Invisible Prey Reviews

• John Sanford at the top of his game

  
  By A680RUE1FDO8B on 2007-05-21
  This is Sanford's 17th novel featuring Lucas Davenport. All of them have been good reading by a master of the police procedural. A few have been slightly better than the others. "Invisible Prey" comes close to being the best of the lot.
  
  As always Lucas Davenport, a Special Agent for Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is called in when a situation is too tough for a local police department or too politically sensitive. "Promoting" Lucas to this job from his former job with a police department was a brilliant move by Sandford, as it lets Davenport roam the landscape without being bothered by jurisdiction. Clever guy, Mr. Sanford.
  
  The story opens with two women, an elderly heiress and her maid, being brutally bludgeoned on a dark and rainy night in a home in St. Paul's most element neighborhood. (Yes, Sanford really does set the scene on a dark and rainy night. Also, inexplicably, the dustjack puts the opening murders in Minneapolis, rather than St. Paul.)
  
  Lucas is dealing at the moment with a very politically sensitive investigation of a local politician who may have had just a bit too much to do with the minor daughter of his current paramour. But the old woman's murder, especially because of it's brutality, carries some poltical weight too, so Lucas looks in on the scene.
  
  The two disparate investigations - a sex scandal and a double murder - ultimately become involved.
  
  Sanford writes some of the best police procedurals to be found. His characters are solid and have depth. Lucas Davenport's wealth, acquired in an accidental second career as a software developer, is helpful in giving the character wider latitude in his social millieu and in setting him apart from his law enforcement officer peers. Sanford is very clever when it comes to character and plot development. A few books back, he introduced Weather, a surgeon, younger than Sandford who is now his wife and the mother of his young son. There is a standard cast of characters arond Lucas and most them are here. There's Marie, Davenport's hard driving, politically savvy boss; Flowers, the oddball investigator; Jenkins and Shrake, the two cops who often provide muscle when needed.
  
  In this novel, Sanford adds a young Afican-American boy who provides a couple of key clues. I suspect he will play a role in subsequent novels. He also adds Sandy, a young woman intern whose quirky character and investigative skills wouldn't be surprising to see in future books.
  
  Sanford identifies the killers early to the reader and then play very adroitly with the reader as Davenport attempts to discover who they are. Along the way, we get a few characters who might be involved and might not be. We also get to meeet a few people who aren't very pleasant.
  
  Sanford plays the mystery and the reader along beautifully. As the last hundred of pages or so rush by, Davenport starts closing in, though it isn't until close to the end that we're sure the killers will be found before Davenport himself becomes a victim.
  
  Overall, a great police procedural with believable characters and solid plotting by a master of the genre. Definitely page turner material. (Too bad they don't still make detective movies like they used to: Lucas Davenport would be the basis for a great series.)
  
  Jerry
  
  

• fantastic police procedural

  
  By AFVQZQ8PW0L on 2007-05-16
  Minneapolis Police Detective Lucas Davenport leads a very sensitive investigation into the activities of Minnesota State Senator Burt Kline allegedly having sex with a minor. The consummate professional cop, Lucas is extremely careful with his handling of the official inquiry because he knows what a mess a media feeding frenzy would be with a politician-Lolita tryst.
  
  As he prepares to arrest Mr. Kline for sex with a fifteen year old, Lucas also is assigned the murders of wealthy widow Constance Bucher and her maid Sugar Rayette-Peeples in the former's mansion. Both were battered to death and the house ransacked. The first thought is a robbery turned ugly, as the affluent home is filled with valuable antiques. However, Lucas realizes that he has no idea whether anything was stolen so perhaps the murders were personal especially with the skulls smashed. As he continues his inquires, he soon finds a strange connection to the sleazy senator scenario, but identifying the killers still remains difficult and convoluted.
  
  Though number seventeen in this long running police procedural, INVISIBLE PREY is a fantastic tale in which the two cases are appealing because of the strong key players ranging from victims, suspects, witnesses, "vultures" and participants, etc. Readers will appreciate Lucas' investigations as John Sandford provides his hero with not the usual suspects in what will prove to be a one sitting thriller.
  
  Harriet Klausner
  
  
  

• One of the best Prey books ever!

  
  By A25HYPL2XKQPZB on 2007-05-25
  John Sandford's Lucas Davenport returns in INVISIBILE PREY and this series shows no sign of slowing down. Sandford is truly one of the best.
  
  The novel opens with "Big" and "Little" breaking into a mansion in one of the most exlusive neighborhoods in St. Paul. They brutally murder the inhabitants and the bodies are discovered a few days later. What did "Big" and "Little" want? The murders look like a random robbery at first, but Lucas is puzzled by what was taken, and what wasn't. The plot delves into the art world and antiques and a trail of murders that goes back many years.
  
  I've read all but three Prey novels, and the plot of this one stands out. The bad guys are crazy, but they're smart, and in it for the money. Lucas must decipher the art/antique world in order to find the clues that will implicate the killers. This novel isn't as tense as other Prey novels, but there are plenty of twists and turns and it is still a definite page turner.
  
  I recommend this series to any one who enjoys a well written cop thriller/procedural. This book really seemed to flow and was full of great characters and humor. (Warning: lot of bad language so don't read if that offends you.) Kidd, from Sandford's other series, also makes a cameo advising Lucas on art. That was fun to read.
  
  This is a great book, one of the best in the series. Read INVISIBLE PREY now and catch up later on the rest of the series. You won't regret it.
  
  
  

• OK, but the edge doesn't seem to be there any more...

  
  By A3R19YKNL641X3 on 2007-08-25
  I've been a fan of the Prey series by John Sandford over the years. But lately the titles haven't captured my attention as much as they used to. In the latest, Invisible Prey, I once again find myself thinking that it was an enjoyable read, but the excitement and edge isn't there any more.
  
  Lucas Davenport is pulled into a case where an older lady and her maid are brutally murdered. The trashed house makes it look like it could be a burglary gone bad, but something doesn't quite ring true for Davenport. He's able to find a couple other crimes that have somewhat the same characteristics, and the common element has to do with antiques and a particular set of quilts. You find out very quickly who the guilty parties are in the killings, and the story revolves around the desperation of the killers and their need to eliminate Lucas from the case in order to avoid being run down. There's a subplot involving an accusation of improper behavior with a minor and a state senator. Lucas is also involved in this case, and the killers attempt to mess up that case, also to draw Lucas in a different direction.
  
  In many of the earlier Prey stories, there was a strong element of how Lucas would use his intellect and gaming skills to anticipate and solve the crimes. But lately, that characteristic is more secondary, and too much time is spent dwelling on his new political position in the bureau. The story is fine as a typical crime novel, but the things that used to draw me to Davenport aren't there much now. I'll likely keep reading new installments in the series, but I don't know that I consider them a "must read" any more...
  
  
  

• Invisible Prey should have stayed Invisible

  
  By AKAIRBZO3PHVY on 2007-06-01
  I am an avid reader and owner of ALL the Prey novels. I couldn't wait for this one to come out. I even pre-ordered it. Boy was I surprised and so very dissappointed. This book is almost impossibly boring, drug down with too many cartoon like characters and names, many too many names to keep up with much less make a cohesive story line. I had to force myself to finish it and only because I was fool enough to buy the hard cover and by gosh I saw immediately how wasted my money was, therefore I FORCED myself to read every word. I can't imagine what happened with this book. All the Prey books are impossible to put down, spine tingling, suspenseville, and wonderful. THIS ONE IS NOT AND SHOULD NOT EVEN HAVE BEEN PRINTED. It totally wasted the paper it was printed on. I am so dissappointed. Surely the next Prey book won't follow in this ones footsteps. For if it does, John Sanford need not write any more in that series. What a failure The Invisible Prey is.
  
  
• This is a fine novel
  By A27WFYW9ZJ5DN1 on 2007-09-20
  John Sandford does it again with Invisible Prey. Lucas Davenport, who is one of the most believable characters in modern crime fiction, continues his career in breaking a case that is deliciously complex, involves wonderfully convoluted and perverse characters and carries you from connection to connection until suddenly it will all make sense. This is a fine novel about interesting people, some of whom are doing violent and destructive things and others whom simply want to lead nice, decent lives and catches both the way in which the innocent can without cause be destroyed by evil, and the way in which good can in the end triumph. As an optimist, I find it always comforting to read John Sandford's novels and in particular I enjoy his Lucas Davenport pursuit of justice.
  
  
• A WINNING STORY AND NARRATION
  By A3M174IC0VXOS2 on 2007-06-01
  
  Who can forget Richard Ferrone's compelling narrations of such titles as Broken Prey, Dead Watch, Rules of Prey? He's up to his winning tricks again as he reels in listeners with the opening lines of Invisible Prey. His voice is low, well modulated, and just a bit husky. Strategically placed pauses cause me to lean in, eager for his next words.
  
  Since giving up law for a theatrical career he has narrated more than 200 audiobooks, many in his "tough guy" voice, always assured, ever commanding. He's a topnotch voice performer who renders this novel's viscous killers and protagonist Lucas Davenport larger than life.
  
  It's a hot summer night, muggy with the threat of a storm, when two men known only as Big and Little gain entry to a Minneapolis mansion inhabited by two elderly women. They're savage in their assault, not only killing but further venting psychotic rage by beating a lifeless body. We hear: "In a second, in three long steps, he was on her again, beating the dead woman with the pipe, heavy impacts shaking the floor."
  
  It seems that this is one crime that may stump Lucas Davenport, but wait. Our relentless investigator has another case on his agenda - a high ranking politician with a penchant for pretty very young things has been accused of satisfying his debauched desires with a teenager. Surely one case has nothing to with the other.
  
  It's amazing to this listener how Sandford has continued to maintain his high standard with this his 17th Prey novel, yet he has produced another winner. Don't miss it!
  
  - Gail Cooke
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Going through the motions
  By A1AP1JYMPZ0Y0J on 2007-06-13
  This is a weak Davenport novel. It's possible that Sandford is simply losing interest. Part of the problem is the plot and the rest of the problem lies in the characters. Let's start with the characters. Nobody except Davenport has any substance here at all, and the only reason he resonates at all is that we know him from all the other books. His life in this book is dull, dull, dull. Everybody is sketchily drawn--including the detectives that surround Davenport. You can hardly tell them apart, and the dialogue for any one of them could be given to another with no impact on the book. The murderous couple are a bit more interesting, but we never really see them in combat with Davenport--the husband is killed off too early for that. In most of Sandford's Davenport novels, much of the suspense comes from the possibility that killer will kill again--or attack a specfic victim. Not so here...the old women (and man) are done in long before the book starts and we see only one murder scene at the beginning--and we don't know the victms. Who cares? Not us! All in all, this is a poor job of painting the characters. It's pretty clear that Sandford's heart is just not in it. The plot wanders around and around with false leads and dead ends. The links between the two plots are highly implausible, and Sanford pretty much drops the second one in favor of the first about half way through. You can buy this if you absolutely, positively have to read the latest Davenport novel, but if you must, I suggest you either wait for the paperback so you don't blow good money or get the abridged audiobook so you don't have to go through the whole thing to get the essence of how Davenport wraps it up. Yawner!
  
  
• Another Twist for Lucas Davenport
  By APCJ35EZ0L91D on 2007-07-02
  This is the 18th "Prey" book for John Sandford, and one would think that after so many stories, he would begin to run out of ideas and storylines to keep an audience's attention. Not so. This book is a true masterpiece of twists and turns from beginning to end.
  
  We know who the killers are right from the beginning, but the way they lead the police on a merry chase and try to outwit one of the smartest and most detailed investigators, Lucas Davenport, is a real treat. We know they will not succeed, but to see Lucas doubting himself and his instincts is mind-boggling.
  
  We have a cast of characters who change their MO from crime to crime. This is not normal for criminals. Usually the bad guys stay within a geographic area, or are profiled to certain methods and manners. These people are chameleons in that they adapt and use whatever is at hand to complete their nefarious deeds.
  
  For someone as meticulous and straight-line as Lucas Davenport, it is a puzzling experience, making him doubt himself and his team as well.
  
  The crimes are vicious, and seemingly unconnected, until Lucas' wife points out that the only thing the two investigations have in common is him, does he begin to set his sights on a different profile method.
  
  Working backwards, and trying to determine who is doing what is a cat-and mouse game that involves artwork, millions of dollars in scammed money, deaths of innocent people, and even includes a smart teen that assists the police with his insights into the objects taken from one of the crime scenes. What appear to be burglaries gone wrong for quick sale items turn into multi-million dollar art fraud and theft.
  
  Of course, the bad guys eventually get their due, and Lucas can sit back and truly say this is one for the record books. Too many variables and unconnected details. The killers here were really clever, and Sandford went over and above to make them so.
  
  It was a page-turner and hard to put down. Thank goodness for long lines at stop lights to be able to read a few more paragraphs while driving to and from work.
  
  
  
• I don't think Sandford wrote this!! (There, I said it)
  By AOV292FI001RK on 2007-07-02
  I met John Sandford 3 years ago on a book signing tour in Atlanta. He told us during his Q & A that his son wrote all the Kidd books. I was appaled. How could he do that to us, his loyal fans. He said he was writing one more Prey book and he was not sure if he was going to write anymore of them. I think he stopped. This book was so far from his style it was torture to read. His pace, his character interactions, his...well his everything. If Sandford/Camp did write this he should go back and read Rules of Prey and see how far he has fallen and how much he has forgotten about Lucas Davenport.
  
  
• boring, slow, and contrived
  By ABWF7YVZAU1QP on 2007-10-07
  Invisible Prey was a major disappointment in my eyes. Only a couple of months ago I read what I felt was Sandford's best book 'Dead Watch' and was looking forwards to more of his work. However I feel that the constraints of this series have tied Sandford's hands to such an extent that he is almost incapable of pushing any new life into it.
  
  My main beef with this story is that everyone knows the Twin Cities are pretty calm when compared to places such as the inner corridors of Baltimore, New Orleans, or Detroit. This is the 17th time Davenport has confronted a mastermind criminal. He is so smart, so handsome, so wealthy, so comfortable in himself, that it is hard to find any sympathy for the guy. Why is it that only Davenport can take care of the Twin Cities problems. Time and time again in this story, the 'evil doers' talk about how Davenport is someone to watch out for and how only he can thwart them. What about the rest of the police force? Are they just chopped liver?
  
  Lastly, this is just such a tedious plot. Sandford sets up a sort of Agatha Christie plot. Only he gives away the who-done-it aspect in the first few pages and we are left watching someone who can do no wrong stumble across one clue after another. Ohhhh how clever Sandford is to have the murderous couple end up on the inside of the investigation. Ohhh, how clever Sandford is in setting up a second plot that so perfectly co-insides with the murders and Davenport. Give me a break, and give me back the time I spent reading this drivel.
  
  
  
  
• The thrill is gone...
  By ARFJD5EE2RXV7 on 2007-07-15
  I've read every "Prey" book and have been in love with Lucas from the very beginning. Early on, each book was thrilling, exciting, terrifying, and the action never let up! Well, it finally has. Sadly, this book was so boring I didn't even finish it. Life is too short to read bad books!
  
  
• Time travel needed.
  By A10VPD3MILRS6I on 2007-05-23
  I've enjoyed all of the 'Prey' novels, but I'm getting a little tired lately of Lucas' comfy upper-upper middle class life in the 'burbs. I really can't stand Weather; wash her mouth out with soap! This novel reads well, sustains interest and is well crafted but Lucas just doesn't have enough pizzazz as he recedes into middle age. I wish Sanford would go back to the more rowdy days before Weather, marriage and kids. There are plenty of blanks in the past to fill in. Are we going to have to watch Lucas go on Medicare, get dentures and have his cataracts done?
  
  Still, "Invisible Prey" is a smooth and enjoyable read for Davenport fans; besides,if you've read all the others, who is going to quit now?
  
  
• Good Hero + Good (Bad) Villains = Good Book
  By A2X7G5ID1RYE1K on 2007-06-19
  Two of the consistently best things about the long-running John Sandford "Prey" series are 1) the hero and 2) some great villains.
  As a now aging hero, Lucas Davenport is very human - he knows Xanax and Ambien personally, slugs down the Diet Coke and isn't such a know-it-all that he's not willing to find facts in a book about antiques. He is also tough and smart (in fact, using his brains a little more now that he's aging).
  As villains go, those in "Invisible Prey" are creepy enough and certainly ruthless - but a far cry from some of the other Sandford weirdos in earlier books (Dr. Michael Bekker and Maddog" Vullion come to mind immediately).
  References in this book to Davenport's home life are minimal as time is spent on the crimes and the solving of them. But Weather did come up with a suggestion that didn't occur to Lucas, so when she was in the book it was worthwhile.
  I kept waiting for the Burt Kline part of the book to go away so Davenport could focus on the killings, but when Sandford wove the two together, it was an unexpected touch. Well done - the book is a solid new episode in Davenport's career.
  
  
• Murderers in the strangest of places
  By AAY1YLTKK4JC7 on 2007-06-26
  A criminal conspiracy and a string of murders involving quilters and antiquers is the plot of this Sandford thriller. I must say, as someone who has read a lot of Sandford's "Prey" series that this book was a little bit of a stretch for me. The book is still a page turner and a below average Sandford novel is still a lot better than a lot of that other stuff out there. This book is worth the read.
  
  I must say though, Sandford tried to intertwine two story lines in the book, one involving the quilter/antiquer murders and another a political case involving pederasty. I don't think Sandford accomplished the task and everytime the book switched away from the antique murder storyline the book was fairly uninteresting. It was a departure for Sandford. He normally keeps his stories on task, on the prey.
  
  Below average Sandford=Good Book from anybody else. It's a go and read.
  
  
• Another solid "Prey" title
  By A3BX2N9R6P3CTF on 2007-05-20
  This was not the best of the "Prey" series, but it was certainly a strong and entertaining book. John Sandford is clearly at peace with his alter ego, Lucas Davenport, and I would venture a guess that Lucas' maturity (no longer grabbing the nearest, always willing woman, for a quickie when he should be focused on the crime o' the day)is a reflection of Mr. Sandford's own life.
  
  I think one of the most accurate aspects of the book was when the crimianls started looking for ways to cover up what they'd done, creating more suspicion and basically turning the spotlight directly on themselves.
  
  This was a good summer read.
  
  
• Very Good - Not His Best
  By A1D48CZG9M85II on 2007-06-27
  As with all his Prey novels, John Sandford keeps the readers riveted to the exploits of Lucas Davenport. Invisible Prey is a good story, of course, but it's not one of the best in the Prey series. I think it lacked a little of the suspense. I found myself missing Sloan, who, of course, retired to open his bar. With Sloan's retirement, maybe Sandford can bring back Del a little more.
  
  Davenport fans will like the book... just not as much as some of the others in the Prey series.
  
  
• What's Up?
  By A16SXA3DGBROJ2 on 2007-07-16
  I read several poor reviews of this book and decided to bite the bullet and buy it anyway. I LOVE John Sanford! I have no idea why anyone would write negatively regarding this novel! It offered loads of twists and turns. Hated to put it down! Great reading!
  
  
• A seamless web
  By A32O5FZH994CNY on 2007-07-16
  In Invisible Man Ralph Ellison saw race, specifically the African race as making people invisible. In a brilliant juxtaposition of genre John Sanford's Lucas Davenport hunts killers of elderly art patrons and quilters. The killers are so well hidden in plain sight that they were even hired by the St Paul police to assist in one aspect of the investigation of the murder of a particularly wealthy lady. Thus we have not only Invisible Prey but invisible murderers to confound the best police work.
  
  As Lucas begins to draw pertinent conclusions about the relationship of so many seemingly random crimes, the killers use their knowledge of the police investigation to confuse issues. The result is a seamless web of murder and other crimes most foul.
  
  Sandford has earned a new spot in the pantheon of American mystery writers just beside Michael Connelly with this taut thriller. It is not to be missed
  
  
• Prey Tell
  By A20T657HJCT78X on 2007-07-20
  Sanford must be running out of normal ideas. This one is way way too complicated, and also (but maybe it's me) I knew almost everything I needed to guess who was whom with 20 minutes. It is also far-fetched to the point of disbelief, although well and crisply written.
  
  I'll just have to wait for the next "prey" to assuage my appetite.
  
  
• More like Invisible Plot and Murder for Money
  By AKB2PYODH0TKS on 2007-08-23
  If I had to make a bet, John Sandford didn't want to write another "Prey" story, but after his last non-Prey try didn't do that well, he probably had to do one contractually. The problem with paying a writer to add to a series is that it becomes work as opposed to pleasure or fun. Sandford never seems to get in the rhythm that his writing usually has an much of the book seems disjointed and connected by wiseguy comments and forced situations.
  
  Sandford makes two mistakes in the book that he never normally would: 1) he leaves the explanation for a buried body found, unexplained, and 2) he has one of his characters misquote themself when explaining something that has happened prior. Also, though our friend Mr. Lukas has always had his "randy" side, it's like he's going through male-menopause (or maybe Sandford is) with the comments he and the other cops make about the different woman in the book.
  
  The story itself is (excuse the pun) nothing to write home about and the procedural part of the story is something that would embarrass Ed McBain.
  Many of the characters, especially the out of town cops and the local county attorneys general come on like idiots with no more common sense than your local "George Bush".
  
  When discussing his feelings as to how he would deal with the murder of someone in his immediate family, he mentions Weather, Letty, Sam but not his daughter by the news anchor. Maybe she's just not important enough to worry about because she lives with her mother. Just poor continuity on someones part.
  
  All in all it seems that Sandford needs to take some time off from this character and find himself something else to do while he concentrates on putting together a new novel that will salvage Lucas Davenport. Not to mention that Lucas is getting to the age where he shouldn't be involved in shoot-outs and stakeouts.
  
  
  
• Send me no Flowers
  By AGPGGAZB234Y8 on 2007-05-21
  This latest installment in the Adventures of Lucas Davenport is a decided change from the last book, 'Broken Prey.' Where that book was breathtaking in its pace and action, this book is more of a puzzler or a maze. As in all Columbo movies, in 'Invisible Prey' the reader learns who the killers are early on. Unlike Columbo, Lucas and his team don't have any suspicions about who the killers might be and so they must start work at ground zero, collecting data, interviewing witnesses, and of course our boy Lucas is the fine mind guiding the investigation and providing the needed breakthrough connections. For fans of the series, you may miss Del Capslock (I know I did) who has only a minor appearance; same with the master of interrogations, Sloan, he only appears briefly. Sherrill is absent altogether. As if to make up for that, and perhaps to introduce the readers to a character who would, IMO, make a terrific lead character for his own series, the author gives us a police investigator named Virgil Flowers. We get more hints about Flowers' character ("that effing Flowers!") than details (he could fish in his sleep), but the character is smart, dedicated, distinctive, and unlike the notorious Davenport, doesn't like to shoot people -- Flowers considers it mismanagement.
  
  This book is as good a story as any of the other Prey books, and yet felt a little different. Lucas tries to watch his language some, manages some interaction with his children, does nothing to endanger his wife, relies more on his team -- I think he must be growing up! Not sure that's the Davenport I like, though. It's the hot-headed, politically incorrect, semi-philanderer, two-fisted, shoot'em-up-cowboy Lucas I like best. Or maybe I just miss those wickedly black-humored cop jokes in the other books. :-D Doesn't really matter though -- hey, it's LUCAS DAVENPORT! Ergo, it's a good read, & thoroughly entertaining.
  
  
• I'm in the Minority
  By A3SYMLB8JSW5VD on 2007-05-22
  I didn't enjoy this Prey novel as much as I did the others. I'll wait for the next Prey novel. By the time I got the suspense of the story. You pretty much guess the rest.
  
  
• another Sandford blockbuster
  By A26B5PWQDDLO2N on 2007-05-26
  John Sandford never fails to deliver in his "prey" series and this one is as good as it gets. Maybe it's my creeping Alzheimer's, but I got somewhat lost in the huge number of characters in this story, so I suggest that you keep a pencil and pad nearby to note down who is who as you read the first one hundred pages or so. Later in the book---when some of the characters have been knocked off one way or another---it gets a little easier. But do not let this nuance detract from your enthusiasm for reading this fine novel in the crime genre.
  
  
• Invisible Prey
  By AXXKMHRO8MFEX on 2007-06-08
  I have read every book the John Sandford has written and Lucas Davenport is one of my heroes. I like this book very much, as Lucas and as his friends and family mature he brings them into the story gently enough to ot distract but still there so you know who he is, when he is not being Lucas. This was a good mystery and the political stuff was tongue in cheek and the humor subtle, a good read.
  
  
• Skip it
  By A2743KXGA6DZTL on 2007-06-13
  Pretty boring. I read the end just to get it over with. His last couple of books I found disappointing. I'm a huge fan, but I have begun to lose interest in his work.
  
  
• "He didn't have a mission. He had an interest."
  By A2MF2QVSCUI27G on 2007-06-18
  
  
  Crime happens. But when two elderly women are bludgeoned to death in the most upscale neighborhood in Minneapolis, the intrepid Lucas Davenport is drawn into a bizarre crime scene that is only one layer of an unfolding plot. While wrapping up a hot case of potential misconduct by a politician running for election, Lucas is temporarily sidetracked by the shocking murders. Soon he is juggling problems in both cases, the evidence against the politician slipping away and the increasingly confusing messages from the crime scene of the murders of the elderly victims.
  
  Davenport is familiar with the details of death. The recent murders do not so much shock as befuddle the detective. The clues don't quite match up to the crime scene, so the police bring in experts to help them sort through an incredible amount of valuable collectibles found in the murdered woman's mansion. Needless to say, Lucas does his best work while focusing on the case at hand, distracted when forced to deal with unexpected problems in the impending indictment of the politician. The indictment is politically sensitive and there is significant pressure to make his case air tight. Lucas' dilemma is diverting his attention from one case to the other, pertinent facts lurking in his subconscious, but not quite accessible, a critical link he can't quite capture.
  
  The novel features an improbable cast of characters: a half-pit bull named Screw; an antiques expert whose expressions are unreadable because of Botox injections ("With Botox you had to fake reactions just to look human."); an elaborate fraud; the unusual and lucrative world of collectors; and a legion of fundraisers who scout for patrons among the rich. Mix in the brutal slaying of the two hapless women and a most unexpected criminal plot and Sanford has once more managed a compelling tale. After years of writing crime thrillers, Sanford returns in fine form in Invisible Prey, proving he hasn't lost his touch for the arcane and obscure. Although years have passed and Davenport has changed with them, a contented married man, he hasn't lost his edge. Clear-eyed and disciplined, Davenport only improves with age, surrounded by a supporting cast of like-minded folk, challenged by the infinite creativity of the criminal mind in search of profit. Luan Gaines/2007.
  
  
  
• I went the Audio Book route.........
  By APO3QWNQDJKUC on 2007-06-21
  This was my first John Sanford book. I've been a fan of the murder mysteries for years, with Womens Murder Club series, Harry Bosch, Eve Dallas, Alex Cross and various others but I had hit one of those unavoidable periods where there was nothing new from any of my "regular" authors and I had read everything to date. A friend recommended John Sandford and I picked up Invisible Prey on CD-Rom (I have a 2hr commute to and from work). I very much enjoyed the story and Lucas Davenport was a hoot, and at the same time a smart and strong character. I will definately go back and pick up the earlier books of this series.
  
  My only negative has nothing to do with Mr. Sanford nor this story. I had a real hard time getting by the monotone, scratchy voice of the reader on the CD-Rom edition of this book. Perhaps I'm spoiled by Susan Erikson ("In-death" series from JD Robb), Carolyn McCormick (Womens Murder Club), and Len Cariou (Harry Bosch) but they have a style of reading that not only keeps you interested, but all have the ability to change their voices for every character to the point where you could completely do away with all of the "He said" and "She said" narratives. This reader (Richard Ferrone) attempts to do that, but for some reason it just doesn't work for him. I'm going to try the older books in this series, but if this same guy reads them I'm probably going to drop them.
  
  
• Invisible Prey
  By A30HKVI2NGQUHY on 2007-06-27
  I'm a John Sandford/John Camp fan and truly enjoy the Lucas Davenport series. Lucas matures and ages along with the rest of us and I really like this book: A new approach to an old crime, which in itself is an achievement worthy of praise. And John Sandford proves that he is still his own man. He has not commercialized his talent by spitting out a book/year (or more), and he is not selling his name to or taking credit for other writers, a growing trend among popular writers like James Patterson e.g.
  
  John Sandford is uniquely John Sandford, writing classic quality suspense at his own pace, without gore and mind numbing violence.
  
  PS Lucas Davenport is a favorite of mine, but Kidd and his crew are THE BEST!! I'd walk into the sunset a happy Camper if I knew Kidd #5 was on his way.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Another Prey, still good reads!
  By A3T5G6OORYIH3Q on 2007-07-02
  Sanford's reliance on titles with the word "Prey" is now becoming very confusing. Two word titles where one is always repeated tend to confuse even the avid fan. Occasionally a previously read "Prey" novel may be picked up expecting a new story.
  
  That said, Lucas Davenport is still a great character, and Sanford is a competent writer with a flexible style that keeps the reader guessing. Solid plotting and interesting villians sustain the series and have the avid fan waiting impatiently for the next installment.
  
  In this one a series of seemingly unrelated murders slowly become an obsession for Lucas Davenport, and the fact that each murder is done in a distinctly different manner makes the job of solving them vastly more complicated and difficult that it at first appears. Strong plotting and a master at the mystery/thriller genre gives "Invisible Prey" solid legs that carry it to a satisfying conclusion. A must read for Sanford fans, and a great place to start for the newbie.
  
  

• The Overlook (Harry Bosch)
• Bad Luck and Trouble (Jack Reacher, No. 11)
• Dark of the Moon
• Phantom Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries)
• The 6th Target