Customer Reviews

Night Prey

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The classic game of cat and mouse is an evergreen of the mystery genre, and few practice it better than John Sandford and his creation, Minneapolis police detective Lucas Davenport. This is ably demonstrated in the sixth book in the Prey series, "Night Prey."

Davenport, hired back by the new police chief to investigate their toughest cases, is pursuing one of the most violent killers he's ever encountered. The unknown perpetrator commits acts of extreme brutality against women, murdering with incredible force and viciousness.

As always, Sandford keeps the plot interesting and the action swift, leading us through the investigation along with Davenport as he unravels the Gordian knot of clues and evidence. At the same time, the author gives us the killer's viewpoint, showing us a glimpse of his twisted mind. Sandford excels at this type of parallel storytelling, upping the urgency of Lucas catching the nutcase before he kills again.

If you haven't yet had the joy of reading this excellent series, I recommend you start with the first book ("Rules of Prey") and enjoy some of the best writing in the genre.

Night Prey is the sixth in the Prey series, and to me is similar to the first one Rules of Prey. We are introduced to the killer, Koop, at the opening. Koop is your standard killer who had a horrible childhood and is now taking it out on women. Koop has a few unique characteristics such as picking out victims at used book stores because they are usually timid and shy.

Sanford builds the suspense by following Koops every move so even if the cops don't know what Koop is doing. Sandford also does another excellent think by picking out a woman that Koop is stalking, and following her story as well. So now the reader is rooting for Koop to get caught and for the potential victim to be saved.

Lucas is back as well, still recovering from and injury he received in the last book and now shacking up with Weather, also from Winter Prey. Lucas has accepted a political position as a detective that will take on the toughest cases. This case gets a lot of publicity when Koop starts killing in order to get close to Sara Jensen, the potential victim mentioned above. The detective work is the usual, except Koop does something early on that told me exactly how the cops would find out who the killer is.

This is a good book, but not the best in the series. Even after six books, we still don't know much about what makes Lucas Davenport tick. At least in this book he is faithful to Weather.

John Sandford's "Prey" series is a delight. I've read four so far and each has been an adventure.

Lucas Davenport is a Minnesota cop, with the City of Minneapolis in early "Prey" novels, the State of Minnesota in later ones.

The plot is almost beside the point. A corpse is discovered and so on. Sandford's characters are richly detailed and believable. His plots are inventive and not so far out that you have to swallow credulity to keep moving.

Fun reads. And what higher compliment can I pay?

Jerry

In the last Prey book, the reader did not know who the bad guy was. In this one, Night Prey, the identity of the killer is known to the reader, and the reader is allowed into his psyche and is a part of the deterioration of that psyche. Both presentations of these stories were done well. Usually I like figuring out who the killer is, but Sandford does both ways in a compelling manner. Another interesting component in this book is Lucas's female partner, Connell. She has an interesting secret that I won't give away, but the flawed character of Davenport grows as he comes to terms with her situation. Weather is here too, first introduced in Winter Prey. Another superb addition to the Prey series.

I'm working my way through John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series, strictly in the order they were published. This is book number 6 and I have to say Sandford is definitely getting better and better.

Following 'Winter Prey', the porsche driving, game writing, definitely hard-boiled Davenport continues to evolve as a believable and somtimes not too likeable character. His romantic interest, Weather Karkinnen, has becomes a fixture in Davenport's home. Weather played a major role in the last book, actually saving Davenport's life when a gunshot wound to the throat stopped his breathing. Prior to Weather, Davenport has produced a daughter from a previous relationship with a journo, Jennifer. The reader is left to wonder how Weather came to move to the city, given Sandford had oulined the duty she felt to the small town that had paid her college tuition (in Winter Prey). Weather has now been installed as a surgeon in the big city, we just have to wonder about her lifespan and safety as Davenport's lover.

Aside from that, there is also an undercurrent of erotic tension between Davenport and a female reporter in this book. Maybe it's cos I'm a woman, but this aspect of Davenport's nature really irritates me! You want the man to be faithful and here he is spieling about how women with overbites are deliberately hired as news anchors because this facial anomaly reminds men of oral sex! Interesting fact? It got me thinking, which I like in a crime book, but you have to wonder what's going on in Sandford's mind! I guess this is a realistic insight into the secret lives of men as channelled by Lucas Davenport. Us girls can like it or lump it.

In 'Night Prey' we have Davenport unwillingly teamed up with a State investigator who has terminal cancer. Connell is obsessed with this case, tracking down a serial rapist and murderer, before she succumbs to her illness. Sandford gives us a dual narrative, interspersing Davenport and his teams' point of view with that of their quarry "Koop". Stanford has really nailed the creep factor with this guy. He is smart, strong, perverted and frightening. The initial scene has him in the bedroom of the woman he is to become obsessed with, during a cat burglary. Something about Sara Jenson triggers Koop to escalate his deviant behavior and to begin literally killing in her name (or initials). He creeps her apartment, stalks and watches her. Stanford has created a nightmare perp in "Night Prey"; Koop is also incredibly savvy about important things like evidence and is determined not to make any errors that will lead Davenport and his team in his direction. This of course makes for great reading and a lot of frustration for Davenport, Connell and the cops that have featured before in the series, Del and Sloan.

Stanford has created great characters that move with the times. Lucas' extremely profitable game writing hobby is morphing more towards creating simulations for law enforcement officers. This book was written in 1994, so its interesting to keep track of how Davenport's side-interest in computers remains contemporary. How long will he be using WordPerfect I wonder?

So, erotic overbites aside, Sandford also introduces subjects like cat burglary (and why there is apparently always a sexual aspect to this form of robbery), a little bit about the culture of deaf people and the daily life of a surgeon (via Weather), all interesting stuff that complements the action and makes reading these books seem just that bit more educative.

Sandford has another Davenport book coming out soon (2007). In the meantime, this reader must resist temptation until the entire series to date has been read. The Davenport series is on my permanent pre-order list now, along with, for example, Connelly's Bosch and James Lee Burke's Robicheaux. If you want well-written, complexly plotted yet tenable hard boiled fare, then put Davenport on the menu, the books are hard to put down and haven't disappointed yet.

Don't read this book!

If you're reading this, I assume you haven't read the series up to Night Prey. If you had, you wouldn't waste your time reading reviews. There would be no question. There would be no hesitation. You'd be reading Night Prey.

So since you haven't read the series to this point, start at Rules of Prey. Follow with Shadow Prey, Eyes of Prey, Silent Prey, and Winter Prey. Then it's time for this.

Night Prey is a solid addition to the series to this point. While it doesn't quite stand up to the level of excellence established in the preceding three volumes, it's still a compelling story with memorable characters. And while the main story is one of pure suspense, with any real element of mystery sacrificed to study the villain, Sandford weaves in a subplot which is classic "locked door" (as another reviewer puts it). It's nicely done.

A question for those who've read the book : If SSA is backwards, is SJ as well? What's the author's name?

NIGHT PREY is the sixth book in the "Lucas Davenport" series by John Sandford. The book is entertaining, but is not the best entry in the series.

The plot of NIGHT PREY isn't much different from prior Davenport books. A serial killer (named "Koop") is on the loose, and the reader knows his identity from the beginning. Lucas is on the hunt for him, this time accompanied by a female investigator that's dying of cancer. As always, Lucas has to race against time before the killer strikes again.

If you've read other books in this series, you probably won't be disappointed in NIGHT PREY. You get the same tight plotting, witty dialogue, and smooth writing that Sandford is famous for. This is all good fun, but I felt the plotline was mostly a rehash of scenes from the prior books. If you're looking for something original, you won't get it here. Sandford pretty much sticks to his tried and true formula, for better or for worse.

If you've never read a Prey book before, my advice is to start with the very first one, RULES OF PREY, and then move on to EYES OF PREY and WINTER PREY. Those are probably the best three entries in the series.

This was the third book from the Davenport series that I have read and easily the best. I liked the feeling of impending doom with the main characters racing against time to catch the killer before he can strike again and before one of the investigators dies of cancer. The eventual solution of this pending collision caught me by surprise. And, in case this wasn't enough, Sandford threw in a locked room murder mystery as a clever subplot. If anyone in Hollywood ever wants to bring a Lucas Davenport thriller to the screen, this would be a good one to start with.

I really like this one. It puts Lucas in a slightly different light.And while the character of Meagan is initially described in less than complimentary light,by the end of the book,I believe all but the most hard hearted of readers will find something worthwhile in her...as Lucas did...a VERY good read...enough violence for the "I love the nitty gritty cop novel " lovers out there,enough into the mind of a really vicious killer for those of you who like the psychological killer novel and once again Mr Sandford hits you right in the gut with the "who done it and how they get him" ending...I could not put it down once I got past the first 3 chapters and read it all in one very long night...4am...so be forwarned

Sandford, a local Minnesota author with national appeal, gives us one of the most disturbing and terrifying murderers his has ever written about. This is a thrilling work from the very beginning.