Hidden Prey [Unknown Binding]

John Sandford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2004

Six months ago, Lucas Davenport tackled his first case as a statewide troubleshooter, and he thought that one was plenty strange enough. But that was before the Russian got killed. On the shore of Lake Superior, a man named Vladimir Oleshev is found shot dead, three holes in his head and heart, and though nobody knows why he was killed, everybody - the local cops, the FBI, and the Russians themselves - has a theory. And when it turns out he had very high government connections, that's when it hits the fan." A Russian cop flies in from Moscow, Davenport flies in from Minneapolis, law enforcement and press types swarm the crime scene - and, in the middle of it all, there is another murder. Is there a relationship between the two? What is the Russian cop hiding from Davenport? Is she - yes, it's a woman - a cop at all? Why was the man shot with ... fifty-year-old bullets? Before he can find the answers, Davenport will have to follow a trail back to another place, another time, and battle the shadows he discovers there - shadows that turn out to be both very real and very deadly.

 

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Det. Lucas Davenport has battled some real demons over the past 15 Prey novels and drifted in and out of lust and love with a host of women. But now he's happily married to the lovely Weather; has a nine-month-old son, Sam; and takes care of his 12-year-old ward, Letty West. Sure, he's got a measure of the old angst, but he's growing accustomed to the good life, spending quality time alone on the couch drinking beer and watching TV golf. His new job is running the Office of Regional Research at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension where he looks into various crimes and "fixes shit" for the governor. So when a dead Russian shows up on the docks in Duluth, Lucas is assigned to shepherd the lady investigator, Nadya Kalin, being sent by the Russian government. From the very first pages, the reader knows it's teenager Carl Walther who has killed the Russian. What makes the book intriguing is the manner in which the sagacious Davenport goes about uncovering the rest of the co-conspirators-a gang of Minnesota-based Communist spies headed by Carl's grandpa, 92-year-old ex-KGB colonel Burt Walther. That Sandford makes this unlikely plot believable is a mark of his mastery of the technical aspects of the mystery form and a testament to his overall writing skills. Readers will be pleased with this relaxed version of the moody Minneapolis investigator. In past novels, the womanizing Davenport would have romanced the good-looking Russian lady, but the new Davenport is content to play the part of friend and protector and go back to his cozy family with an unstained and remarkably contented soul.
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

A Russian sailor is the victim of a professional assassination on the docks of Duluth. Wary of international implications, the governor of Minnesota asks Lucas Davenport, the chief investigator for the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, to investigate. Major Nadezhda Kalin, a representative of Russian law enforcement, assists Davenport. The murder may be linked to the remnants of a dormant Soviet Union network established between the world wars but forgotten by the motherland. The descendants of the original network members have all melded into the American mainstream. Davenport and Kalin pursue the case through the rural mining towns of northern Minnesota even as they become the targets of the shadowy assassin. The sixteenth Prey novel is less harrowing and not as dark as many of its predecessors. It's also more humorous--even the suicide of a key character is accompanied by a sly, graveyard one-liner--with deft Davenport observations on the curious behavior of the opposite sex in general and on Russian women in particular. Similarities to previous Prey thrillers: high entertainment value; deftly rendered characterizations; and clever, believable dialogue. Expect another best-seller and stock up accordingly. 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

• Unknown Binding
• Publisher: Penguin Highbridge (Aud) (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786580151
• ISBN-13: 978-0786580156
• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (100 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,742,761 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

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fair...that really sums it up., June 1, 2004

By 

R. Shaff "Velocipede" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hidden Prey (Hardcover)

I've read all of Sandford's previous PREY novels as well as his KIDD novels; at this point, the KIDD novels, particularly the last two offerings, are easily the better reads, in my opinion. While the PREY novels are noted for simple yet intriguing storylines, HIDDEN PREY goes the opposite direction. Sandford decides to take an improbable storyline, a rather complex one at that, and tones down our hero, Lucas Davenport. In the end, this makes for a very apathetic read, particularly if you've enjoyed the sharp edge of Davenport in novels past.

HIDDEN PREY begins with the murder of a Russian merchant marine, or so it seems. Soon thereafter, a homeless woman is garroted, the site extremely gruesome. What appears to be two unrelated murders turns into an apparent murder/cover-up and Lucas Davenport is called in to begin an investigation. Lucas is partnered with a Russian "police officer," sent over by Moscow to oversee the investigation of the murdered Russian. Lucas smells a rat immediately and, throughout the book, peppers the Russian officer for information and "why" she's truly there.

So as not to spoil the remaining plot...Sandford is obviously sending Davenport through middle age. He is mellowing Lucas and dulling his previously sharp edge. And, while this may follow the chronology of 15 previous PREY novels (i.e. Lucas aging), it is not why most people read fiction. Although there are bursts of brutality and violence, the vast majority of the book traces the witness/suspect interrogation lines and a painfully slow amalgamation of puzzle pieces in an effort to solve the crimes. And, not to counteract the lack of suspense, even the climax fails to thrill.

Sandford laid his claim to fiction with the first few PREY novels; Spillaneish in their simplicity and Parkerish in their character builds. Davenport was a tough, no-nonsense cop who would tread on the imaginary line in the sand to catch the bad guy; almost no cost too great. Well, we now have a more retiring figure to deal with in Davenport. And, while this too can produce good storylines, it is something PREY fans will have to adjust to: not an easy transition, to be sure.

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even humor dots this Lucas Davenport "spy" thriller, May 16, 2004

By 

Gerald M. Bull "Jerry Bull" (Fairview, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hidden Prey (Hardcover)

We're admittedly big Sandford fans, having enjoyed the entire preceeding set of "Prey" adventures (and his "Kidd" books as well) starring Lucas Davenport. Promoted to a position where he works on anything with political overtones at the behest of the Minnesota governor (no, not that one!), Lucas is soon embroiled with the murder of a Russian stranger down at the docks, and in escorting Nadya, an "investigator" (read, spy) sent over from Russia to look into the matter. Her presence adds both a great deal of suspense to the story, as we're never quite sure whether she's "legit" or not, as well as many funny lines as she puzzles over American colloquialisms.

We readers soon know the shooter is young Carl, grandson of Grandpa Walther, a communist spy who has been running a ring of families engaged in Russian "assistance" in northern Minnesota for some six decades!! A clever analyst and fearless assassin in his own right, he's teaching teenager Carl the tricks of the trade, including heartless executions. So while there's no doubt whodunit, not to mention some more murders along the way, the clues and hunches Lucas pursues to uncover the spy ring and the killer keep the novel moving at a fun pace. A slightly moralistic twist at the end even gives one pause for thought about truth and justice.

It's surprising Sandford can keep these characters and stories fresh after some 16 or so in this series. While Lucas has settled down with wife Weather, and young son and adopted daughter (who got barely more than a mention), he is still a smart and clever fellow and one whose success we care about. We thought the humor generated by the consternation of the Russian lady over various comical English sayings (like how does a foreigner translate something like "keep in under your hat"!) was a light-hearted touch, breaking up the contrasting horror of the various slayings and suicide populating the plot. Lastly, a sub-plot involving a "bag lady" who witnesses the first crime, was so interesting, we wish it had been expanded upon even further.

So kudos to Sandford on his latest "Prey" -- it's a book very well done and thus enjoyable entertainment!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Series Continues: Hidden Prey By John Sandford, May 19, 2004

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hidden Prey (Hardcover)

Picking up six months after "Naked Prey" the series continues with Lucas Davenport still with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BAC). Officially, he runs the Office of Regional Research within the BAC. Unofficially, he is the Governor's man for sticky problems where the worlds of politics and crime intersect. The murder of a Russian on the shores of Lake Superior has fast become a political problem and Davenport's talents are needed.

The dead man has finally been identified as Rodion Oleshev and he was shot three times-once in the heart and twice in the forehead. He died two weeks ago on a concrete slab next to a grain elevator on the shores of Lake Superior one night. The death of what apparently was at one time a KGB agent has become a major political problem. The dead man, not only was still a spy, but also was the son of a very high-ranking person in the Oil Ministry in Russia. The father has talked to Putin and the Russian Embassy has contacted the State Department. The ball has rolled downhill gathering steam and urgency and now Rose Marie Roux, Davenport's longtime boss, is handling the issue to Davenport. The Russians are sending someone to oversee the investigation and review it. Rose Marie wants Davenport to make sure that everything that could be done has been done and to make sure the Russian is happy. Send the Russian back home satisfied and make everyone look good, especially the BAC, because yet another budgetary cutback is in store for the new agency.

Davenport begins to investigate while awaiting the arrival of the Russian by talking to the Feds. The FBI is running the investigation, not as a homicide but as an intelligence operation trying to uncover possible Russian deep cover assets in the area. They have virtually nothing after two weeks and ask Davenport to share whatever information he uncovers in the course of his homicide investigation and not to blow their case. That is, if they can ever develop anything. With no leads and no suspects, a somewhat bored Davenport is thrilled with the prospects whether he wants to publicly admit it or not.

Despite political problems and other issues such as the real reasons the Russian has arrived, Davenport begins to make progress. Before long, Davenport is tearing up the countryside in search of suspects and John Sandford has this reader pulled deep into his view of the world once again. As in other novels of this series, almost everyone is back, a little older and a little wiser, and still very interested in getting all the bad guys no matter what. The case becomes more and more complex as secrets from before the cold war come to light.

This is another very good read from John Sandford and well worth your time. Most of the books in this series can't be read as stand alones. However, with just a couple of minor references to earlier novels in the series, this one certainly could be read as a stand alone and would serve as an excellent introduction to a strong series well worth reading.