Easy Prey [Paperback]

John Sandford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 21, 2004

In life she was a high-profile model. In death she is the focus of a media firestorm that's demanding action from Lucas Davenport. One of his own men is a suspect in her murder. But when a series of bizarre, seemingly unrelated slayings rock the city, Davenport suspects a connection that runs deeper than anyone had imagined - one that leads to an ingenious killer more ruthless than anyone had feared ...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Penzler Pick, June 2000: Easy Prey is the 11th mystery to feature Lucas Davenport, who began his career back in Rules of Prey as a maverick homicide detective reminiscent of "Dirty Harry" Callahan. He did things his way and was often at odds with his superiors in the Minneapolis Police Department. Since those early days, Davenport has mellowed a little, and his background as a computer game-designing, Porsche-driving womanizer has been somewhat reduced. Possibly age has become a factor, or it may be the fact that Davenport has been deputy chief since the sixth book in the series, Night Prey. The character may have changed, but the writing has remained consistently taut: the bad guys creepy, the mysteries suspenseful.

In this newest episode, Davenport is called to a house after an A-list party has taken place there. Alie'e Maison, a top model, has been found strangled, and evidence shows that she ingested drugs and recently made love--most probably to a woman. Before Lucas leaves the house, things get even more complicated: a second body is found stuffed in a closet with a deep dent in the skull. In addition, one of Lucas's own men had been at the party and is now a suspect.

As always, Lucas's own life is not exempt from complications. An ex-lover comes back into his world--a woman he has never been able to forget--and she has secrets of her own. Also making an appearance this time out is a childhood friend to whom he turns for advice about women and life. Sister Mary Joseph, born Elle Kruger, is a professor of psychology and one of the computer brains who helps Lucas design his software. He calls her Nun the Wiser, and he often turns to her for spiritual as well as more concrete advice. Lucas is going to need all the help he can get to unravel his case as secrets pile upon secrets and the ground constantly shifts under his feet.

Easy Prey is another powerful link in this chain of muscular, exciting thrillers by one of the most distinguished practitioners in the field. --Otto Penzler --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The 12th entry in Sandford's ever-entertaining Prey series (Certain Prey, etc.) finds Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Lucas Davenport again rambling through a murky case with his unique combination of gutsy intelligence and aw-shucks attitude. Fashion model Alie'e Maison has been found dead in a back bedroom, seemingly strangled at a chic party. Then--typical of Davenport's luck--the body of a second woman tumbles out of a closet just as the investigating cops get ready to leave the scene. There's no shortage of suspects who could have killed Alie'e: her boyfriend, for instance, recently dropped in favor of a lesbian lover, or her brother, a backwoods holy man who disapproved of his sister's lifestyle. There are Alie'e's parents, who could be trying to cover up a history of sexual abuse; the local drug dealer who supplied Alie'e with heroin; and the oily banker who appears to be the money behind the drug dealer. As many of these suspects get murdered, one by one, including those connected to the second victim in the closet, it's clear that the killer remains at large. That makes Davenport and his colleagues look foolish in the eyes of the media horde descending on the case. To make matters worse, Davenport's having women trouble again, torn among three beauties who want to bed him. As always, it's a joy to follow this rare cop who gets led more often by his gut instinct than by clues. His humor, understated and perverse, can be wildly funny, and the people he runs across are shrewdly conceived originals, cut from fabric way at the back of the bin. BOMC main selection; simultaneous Putnam Berkley Audio; author tour. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (February 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743484185
• ISBN-13: 978-0743484183
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (185 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,430,947 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

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars not the best Lucas Davenport novel, May 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Easy Prey (Hardcover)

Fans of Lucas will want to read this, and I am definitely a fan. But this is not up to Sandford's usual standards. Lucas (and the plot) wander aimlessly through this book. It seems as if Sandford was just throwing in any plot element that occurred to him while he was writing. And isn't it time for Lucas to either commit to a relationship, or stop beginning one with every woman he encounters? Lucas is too fascinating a character to descend to a soap opera type life.

43 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Easy to say this is Sandfords worst, June 4, 2000

By 

Aaron Steel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Easy Prey (Hardcover)

I have been a fan of the "prey" series for some time, and have read all of the previous entries, all of them ranging from good to excellent. Some different adjectives come to mind for this one though: boring, convoluted, and dissapointing, just to name a few. It started off well enough, but went downhill before it was 50 pages in. The character of Lucas Davenport was very flat this time, his only focus outside of the case being the multiple women he was juggling and there were way too many supporting characters, causing you to wonder who was who sometimes. The plot itself was dull and lacking in any suspense or tension. You really didn't care waht happened next, which was good, because nothing of interest ever did happen. And the ending appeared out of left field, but by that point you are just glad its over. You get the feeling that Sandford was sitting around one day when he suddenly realized he had a book due soon, and he just hammered it out quickly on autopilot. A character quips near the end of the book, "This is boring my _ brains out", a quote which could be attributed to the book as well. I hope Sandford and Davenport fare better next time out, I have faith that they will.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good Prey book, May 31, 2000

By 

"ksawrie" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Easy Prey (Hardcover)

This was a great Lucas Davenport book.fast and somewhat confusing....It took a long time to sort out all the characters that Sandford gave us. And I even liked when he started to recall past events from the other Prey books, but it took a lot to keep up with this one. I was not prepared for the "villian" at the end. I kept thinking I had it figured out and then ...Wham! ...my suspect is murdered too. <g> I couldn't make the connections and the ending was not as well prepared as some of the other books he's written. But that doesn't mean I won't be waiting for the next one out..I WILL. The ending here is a cliff hanger for sure, and I will refrain from giving my opinion on that...don't want to give away everything. Others have mentioned poor editing and I did see evidence of that too. I can't give an exact example right now, but I know there were instances that were repeated within one or two pages of each other. That happens to all writers I'm sure. All in all, this is a recommendation for anyone that like police procedural/mystery/suspense type books...get it now.