I was bored most of the time. Seven murders in 9 days and the authour felt the need to drag out the story line. Fave expressions for most of the characters in the book "Awww, jeez....", "Awww, man....".

Good reading! Second time around.

I really like Lucas Davenport (John Sanford). He speaks so descriptiively and conversationally I feel as though I am a part of the action. There are several story lines running concurrently, and so smoothly they are exciting and easy to follow. The ending is spectacular - never would have guessed it. Thoroughly enjoyable and I highly recommend it!

4 Stars. As usual, I really enjoyed another episode in the life of Deputy Chief Lucas Davenport - his strange and complicated cases, his difficulties with women, his pushing the envelope of the law, and the urgency which develops as the novel reaches for a successful conclusion. Readers can count on John Sandford. Yet I had to take off a star because of left-field, as in, an unexpected aspect coming from that direction. Get ready for the fast life of top-level modelling. The drugs especially. We meet a young woman from northern Minnesota just south of Canada, lovely with green eyes, and charisma. In her late teens, Sharon Olsen became Alie'e Maison, the international sensation. That's "Alley - eh" for those of us unwashed with a preference for "Sharon." When not pocketing $3,000 an hour publicizing the latest fashions, she's all attitude, drugs and sex. One morning after a wild house party, she's found strangled next to Sandy Lansing, her drug contact and possible bedroom partner, also dead. Suspects in the hundreds, including Alie'e's brother Tom, now a roving preacher for the religious-right. There's also a plus - did I mention Lucas's difficulties with women? (July 2022)

Not bad. Good narration pronouncing Porche and either correctly. Sandford comes up with another dissimilar plot with a hidden mystery.

Great mystery & depiction of the media dealing with the death of a celebrity. In the midst of this complicated case, Lucas is juggling his love life which was a lot of fun. A lot of action, great characters, & more as usual, especially if read in order. Totally enjoyable.

On to the next!

TEN STARS!!!!

Picture this: Dragnet starring Sean Connery with Bob Hope's writers punching up the dialogue. The last 100 pages have made John Sandford my number one mystery genre recommendation.

"You ever tried phone sex?" She asked.
"Tried once, but it doesn't work. I feel like a silly jerkoff."
"That's sort of inevitable," she said.
"On the other hand, I'm good at giving it. I wouldn't want to use the word brilliant, but then, I'm a modest kind of guy."
"Really? That's interesting," she said. "I mean, how would you start it?"
"Are you still in bed?"
"Yeah."
"What are you wearing?" He asked.
"A flannel nightshirt and underpants and socks," she said.
"Socks? Jesus. That makes it a little harder," Lucas said.
"Come on, Davenport."
"All right. You know that fake Indian dream catcher you've got hanging over your sink?"
"Yeah....?"
"Go get it," he said.
"Go get it? What for?"
"Listen, are you going to do this, or not?"
"Well....I just wanted to know....."
"You're gonna need that hawk feather," he said.
After a moment, she said, "Hang on."
"Wait a minute! You still there?"
She came back. "Yes?"
"Didn't I see one of those Lady Remington leg shavers in the bathroom?"
"Yes?"
"Bring that, too" Lucas said.
"I'll tell you right now, I'm not shaving anything," she said.
"You don't use those things to shave," Lucas said. "You use them to shave? You naive little waif, you."
"I'll be right back," she said.

In essence, that is the scene representing the pure delight I felt in reading this novel.

There are murders, guns, drugs, fast-car chases, favorite characters near death, greedy criminals and reporters and models and artists and religious fanatics, slippery businessmen, red herring clues, twisty plot contrivances, police procedures rampantly broken and used as convenient - and some of the funniest jokes, dialogue setups, scene situations, gags and noir romancing not only in this series, but in ANY mystery series I've read! Plus, Sandford gives Lucas an agonizing choice of three beautiful women who want a hookup with our charming Detective! Worse, Sandford ends the book with the choice being made without revealing which one! The reader MUST go on to 'Chosen Prey' to find out which woman Davenport wants! Chosen prey indeed. Aw, jeez....

Sandford REALLY had fun writing this one. I can't believe it's a middle-of-the-series book! It's absolutely the best one of the series so far.

I listened to this one and really enjoyed it. Richard Ferrone is very good as the narrator and makes Lucas and cohorts come to life.

This is about the death of a young model and then a bunch of other murders that were related but now committed by the same person.

I enjoy the humor in these books even though they deal with dark subjects. Lucas is pretty funny at times as well as Dell.

I am giving this 5 out of 5 stars, but now I have to read the next one, because it was a big cliff hanger. Lucas having 3 women chasing him and Marcy still looking out for him.

Sandford's introduction to this volume might be my actual favorite thing about it, because it's a massively endearing discussion of how he used to watch fashion shows while on an archaeological dig in Israel because they were one of the few things consistently airing in English, and the image of Sandford sacked out on the couch like a lizard watching a parade of couture is life-changing in its greatness.

Anyway, the novel itself:

This is a little bit of an oddity compared to the other Prey books I've read so far. It's part straightforward mystery, but it veers just off-kilter enough, structurally, that it doesn't feel like one--but it never completely becomes a thriller, either. It's basically the story of an extremely exhausting, high-profile week that has Lucas juggling multiple murders, multiple suspects, and multiple women.

The case kicks off with the murder of a high-profile supermodel, Alie'e Maison, and the much more low-profile murder of another woman at the same party, a virtual unknown whose body comes tumbling out of a closet right when the cops think the house is clear. Whoops. Alie'e is famous enough that the "movie people," i.e. the press, are buzzing around the scene like mosquitoes, desperate to be part of the action, and Lucas, as always, has to spend almost as much time managing them as he does actually solving the case. Unfortunately for him, both the case and the coverage keep magnifying and complicating, as suspects in Alie'e's murder have a disconcerting habit of dropping dead and new information keeps slipping into the light. As always, Sandford is good at filling the cast out with supporting characters who complicate the action in great, believable ways, like Alie's brother the ecstatic evangelist preacher who is halfway to genuine and unnerving sainthood in his devotion and intensity (Lucas having a lapsed Catholic quaver at the guy getting stigmata is a great little character touch), a photographer who is blase and straightforward about his incestuous affair with his sister, and a man who shows up a party only to find out that someone was recently arrested for his murder.

But outside of a cop shooting that provides some dark forward momentum, this one never quite gets off the ground for me. It's consistently entertaining, and sometimes thought-provoking--there's a nice bit of understated irony in the last few pages about big city evil, in particular--but it never hits the highs Sandford is capable of. And Lucas's complicated love life is maybe a little bit too complicated here. It's a cool thematic touch that in his personal life, as in the case, there are always a few too many people involved, but it just winds up feeling a tad forced to me.

At the same time, though, this still provided a couple of hours of good, solid entertainment. It's good light fare.

Love the Lucas Davenport character! This was a very intriguing book. About the time I figured out the culprit, that person would be killed. So needless to say, the book held by interest. Very enjoyable read.

Slow starting but was all pulled together coming on the end.

Very entertaining

A complicated story with multiple victims and more than one killer. Also an interesting view into how the Minneapolis Police run their investigations to cater to “the movie people”, the news media. And they give confidential information to the victim’s family and friends. A Mickey Mouse organization. Not very professional.

As may be evident from my previous reviews, I'm working my way through John Sanford's "Prey" series featuring Minneapolis Deputy Chief Lucas Davenport (I believe the total is 21 as of about a year ago, and a new one, Stolen Prey, is set for publication next month). It's fair to say I've loved them all so far; but this one, the 11th, a little less than the others. That's not to say it isn't good, because I enjoyed it. But that said, I finished it in less than two days more to get it behind me and move on than because I was too caught up in the excitement to put it down.

Why? I don't have a ready answer, although I'm leaning toward what seemed to be a higher than usual number of characters, most of whom just weren't that interesting to me (and with oddball names, they weren't that easy to remember who was who from page to page, either). Even Lucas, who hasn't quite recovered from a so far unsatisfactory ending to a serious romance that began a couple of books earlier, just isn't up to his usual self. While no doubt that's intentional on Sanford's part and Lucas is known for his inability to settle down with (or settle for) just one woman, it just misses the mark for me here.

The one really bright spot, I guess, is a surprise ending that will keep readers guessing and wanting to read the next book to see how it plays out. It worked for me, at least - I look forward to starting it very soon.