Shadow Prey (Paperback)

by John Sandford (Author) "Ray Cuervo sat in his office and counted his money..." (more)
Key Phrases: tac commander, hunter cop, tattooed man, Shadow Love, Yellow Hand, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A terrorist conspiracy, masterminded by a small group of Native Americans, embarks on a series of ritualistic murders, offing public officials known for their record of prejudice against Indians, in Sandford's ( Rules of Prey ) second Lucas Davenport thriller. Dakota medicine men Sam and Aaron Crow recruit killers whom they arm with obsidian knives on leather thongs and send out to cut the throats of victims in Minnesota, Oklahoma and New York--for starters. Both Sam and Aaron act as fathers to young Shadow Love (since each has been his mother's lover); Shadow Love is, in fact, a psychopath who will use the Indian murder mission to fulfill his own agenda. When Minneapolis police lieutenant Davenport gets on the case, assisted by statuesque, tough-talking policewoman Lily Rothenburg, the "sulky, dark-haired madonna" dispatched from New York to observe the investigation, the story crackles with romance and suspense, especially when Lucas and Lily become the killers' prey. Lucas's personality is the novel's most nuanced: he is a rugged lover of women--including his old friend Elle, psychologist and Sister of Mercy--he fathers his live-in girlfriend's baby and spends nights inventing board games. Other characters, like Sandford's dialogue, are only serviceable, but plenty of gore and action drives the plot forward. 75,000 first printing; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"When it comes to portraying twisted minds, Sandford has no peers." -- Associated Press

A big, scary, suspenseful read. -- Stephen King

A double-pumped roundhouse of a thriller. -- Kirkus Reviews

The pace is relentless...a classic... -- Boston Globe

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; Other Printing edition (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425126064
• ISBN-13: 978-0425126066
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #69,890 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 2 in The Prey Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Second "Prey" thriller delivers solid police action and tension-filled story, October 4, 2006

By	Joseph P. Menta, Jr. (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shadow Prey (Paperback)

I enjoyed "Rules of Prey", the first entry in Mr. Sandford's long-running "Prey" series, so I happily picked up this follow-up title. This was very good, too: lots of tension, good banter between the cops, a challenging case, and some interesting fringe stuff involving Lucas Davenport's newest lady love and his other domestic challenges.

As far as cop thrillers go, there's nothing particularly earth shattering or ground breaking here, but I think that's the point: Mr. Sandford knows what a good cop thriller should be and delivers it, not worrying about throwing in gimmicky plot contrivances to set it apart from other thrillers. The entertainment comes from solid craftmanship, Sandford's eye for detail, a dozen or so engaging characters, and a good thriller story.

I also liked the shades of grey that complicate the proceedings in several areas. For example, one can't really blame the criminal antagonists here for wanting to accomplish their goals, which is to draw attention to the injustices against American Indians and exact revenge for one particular injustice. But things quickly spiral out of control when the antagonists use new violence to respond to old violence. And things are further complicated because one of the antagonists really likes doing violence, with "the cause" only being a convenient excuse to undertake it.

Like the new edition of "Rules of Prey" that I recently read, this new edition of "Shadow Prey" features a brief but illuminating new introduction by the author, where he discusses the challenges of coming up with a good follow up to a successful debut thriller.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Motive Might Be Other Than You Think, August 21, 2000

By	D.J. Maloney "James J. Maloney" (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

The head of the FBI is targeted for death by a group of Indians bent on getting personal revenge for something the FBI man did early in his career. However, in planning to get to him, they make it appear as if a war is called on the white man¹s sins against the Indian people. John Sandford creates an excellent story, set in the context of the Native American people living in Minnesota. Deputy Chief of Police Lucas Davenport investigates the murders along with New York City Detective Lily Rosenthal. An interesting addition to Sandford's Prey series.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weaker Entry in the Series, May 3, 2007

By	Thriller Lover (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Shadow Prey (Paperback)

SHADOW PREY is the second book in the "Lucas Davenport" series, and I personally believe it's one of the weakest ones.

The pacing of this novel is surprisingly slow in spots, and the villains are relatively dull. The book deals heavily with Native-American issues, but I don't feel that Sandford did a very good job of developing the Native-American characters. As he explains in his introduction, he had to rewrite this novel significantly to eliminate a lot of the social commentary that was contained in the first draft. The result is a novel that seems incomplete -- I didn't fully understand the killers and their motivations as well as I would have liked.

The romance in SHADOW PREY is also somewhat annoying. Davenport is a classic "bad boy" character who is more than happy to sleep with a married woman, and then go back home to his own girlfriend and child without a second thought. I know some readers like this wild aspect of Davenport's character, but I personally found it an unlikable characteristic, especially for a 41-year old man.

I like Sandford's writing style, but my advice is to skip this novel if you haven't read his books before. Start with RULES OF PREY instead.