roswell and Emily, and one grandson, Benjamin. His wife, Susan, died of metastasized breast cancer in May, 2007, and is greatly missed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great addition to the "Prey" series, April 11, 2006

By 

Gigi "Gigi loves a good Detective Novel" (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken Prey (Hardcover)

I am new to the "Prey" series by John Sandford. I am always pleased to stumble across another great Mystery writer...even better if it is a series with characters like Lucas Davenport you can watch develop from book to book. This is only the second book in the series I have read so far, my first was Chosen Prey, that was also good, but I liked Broken even better! My one complaint is I cannot find any lists anywhere to list the order of the books! I found one partial list in someones review of an earlier book. It is always better (for me at least-when it is a series like this with returning characters) when I get to read the books in the right order. Here is the list I have compiled to help other Sandford newbies like me:
1 RULES OF PREY
2 SHADOW PREY
3 EYES OF PREY
4 SILENT PREY
5 WINTER PREY
6 NIGHT PREY
7 MIND PREY
8 SUDDEN PREY
9 SECRET PREY
10 CERTAIN PREY
11 EASY PREY
12 CHOSEN PREY
13 MORTAL PREY
14 NAKED PREY
15 HIDDEN PREY
16 BROKEN PREY

64 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars (4 1/2) XXX Rated - Profanity and Extreme Violence, May 29, 2005

By 

Tucker Andersen (Wall Street) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Broken Prey (Hardcover)

BROKEN PREY opens with pervert (and possible murderer) Charlie Pope smelling rancid and miserably scratching out an existence as a garbageman, the only job that he could get since being released on parole from St. John's Security Hospital. Every time Charlie sees a good-looking woman he is reminded of the fact that he is tethered to an electronic ankle bracelet and constantly branded in the press as a danger to the community; after over eight years of incarceration Charlie is desperate enough to fulfill his physical desires by whatever manner necessary.

The narrative then switches to an upscale Minnesota suburb as Lucas Davenport arrives at a truly horrific murder scene in the Porsche so familiar to the legions of fans of the PREY series by John Sandford. Even to law enforcement professionals involved, the details of the gruesome crime are almost stomach turning. (In fact, it threatens to be the crime which finally causes Lucas' long time associate Sloan to totally burn out and retire from the police force.) The victim is a young woman; her body was systematically scourged, after her throat cut the body was arranged by the killer so that the display would have maximum impact. The details of the killing are not released to the press, both so as to avoid alarming the public and to aid the police in their investigation. When a second victim (a older male who was killed and displayed in the same manner ) is discovered several miles away three weeks later, it is clear that there is not only a serial killer but a true sociopath at large in southern Minnesota.

All the evidence that Lucas and his team assemble points to Charlie Pope, who has cut off his ankle bracelet and disappeared. And yet confusion and doubt linger. The crimes have been so meticulously plotted and carefully executed that Lucas wonders whether Charlie, a man of limited intellgence and supposedly subject to emotional impulse, could really have committed such acts on his own or is simply being manipulated in some manner by a clever mastermind. (Perhaps Charlie has somehow remained in contact with the "Gods Down The Hall", the three most dangerous prisoners at St. John's; they are all kept in solitary confinement due to the extreme danger which they pose to anyone with whom they come into contact).

This is John Sandford at his best - Lucas and his team (Del Capslock even makes a cameo appearance) trying to track down a deranged killer in a race against time. Small missteps result in further murders and the case threatens to become so explosive that it might demand political sacrifices before its conclusion. Lucas is still working as a freelancer for Rose Marie Rioux, the head of the BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension), but her role in this book is largely peripheral to the story. Lucas' childhood friend Elle (Sister Mary Joseph) plays a larger role than usual. Meanwhile Lucas is at loose ends while his wife Weather and his family spend the summe rin London while Weather at a hospital there. Thus, the enjoyable byplay between them is absent from this story. in fact, one of my major disaapointments is that despite maintaining the wonderful Letty West as an integral element in Lucas' life by making her his ward in the aftermath of NAKED PREY, she continues to have no further role in the series.

There is an even larger than usual assortment of interesting characters which intersect in various ways with the storyline; however, the only one who seems likely to have a role in a future novel in the series is Ruffee Ignace (read the book to find out how to pronounce his name.) He is a dogged reporter (and one weird dude) with the Star Tribune who plays a crucial role in the story while constantly listening to the different beat of his own internal "radio". The story has a lot of misdirection, both by the perpetrators of these horrific crimes and by the author of his readers. But it is always clever, never unfair. The gruesome nature of the crimes and the level of detail kept me from rating it a full stars; in fact, if the story had not been so good and I was not such a fan of the series I would not have read it. But I did round up my rating and simply accompany it with a TRIPLE X warning, since for the story to seem realistic the detailed extreme violence is essential. It also has a huge, impressive, exciting firefight near the conclusion - one of the best in this genre. In addition, Sandford does a great job of tying up the loose ends, all the questions which Lucas (and I the reader) had were eventualy answered.

Finally, a special tribute to the use of Lucas' compilation for his IPOD of the "100 Best Songs of the Rock Era" as a clever way to provide a unifying theme among almost all the individuals in the book. At first I thought it was an interesting filler but somewhat of a distraction. (You'll have to read the book to get the background.) However, it became increasingly enjoyable as I (a bigtime rock fan) silently joined in the discussion as various suggestions were made and debated. And the last reference to the list was so ingenious it really made me smile. Rather than provide a fullblown critique, my only comment will be that while I can understand why a cop might chose JAILHOUSE ROCK by Elvis Presley (several of the songs had a police connection); only one song by The King is totally insufficient. But if you finally do choose only one, how can it not be HEARTBREAK HOTEL, the one that began it all? One last tickler, read the book to find out how Weather could convince Lucas that that his choice for #100 should be Jazz Suite No. 2; Waltz 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich. Huh?

Tucker Andersen

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A-LIST VOICE PERFORMANCE, May 10, 2005

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) (Audio CD)

A-list voice performer Richard Ferrone delivers a compelling reading of the Unabridged Edition of the latest in John Sandford's Prey series. This time out hero Lucas Davenport is stretched to the nth degree as he tries to track a merciless predator. Ferrone expresses the narrator's revulsion at the brutality of the crimes and his determination to outwit the perpetrator with subtleties of voice that only a distinguished actor could convey.

The Abridged Edition is presented with equal elan by actor/narrator Eric Conger who received the Golden Earphone Award and Publisher's Weekly's 2001 Listen Up Award for "Chosen Prey." This, his seventh Prey recording, is spectacular.

As for the story itself, what accolades have not already been heaped upon John Sandford for creating a hero as intrepid and irascible as Lucas Davenport? Lucas is affecting and likable to boot.

This time out Davenport who heads the Minnesota State Bureau of Criminal apprehension is on the trail of a bloody, psychopathic killer, The governor, afraid of what will happen to his ratings if there is a serial killer on the loose, orders Davenport to find the perpetrator. Even perpetrator is too nice a word for someone who flays his victim with a wire or cuts off private parts before killing.

Fingers are pointed at Charley, a sex offender who has been recently paroled. But somehow Davenport doesn't find these heinous crimes fitting Charley's modus operandi.

"Broken Prey" is a rocketing roller coaster of a ride as Davenport and his partner trail a maniac. Sandford and Davenport are both a bit like fine wine - they just keep getting better and better. Anyone out there who isn't already a Prey fan? Listen up and discover what you've been missing.

- Gail Cooke