[Lucas Davenport 24] • Field of Prey

#1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford continues

his phenomenal Prey series—and “for those who think they know everything

they need to know about Lucas Davenport, [Field of Prey] proves them wrong…” (Huffington Post)On

the night of the fifth of July, in Red Wing, Minnesota, a boy smelled

death in a cornfield off an abandoned farm. When the county deputy took a

look, he found a body stuffed in a cistern. Then another. And another.

By the time Lucas Davenport was called in, it was fifteen and counting,

the victims killed over just as many summers, regular as clockwork.How

could this happen in a town so small without anyone noticing? And with

the latest victim only two weeks dead, Davenport knows the killer is

still at work, still close by. Most likely someone the folks of Red Wing

see every day. Won’t they be surprised.

**

From Booklist

Starred Review A couple of high-school lovers conclude an evening of passion in rural Minnesota by noticing a really bad smell. They inform the local cops, who find an underground cistern filled with God knows how many bodies and body parts. It’s obviously not a job for local cops, so Lucas Davenport and his Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are called in. There are 15 skulls and counting when Lucas arrives. The early forensic examinations reveal the killings have been going on for years. How did someone not notice? Davenport’s usual partners are engaged in other investigations, so he teams up with Catrin Mattsson, a detective with the county sheriff’s office. They seem a mismatched pair at first. She resents his wealth, and he sees her as a bit of a confrontational smart-ass. They wade through a couple of false leads, one supplied by an eight-year-old beauty pageanteer whose parents view the ensuing publicity as a “big break.” There are a couple other investigatory sidebars, but when the killer decides Mattsson should be his next victim, the case escalates quickly. Sandford writes best-sellers more often than most of us take vacations. This is as engaging and thrilling as any of them, even with a subplot that feels unnecessary. But that’s like whining about Willie Mays striking out once while hitting four home runs in a game. As always, Sandford and Lucas are superb. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: You could say “same old, same old,” but in Sandford’s case, you’d mean another top-notch thriller destined for best-seller lists. That’s the good kind of “same old, same old.” --Wes Lukowsky

Review

Praise for John Sandford’s Prey Novels   “Relentlessly swift…genuinely suspenseful…excellent.”—Los Angeles Times   “Sandford is a writer in control of his craft.”—Chicago Sun-Times   “Excellent…compelling…everything works.”—USA Today   “Grip-you-by-the-throat thrills…a hell of a ride.”—Houston Chronicle   “Crackling, page-turning tension…great scary fun.”—The New York Daily News   “Enough pulse-pounding, page-turning excitement to keep you up way past bedtime.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune   “One of the most engaging characters in contemporary fiction.”—Detroit News   “Positively chilling.”—St. Petersburg Times   “Just right for fans of The Silence of the Lambs.”—Booklist   “One of the most horrible villains this side of Hannibal.”—Richmond Times-Dispatch  “Ice-pick chills…excruciatingly tense…a double-pumped roundhouse of a thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews