Twenty books in and John Sandford's Prey series featuring cop Lucas Davenport still delivers the goods. Every time a new one comes along it gives me a familiar comfortable feeling akin to the one generated by my favourite tv cop show, NYPD Blue.
A botched robbery results in the death of a hospital pharmacy clerk and on their exit the culprits are spotted by Lucas' wife Weather.
The mastermind behind the robbery is the shady Dr Barakat (a show stealing character) and he decides the best way to ensure his own safety is to eliminate ALL witnesses, including his accomplices. Lucas and the guys aren't about to let that extend to Weather who is assigned lovable rogue Virgil Flowers (who has his own spin off series) as her bodyguard while she performs an operation to separate conjoined twins.
The strength in Sandford's writing is the character development, everyone is well rounded and usually (as is the case here) there is no doubt who the villains are, giving you access to their thoughts, circumstances and motives.
An excellent outing and it gets by as a stand alone but the main players have been developed over so many years that if your a fan of crime thrillers I highly recommend starting at the beginning with the fantastic Rules Of Prey. You'll be hooked.
Ric's Rating: 84%