Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) | John Sandford

Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) | John Sandford | Fast and furious

books:

Broken Prey (Lucas...

	Broken Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) John Sandford, 2005 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 141 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

Lucas Davenport prevails again

Those familiar with John Sanford's "Prey" series will not be disappointed in "Broken Prey," featuring Lucas Davenport. Once a Minneapolis cop, Davenport now works in the Minnesota BCA, a kind of omnibus outfit that gives him reason to become involved in cases all over the state, which proves quite helpful to Sanford's stories.

Typically, the murderers that Davenport chases down are mentally disturbed (to say the least) and usually represent threats to innocent civilians, fellow cops and Davenport himself.

Sanford has indeed developed a formula and from this reader's perspective, it is a satisfying and successful one.

A corpse is found, "displayed" in a grotesque way, the results of a particularly grisly murder. A recently released former inmate of a state mental health facility is slinging garbage cans as an "apprentice" garbage man. This sexual predator is tempted, sorely tempted by the demons in his mind . . . and Davenport soon finds out that he has disappeared. The connection between him and the murderer is quickly reached.

But then a father and his young son are found murdered in an even more gruesome manner. Is there one murderer? Two murderers? More? Elle, a childhood friend of Davenport's who is a nun and expert on serial murders is brought in.

Like Ed McBain, Sanford's world of law enforcement is a large and expansive one. We meet one player after another. The shoeleather on the streets approach is tried and proven and that's what Sanford has his quite believable characters doing.

The trail leads to a mental hospital and three sexual predators known "the Gods Down the Hall" are interviewed. Talk about bizarre people.

Bit by bit Davenport and his team pull together the case, gathering their clues one by one. Sanford, as always, plots tightly and well. There are no "you expect me to believe that?" moments in a Sanford novel.

In "Broken Prey," Sanford seems to be adopting a punchier writing style, using mort short sections to advance his stories. The change does not detract in any way. Sanford's books are pageturners of the first order to begin with and "Broken Prey" is yet another.

If you like police procedurals, you'll more than likely love John Sanford.

Jerry

for more information click here

Fast and furious

Like all John Sandford's "Prey" novels, Broken Prey is fast, tense and ugly. This author knows how to grab his readers and drag them along on a frantic hunt for a monster. You're right there speeding across a farm field during a midnight car chase. You can see yourself running blindly through hospital corridors seeking a mad man before he kills again. I confess to skimming over the blood and gore scenes--too much information, but it's not a big problem. I've loved every one of Sandford's novels and I can't wait for the next.

Great addition to the "Prey" series

I am new to the "Prey" series by John Sandford. I am always pleased to stumble across another great Mystery writer...even better if it is a series with characters like Lucas Davenport you can watch develop from book to book. This is only the second book in the series I have read so far, my first was Chosen Prey, that was also good, but I liked Broken even better! My one complaint is I cannot find any lists anywhere to list the order of the books! I found one partial list in someones review of an earlier book. It is always better (for me at least-when it is a series like this with returning characters) when I get to read the books in the right order. Here is the list I have compiled to help other Sandford newbies like me:
1 RULES OF PREY
2 SHADOW PREY
3 EYES OF PREY
4 SILENT PREY
5 WINTER PREY
6 NIGHT PREY
7 MIND PREY
8 SUDDEN PREY
9 SECRET PREY
10 CERTAIN PREY
11 EASY PREY
12 CHOSEN PREY
13 MORTAL PREY
14 NAKED PREY
15 HIDDEN PREY
16 BROKEN PREY

for more information click here

Reviews by Nan Kilar and Bobby Miller

Lucas Davenport is back for another adventure. A young woman is found dead, her body 'scourged' and her throat cut. A few weeks later, a man is found dead in the same manner and his son clubbed to death with a baseball bat. The killings continue. Suspect one's body is found in a river; suspect two disappears; finally they get on the trail of the real killer who has cleverly mislead all law enforcement officials. Lucas is his usual bullheaded self; argues with his Minneapolis cop friend about retiring, and lies to Weather who is in London with the kids and nanny on a fellowship about being shot. His 100 best songs list to load on his new iPod provides mindless relief from the horrors of work.

Maybe I've read too many mysteries and am getting too callous, but this one seems a little far-fetched. Why did the cops take forever to figure out who they were really after? But I enjoy Mr. Sandford's writing style, dialogues, and little surprises; and I'll continue to read his future works.

for more information click here