If a CEO gets killed in the forest and no one is around to hear him fall, does he make a sound?Five top executives from a bank have gone into the woods on a deer hunting trip, but only four come out alive after someone tried to make a murder look like an accidental shooting. The dead man was the president who was in the middle of putting together a merger that would have made him and the bank’s board members rich while pretty much screwing over everyone else so any one of the four are likely suspects to have killed him.Lucas Davenport is having a bad time since his fiancé broke off their engagement. As someone who suffers from bouts of depression, Lucas can feel his mind falling into bad habits. Fortunately, an interesting murder case is just the thing to perk him right back up and while he initially thought the bank president’s death would be easily figured out, it turns into tangled mess that gets him fully engaged.This one was a departure from the typical Prey formula in a couple of ways. Usually we get the villain’s point of view, even if Sandford sometimes hid their identity, but the first half of this one is complete whodunit with the reader having no more clue than Lucas as to who pulled the trigger. A significant part of the book is about the remaining bank execs scheming and maneuvering to try and get the top job, and it’s surprising how interesting that portion is even aside from how it plays into the murder investigation. It also shows that Sandford was a little ahead of the curve when outlining outlandish executive salaries and perks several years before it really became fashionable to bash them.The killer is eventually revealed, and then the second half of the book seems more like a traditional Sandford novel with Lucas engaged in a battle of wits in which he’s trying to piece together a case that has far more victims than just one bank president. Still, there was definitely a different vibe to this one and showed that Sandford wasn’t interested in just repeating what had worked in the previous books, and that breaking up of the formula along with an intriguing villain makes this one of the better books in the series.Next: Lucas has got women trouble in Certain Prey.
Audrey MacDonald is the power-hungry wife of a loathsome bank executive who wants to become president and CEO of the Polaris Bank. The current president, who is in the midst of negotiating a merger that would drastically alter the future plans of the other bank executives, is shot while on a hunting trip with many of those same executives. Lucas Davenport is asked to assist with the investigation. Certain peculiarities emerge that point to links between the Kresge killing and the ostensibly accidental deaths of several other bank executives that had occurred years earlier. Audrey’s husband, Wilson, who when drunk regularly beat her, was the only one who profited professionally from each of the deaths. He and Audrey are now trying to capitalize on Kresge’s death by attempting to manipulate the board into appointing him the new CEO. He is opposed by Jim Bone and Susan O’Dell, who also lust after the top job. Sandford’s descriptions of the back-biting and political machinations are brutal and priceless. An amusing side plot concerns a number of very well-connected old ladies who have been growing opium poppies for fun and now insist on being arrested for their flagrant violation of the law. Audrey soon realizes that, despite her best efforts, the investigation is beginning to focus on Wilson and, weak as he is, he will be unable to withstand the strain and will undoubtedly reveal the sordid truth behind the killings. She resolves to kill him, manipulating him into a situation that justifies her homicide. How she does this is truly cold and calculating. The investigation would have ended, had she left well enough alone, and not made the mistake of trying to distract Lucas – it had worked before – by creating several diversions. Specifically she assaults and firebombs two of his friends. Audrey is a librarian and hasn’t forgotten all those handy research skills to help choose her victims. The irrational and unlikely coincidental nature of these attacks leads Lucas’s team of investigators to discover the intricate pattern behind the murders that ultimately benefit only one person. You’ve really got to watch out for these librarians. . . .
What do You think about Secret Prey (2004)?
It took me a little longer than usual to get through this one, but at no fault of the book. I was just busy with other things.The style and plot are standard John Sandford, and if you like him like I do, you won't be disappointed. It was nice that Davenport started working out of his slump, after the previous couple of books.Audrey, the protagonist, was just downright crazy. Sandford has had some evil characters before, but this one was just crazy! I loved it!There was a lot of humor in this book, and I love that it ended on a lighter note. Plus, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) was brought into the story, which will lead nicely into Davenport's eventual career change.All in all, I enjoyed this one a bit more than the past couple of Sandford novels. This is only book 9 in the Davenport series, of which there are now 22 (with a recent publication of a new novel). So I'm not even half way through the series yet! Hopefully Virgil Flowers will make a cameo appearance in some of the later Davenport novels.
—Joe Scholes
This book 9 of the Lucas Davenport series.The story kept me going turning the pages waiting for an ending that would shock me. I never got that ending. Don't get me wrong. It was another very good installment in the life and times of Lucas Davenport. Just not the little extra to push it to the incredible stage. The story begins when a banking executive takes his top four executives hunting in northern Minnesota. The executive is then murdered while in his tree stand. Kresge is not a well liked fella. All four of his workers have reasons for killing him. Corporate greed rears its very ugly head. Couldn't help thinking of the leader of my business taking his top four toadies hunting and which one might take care of him. Hmmm.Lucas to the rescue. He is still depressed following his split from Weather. He finds comfort in the arms of a shapely co-worker-Detective Sherrill. Lucas back to being Lucas.Lots of past murders in the bank are investigated leading to even more murders. The killer is kept from the reader till about halfway through the book. This is a little different from Sandford's other books in which you know from the beginning who the killer is. I kinda like the mystery element.Various side issues are included such as an old lady opium club being investigated. Sandford wraps it all up rather quickly in the end and leaves me wanting that shocking ending that just wasn't there.
—Brent Soderstrum
To date, I have read 14 of this author's novels, and this is the best one, yet. I found few editing errors and only one minor possible factual inaccuracy. (On page #204, the author indicates that the caliber of an automatic pistol was stamped on the slide, but all of the automatics I have seen have the caliber stamped on the portion of the barrel that is visible through the ejection port in the slide.) Unlike many of the author's other works, this story truly builds suspense, keeping the reader in the dark for a good portion of the story. The action is riveting. The dialog is believable, and the story lines come together nicely at the end with all loose end tied up neatly. This is a good read for those who like raw, gritty detective novels.
—Richard
