Certain Prey | John Sanford | What does it take to build a sociopath?

Certain Prey | John Sanford | An intense action read from cover to cover

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Certain Prey

	Certain Prey John Sanford Putnam Adult, 1999 - 339 pages average customer review:based on 203 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Lucas Davenport confronts an entirely new kind of adversary in this harrowing new "Prey" novel. Her name is Clara Rinker, an attractive, pleasant Southern woman--the best hitwoman in the business. But when she's hired for a job in Minnesota and a witness survives, that's when Davenport gets on her case--with no idea of the toll that it will take on him.

What does it take to build a sociopath?

On the surface, Carmel Loan and Clara Rinker couldn't be more different. Carmel is one of the best criminal defense lawyers in Minneapolis - as a result she has the fancy apartment, nice clothes, high profile car - she seems to have it all. Meanwhile, Clara left home when she was in her early teens because her stepfather was molesting her and became a stripper. One night after the bar closed, a drunken patron raped her in the parking lot - she arranged help from the owners of the bar for her revenge and ended up killing him. From this stemmed her career as an assassin - and one of the best in the country. She also makes a lot of money, but doesn't dare to live such a high-profile life, because to all appearances she only owns a bar in Wichita, KS while she attends school. Nonetheless, they have one thing in common - they are very good at arranging murder.

Carmel saw one thing she wanted that she could not have - another lawyer at her firm called Allen Hale. The problem was, he was married. So she contacted one of her clients, who put her in touch with Clara to arrange the murder of Barbara Hale. Clara is a professional and things almost go perfectly - except the client to whom Carmel went for this information videotaped her, and is now blackmailing her. So, she and Clara need to clean up. As each cleaning up leads to additional complications, the bodies begin to pile up and Lucas Davenport begins to smell a rat.

Intricately plotted, this is a terrifically fun book in many ways. While Carmel is a not-very-nice person (she is a lawyer, after all), you can't help but almost like Clara. After all, she bears no malice - it is just a job to her. Many misdirects and close calls leave Lucas and co. flustered as they just keep "missing by inches" when it comes to catching up with Clara.

This is one of my favorite books in the series, mostly because of the introduction of Clara. I wish things had turned out differently for her (she shows up on a subsequent book) and she had turned into a returning character, but no such luck. At any rate, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the "Prey" series, a good thriller and/or a book with interesting anti-heroes.

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An intense action read from cover to cover

John Sandford displays his best talent as a master story teller in this engrossing tale.

"Clara Rinker." That simple and engaging two word opening paragraph sets the tone for the fast paced story in "Certain Prey."

Beautiful but vicious Carmel Loan is a top attorney who has a twisted desire to possess Allen Hale who is a married man. Believing that she needs his wife out of the way in order to possess him she hires a mob assassin to eliminate her. Clara Rinker, a sexy young hit woman with a violent past is the best there is.

Clara has a long history of assassinations and is the consumate professional. She has always made clean close range kills without leaving a single clue behind. That record cannot remain forever and when she hits Barbara Allen a few loose ends come unraveled. Eventually partnering with Carmel they leave behind them a string of dead bodies and an ever increasing number of clues as they attempt to cover their tracks.

Lucas Davenport is a tenacious Minneapolis police chief who hangs on like a bulldog when he gets his teeth into a case. Determined to solve the series of murders he pieces together the case and comes closer to nailing Rinker than anyone ever has.

This is a very engaging read that is told from all viewpoints. Sandford is able to assemble the story in a manner in which the reader is sympathetic toward all characters involved with the possible exception of Carmel Loan. The way he has the ability to get the reader to feel sympathy toward Rinker's plight and at the same time pull for Davenport's dedication to justice makes for a page turning spellbinder.

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One of my favorite "Prey" novels yet.

Sandford has done it again. Time and time again I pick up the next Prey novel starring Lucas Davenport and wonder, is this going to be a recycled plot line with different villain names? You would think that after a dozen books we would be running out of criminal types and motivations. However, while some of the Prey books have some similarities, "Certain Prey" is cleverly original.

Enter a lawyer and her hired hit-woman. As they work together to tie up a few loose ends they become a smooth operating killing machine. Davenport has crafted one of my favorite killers so far in "Certain Prey." Rinker is definitely fun to read about and watch in action. This story is one that is hard to put down; needless to say, I stayed up a little to late to finish this book.

Highly recommended for all Sandford/Davenport fans. "Certain Prey" will not disappoint you. This would make a good stand alone book for those readers who have not read the countless Prey books that lead up to this one; but, greater appreciation will come for those who have read them all in order.

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Reviewed for Midwest Book Review

As a teenager, Clara Rinker ran away from home and an abusive stepfather. While working as a dancer in a strip club, Clara is raped but plots her vengeance and kills the man who assaulted her. This begins a long career for Clara as a hired killer. Carmel Loan is a successful defense attorney in Minneapolis, a woman who is used to getting what she wants. And she wants Hale Allen, but standing in her way is Allen's wife. Through a third-party, Carmel hires Clara to kill Allen's wife, at which point, Lucas Davenport steps into the picture. Before Clara can enjoy her new relationship with Allen, the liaison she used to contact Clara tries to blackmail Carmel, so Carmel hires Clara personally to take care of this matter. From this point, things begin to unravel, which requires Clara and Carmel to team up and commit more murders. All the while, Davenport and his crew are one step behind the two killers, with no evidence to tie either one to any of the murders.

This is the tenth book in the Prey series by John Sandford, which remains as fresh at this point as at the beginning. Lucas Davenport is an engaging character, an intelligent and intense investigator who enjoys his career chasing killers. Although there is no actual mystery to figure out here, which marks this as more of a thriller, the chase by Davenport and several strong secondary characters is fine-tuned and all the more enjoyable to follow.

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