Mind Prey [Hardcover]

John Sandford (Author)

Book Description

Series: Prey | Publication Date: May 9, 1995

In the wake of the abduction of a woman and her two young daughters, deputy chief Lucas Davenport faces the most challenging case of his career, while the victim, psychiatrist Andi Manette, applies all her skills to outwit her captor. 275,000 first printing. $200,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

John Sandford's acclaimed Prey novels featuring the brilliant Lucas Davenport have plunged millions of readers into the darkest recesses of the criminal mind. Now Lucas has met his match. His newest nemesis is more intelligent, more deadly, than any he has tracked before: a kidnapper, a violator, and a cruel, wanton killer who knows more about mind games than Lucas himself. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Minneapolis PD Deputy Chief Lucas Davenport, seen last in Night Prey, carries on as a smart, quirky hero in the seventh "Prey" book. When psychiatrist Andi Manette and her two young daughters are kidnapped, Lucas must discover whether it's a ransom snatch, the work of one of Andi's ex-patients or the ruse of someone in her life who might benefit from her death. (Her father, stepmother, estranged husband and medical partner are all good suspects.) Readers know the kidnapper is John Mail, a scary ex-patient who's entertained nasty dreams of Andi for years. He enacts his violent sex fantasies with the imprisoned Andi; it seems only a matter of time before he will go after the girls. Lucas, meanwhile, draws on all available resources, including his own computer game company, to flush out Mail, a gamer who enjoys taunting Lucas with phone calls. During this time, Andi has been trying to maintain an element of control and contrive an escape. Sandford expertly ratchets up the suspense from beginning to the brutal finish. Lucas does get his villain, but no one comes out of this experience unscarred. Literary Guild main; Doubleday Book Club alternate.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 323 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1ST edition (May 9, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399140093
• ISBN-13: 978-0399140099
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,446 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

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LUCUS COMES THROUGH AGAIN!!!!!, March 17, 2001

By 

Mac Blair "Mac Blair" (Huntingdon, TN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mind Prey (Paperback)

I have read several Prey books. My favorite until now was Winter Prey, but Mind Prey may be the best one yet. They are pretty close. In Mind Prey, John Mail kidnapes a women and her two daughters. She is a Dr. who has treated John before for mental depresion. Really a nut. He carrries them to a old farm house. There he begins to rape the mother. The youngest daughter is carried away. The mother is told he carried her to a Wal-Mart and let her go, but did he???? Lucus it called in to try and find Mail and the woman and girls. The action is great. The mind games Mail and Lucus play with each other is very good. I loved the ending. Goody, goody. Through out the book Lucus is also trying to find a way to ask Weather to marry him. Does he ever do it???? A very good read if you like scary stories.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you haven't read this series you have missed a treat!, October 23, 2002

By 

Graeme Boddy (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mind Prey (Paperback)

Mind Prey was the very first "Prey" book I ever read. I picked it up in an airport and was instantly hooked. John Sandford has the rare ability to build "real" characters that are flawed but real - cruel but interesting - attractive but not cheesy.
For those of us with kids - this particular book is savage! It starts with a guy fishing on a lake... and right then your nerves will start to fray - you know that something BAD is going to happen.

Step in Lucas Davenport - Part detective, part game designer, part animal. This guy is about the best detective I have seen portrayed. He isn't Sherlock Holmes and He isn't Mike Hammer, but he is definitely a bit of both.

One last thing - if you read one - be prepared to buy the rest!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A page turner to the power of 10!, October 1, 1999

By 

Jeanne M. McCollum - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mind Prey (Paperback)

I am in the process of reading #8 of 10 (so far) of the "Prey" series. I re-read the first 3 and have continued through the entire series. Mind Prey is #7 and by far the best yet. This story kept me locked in from the first pages. It has the hidden secrets, the "thing" Lucas Davenport just can't get ahold of, empathy for the victims, and surprises until the very end. Instead of "burning out" on the saga, I eagerly start the next book. WOW! What a storyteller is John Sandford!