Silken Prey

Lucas Davenport #23

by John Sandford

Murder. Scandal. Politics. And one billionaire heiress so dangerous in so many ways.

An explosive Lucas Davenport thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author John Sandford.

All hell has broken loose in the capital. An influential state senator has been caught with something very, very nasty on his office computer. The governor can’t believe it—the senator’s way too smart for that, even if he is from the other party. Something’s not right.

As Davenport investigates, the trail leads to a political fixer who has disappeared, then—troublingly—to the Minneapolis police department itself, and most unsettling of all, to a woman who could give Machiavelli lessons in manipulation. She has very definite ideas about the way the world should work—along with the money, ruthlessness, and cold-blooded will to make it happen.


From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Audiobook

417 pages, ebook

First published December 31, 2012

About the author

John Sandford is the pen name of John Roswell Camp, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author known for his gripping thrillers and popular crime series. After earning degrees in history, literature, and journalism from the University of Iowa, Camp began his writing career as a reporter, first at The Miami Herald and later at The Saint Paul Pioneer Press, where he earned critical acclaim for in-depth series on Native American communities and American farm life. His work won him the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1986.
In 1989, Camp transitioned into fiction, publishing two novels: The Fool's Run under his real name and Rules of Prey under the pseudonym John Sandford. The latter launched the long-running “Prey” series, starring Lucas Davenport, a sharp, fearless investigator navigating politically sensitive crimes across Minnesota and beyond. The series grew to include spin-offs and crossovers, notably featuring characters like Virgil Flowers, a laid-back BCA agent with a sharp wit, and Letty Davenport, Lucas's equally determined daughter, who stars in her own series starting in 2022.
Sandford’s books have consistently appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, with over two dozen debuting at number one. Known for his dynamic storytelling, fast pacing, and keen attention to detail, Sandford combines his journalistic roots with a gift for character-driven narratives. He remains an avid reader and outdoorsman, and continues to write compelling fiction that resonates with readers who enjoy intelligent thrillers grounded in realism and driven by memorable protagonists.

Reviews

[Kemper · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Update 10/14/16 - Three years ago John Sandford published this book which features a wealthy political candidate for a major office campaigning while suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. Here's the Mayo Clinic's definition of that condition:

"Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of ultra-confidence lies a fragile self-esteem that's vulnerable to the slightest criticism.

I think it's obvious that John Sandford has either invented time travel or has the gift of prophecy.*

-Original Review: Lucas Davenport has faced all kinds of dangerous homicidal maniacs in his long career, but he may have finally met his match when going up against a beautiful billionaire with political ambitions and a couple of killers on her payroll.

Incumbent Republican Senator Porter Smalls hasn’t let his conservative politics keep him from having a couple of sex scandals, and he just got caught with child pornography on his laptop. It seems like his challenger, the uber-wealthy heiress Democrat Taryn Grant, will easily win the election.

However, Minnesota’s governor fears that Smalls has been framed, and not only could that kick off an unacceptable escalation of dirty politics, it could also turn into a major scandal that would rock the Democratic party. So the governor quietly calls in Davenport and asks him to quickly determine if the kiddie porn was planted on Smalls’ computer. Lucas has a long history of dealing with the political and media angles on behalf of his bosses, but this one could be a whole new level of trouble with both campaigns just waiting to cry shenanigans at any hint of wrongdoing. When a missing Democratic operative and a police connection to the porn become part of his investigation Davenport finds himself in a political minefield.

As usual in a Prey novel, the readers know who the bad guys are from the beginning, and in this one Taryn Grant and her bodyguards have the potential to be among the worst that Davenport goes up against. Taryn is smart, rich, ambitious and completely nuts with a narcissistic personality disorder. One of her ex-special forces henchmen will do anything for money, and the other will do anything for her.

Fortunately, Davenport has a lot of friends to call on like his artist buddy Kidd who is also a computer expert and has a more interesting history than Lucas realizes. Virgil Flowers also lends a hand as Lucas scrambles to learn the truth before election day.

I found this to be one of the more interesting installments in the long-running Prey series. The political challenges of a case like this added an extra dimension as did a villain who wields a helluva lot of power and influence. Getting other Sandford main characters like Kidd and that fuckin’ Flowers was a very nice bonus that made Lucas’s world seem a lot larger.

My only complaint is that leaving Taryn out there as a loose end made this a bit incomplete. It certainly seems to be angling towards another confrontation and seeing Lucas going up against a US senator has some interesting potential, but it made the ending a little unsatisfying.

Once again Sandford proves himself to be one of the kings of the thriller genre.

Next: Lucas goes way down in the hole and finds a whole bunch of bodies in Field of Prey.

Also posted at Kemper's Book Blog.

[Sheyla ✎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series just keeps on giving. Giving me anxiety that is.

Is Lucas going to be hurt? Not again, please!

Is he going to lose his job? I think so. Plenty of foreshadowing.

Is he going to find the killers on time? I sure hope so.

Lucas Davenport, BCA agent receives a call from the Governor of Minnesota. The next race for Senate is about to be over and the democratic candidate is probably going to win it after child porn is found on the computer of Republican Senator Porter Smalls. The Governor who knows Smalls personally believes that Porter is not lying when he says that the porn was not his, hence the call to Lucas. He wants him to dig around and find out if there is the possibility of someone framing Smalls.

Lucas knows that involving his usual team could backfire if he gets in trouble and he knows if he loses his job, he will be ok but doesn't want the rest of them to lose theirs. He turns for help to Kidd (known to us from prior books) and Virgil Flowers instead. Kidd will help with the IT support part of the investigation. Lucas didn't realize the spectrum of Kidd's knowledge when the novel starts. It's hard to surprise Lucas but Kidd has done it.

Lucas's investigation starts pointing to Democrat candidate Taryn Grant's campaign. Taryn is a billionaire who seems to have it all. She has her eyes set on a Senate seat and no one or nothing is going to stop her. She is a narcissist who is smart, cunning, and influential. Lucas is not sure how to prove that Taryn knew about the porn and the murders. Is she innocent then?

A great addition to the series. I love Kidd and his wife Lauren who has her own side story in this one. I always like seeing Flowers in the Prey books. They have great banter and even though I haven't read the Flowers series, I know I'm going to like him in it.

My only disappointment is that I feel this is the third or fourth book when someone gets ways with a bad deed without punishment. And if we are going to let baddies get away with it, why couldn't Clara Rinker be one of them?

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Davenport book! There has never been a bad one. They've never slipped below "good". Most are "very good". Some are "great". That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it!

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tight race for a U.S. Senate seat from Minnesota is headed toward a nail-biter of a finish when a campaign aide accidentally discovers child porn on the office computer of the Republican incumbent, Porter Smalls. Smalls is obviously toast, and it seems certain that the discovery will lead to a victory by the beautiful, wealthy and determined Democratic challenger whose name is Taryn Grant.

The governor is a Democrat who normally would welcome a victory by his party in the Senate race. But he's known the Republican incumbent for years, and while he might abhor the guy's politics, he doesn't believe that he would be watching kiddie porn. And, more to the point, he doesn't believe that the guy could possibly be dumb enough to get caught doing it.

He suspects a frame-up and so calls in Lucas Davenport, head of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and asks him to look into it. As Davenport begins to investigate, a Democratic political fixer, known to play the occasional dirty trick and who had access to Small's computer, turns up missing and presumed dead.

If, in fact, someone did plant the porn on Smalls' computer, the most logical suspects would be in the Grant campaign, but when Davenport interviews the candidate, he discovers that she is more than a little tightly wound. She also has some very curious characters on her security staff. As the investigation deepens, Lucas will call on a number of characters from other Sandford novels to help out, including that F***ing Virgil Flowers, the computer whiz, Kidd, and Kidd's extremely hot wife, Lauren.

The case develops in ways that are unusually frustrating for Davenport and winds up concluding in a way that is more than a little unsettling for a variety of reasons. This is the twenty-third book in this series and, inevitably in a series this long, some of the entries are bound to be a bit stronger than others. Given that the Davenport character is always consistently entertaining, the books in the Prey series tend to succeed basically on the strength of the villains.

Sandford has created some of the truly great villains in modern crime fiction, but I found this one to be a bit less compelling than some of his others and so enjoyed the book a bit less than others in the series. If pressed, I'd probably give this 3.8 stars for that reason. I certainly enjoyed the book, but when I'm lying on my deathbed, reaching out for one last great Lucas Davenport novel to read before shuffling off into the Great Beyond, it probably will not be this one.

[Alex is The Romance Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas Davenport, detective extraordinaire is off again on another quest to bringing the bad guys down!!!

Despite the long going series and some hit and misses, this was one of the better ones.

The storyline revolves around a political campaign in Lucas's city. Political intrigue, murder, cold-hearted killers and the craziest psycho female suspect ever.

We find out quite early in the book who the bad guys are but there are so many surprises and twists and turns that just keep you turning the page wanting to discover what happens next.

The author has quite a distinctive writing style which makes it an easy read.
A good addition to the series.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating - 3.5 stars

Silken Prey is every bit as carefully plotted and well written as all of the Lucas Davenport novels, but it gets a bit tedious at times because of the political aspects of the story. There's quite a bit of discussion of campaign strategies and dirty dealing to make the opponent look bad, which dials down the excitement and slows the pace. However, the quality we've come to expect from John Sandford is evident in this novel, and I love watching Davenport's character continue to evolve. Sandford writes the best dialogue of any mystery/thriller writer I've ever read. It's realistic and often funny.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very satisfying read for me. Sandford is at the top of his game with this police procedural featuring Lucas Davenport of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Lucas is at the top of his game too, a supervisor of detectives who has mastered the art of leading his team, marshaling information sources, and playing the political angles. A family man with independent wealth, he is not worried about losing his job. He still likes to drive flashy cars, but he is no longer driven by his emotions to break all the rules or to make conquests of hot women (bending rules and flirting is enough).

At the start of this tale, we get a glimpse of a man, Tubbs, waking up in a car trunk on the way to being murdered and buried in a remote place. Scene two: in the last week of a closely contested Senate race, child pornography is found on the computer of the Republican candidate, Small. The governor asks Lucas to resolve this high-profile case as quietly as possible. Lucas soon suspects there is a connection with the disappearance of Tubbs, a political fix-it man and lobbyist, known for dirty tricks and usually on behalf of Democrats. Could the wealthy female opposition candidate, Taryn Grant, be behind it, with a murder of Tubbs part of the cover-up? Might instead a personal enemy of Small’s or some twisted supporter of Grant be the perp? Or maybe Small’s team planted the porn expecting an investigation lead to a smear of the Democrats. Another twist soon appears when signs emerge suggesting that the porn came from Minneapolis police files, with a potential motive being that Small wants to abolish the police union. The danger level rises when a potential accomplice in planting the porn ends up murdered.

Sandford appears to have had great fun painting a cynical portrait of the politicians in this tale. Davenport faces incredible barriers investigating Grant, who suspects him to be working on behalf of Small. Grant was diagnosed by a psychologist with narcissistic personality disorder in grad school. She looks it up its key indicators in the library:
• Has excessive feelings of self-importance
• Reacts to criticism with rage
• Takes advantage of other people
• Disregards the feelings of others
• Preoccupied with fantasies of success, power, beauty, and intelligence

Each one of this features appear like strengths to her. For the last one, she remembers reflecting: …Hey, had he taken a good look at her and her CV? She was running for class valedictorian; she looked like Marilyn Monroe, without the black spot on her cheek; and she had, as age twenty-two, thirty million dollars of her own, with twenty or thirty dollars more than that yet to come. What fantasies?

I had so much fun experiencing Davenport work the clues and his adversaries like a chess player and play his team like a brilliant hockey coach. He can’t resist getting in on the action:

“I could drive,” Del said.
“They’re too far ahead of us,” Lucas said. “I need to drive.”
“Goddamnit. I hate it when you drive,” Del said. “I get so puckered up that I’ve got to pull my asshole back out with a nutpick.”
“Thanks for the image,” Lucas said. “Let’s go.”

In one transcendent moment, Davenport’s love for his work is revealed by Sandford in way that tickles me:
…he’d gone to a murder scene on a beautiful fall day, and heard children laughing outside. And why not? The murder had nothing to do with them, and old people die all the time.

Now he, the hunter, was headed south to tackle a couple of probable killers, a fairly grim task; but over here, to the right of the highway as he went by, a man was washing down his fishing boat, preparing it for winter storage; and coming down the road toward him, a half-dozen old Corvettes, all in a line, tops down on a fine blue-sky day, the women in passenger seats all older blondes, one after another.

And why not? Life doesn’t have to be a long patch of misery. …He’d made himself smile with all the rumination. He really ought to lighten up more, Lucas thought, as the last of the Corvettes went past. Hell, what were a couple more killers in a lifetime full of them? And he liked hunting, and what better day to do it than a fine blue day in the autumn of the year, with not a cloud in the heavens, when riding through a singularly beautiful tract of country, in a Porsch with the top down?

Fuck a bunch of E.A. Poe.
And his Raven.

I see no reason why anyone tempted to explore Sandford's marvelous stories could lose by starting with this one.

[Albert Riehle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you want me to say? Sandford writes another great Prey novel that I read in just a few sittings and was into from start to finish? Okay. There. I said it. Should I mention how good the pacing is and how, once again, the book seems to roll downhill the way all of his books do? Because it does. In it's most simple terms, if you like John Sandford, you'll like this book. If you don't, you're not reading correctly and you're somehow defective. Take up a different hobby.

The real question is this: Where does this book fall in pantheon of Prey novels? Not at the top. Not at the bottom. Above the middle but below the best. How's that for you?

There are some interesting things about this book that are going to be important, moving forward, though. And those things also distinguish this book from the others in the series. I believe this is going to be a turning point in the series and perhaps, even the beginning of the end, as we know it. When it's been a matter of going after bad guys, Davenport has always been in his element. He's crossed the line a few times and paid the price, but he always lands on his feet. With Silken Prey, Davenport gets sucked into something that proves to be an entirely different kind of animal: Politics. He's investigating dirty politics and murder for the governor and no matter what he does, he's going to come out of this one taking a hit. And Davenport knows it. From the very start, he isolates himself to keep his people safe from the fallout.

I liked this book. I like the ever-evolving characters in this series and I enjoyed the ramp up to what's coming. I love that as deep as he is into this series, Sandford refuses to let either the characters or the stories to get stale and never plays the same card twice. Silken Prey takes a new step into a different area under the blanket of the structure that we've all come to know and love. And it also re-introduces us to another fan-favorite character from an earlier series, Kidd. I didn't enjoy the Kidd series as much as I did I've enjoyed the Prey & Fucking Flowers books, but as a supporting character, Kidd was a lot of fun in this book--especially when he gets up to old tricks.

All in all, it's a good read, well worth your time and I won't give away how, but if you pay attention, you'll see Sandford setting things up for a soon-to-come shakeup in this series. Between his interviews on the subject and his none-too-subtle foreshadowing, the end of this book points at doors closing and windows opening in a way that should be spectacular.

My only complaint about this book is that it's over and I have to wait a few months for the next Flowers book--and after that I'll have to wait a few more whatever happens to Lucas. And nothing else in the genre ever really compares or stacks up in comparison. Read it. You'll like it.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas Davenport hired by Republican NY Sen. Porter Smalls to investigate who put the known Kiddle-porn on his PC.

The Kiddie-porn, is used by the Blackmailer, he threatens to ruin re-election of Sen. Porter Smalls and/or the election of Democratic Taryn Grant.

Can Lucas help Sen. Smalls -or- Taryn Grant from the Blackmailer’s attacks??

No middle-ground is safe, slightest knowledges destroy their political life.

Lucas corners the Blackmailer, kiddie-porn, guilty/innocent political people from murder...

[Gerry Bartlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandford is an auto-buy for me and has been for years. Sorry to say this one let me down. It's a Lucas Davenport book but he decided to invite the characters from all three of his series. So we see Virgil Flowers(love him!) briefly and Kidd(wish there had been more of those books) with his wife. Of course all his other cop sidekicks showed up as well. This was not the problem. Instead, I'm afraid Sandford's own disillusionment with our political system made this mystery into an indictment of how things are done behind the scenes in an election. Dirty doesn't begin to describe this campaign. I won't put any spoilers in here but to say I wasn't satisfied with the ending is an understatement. Most threads were tied up but not to my satisfaction. The pacing was slow throughout. I don't know, this just wasn't his best book. Maybe he is ready to retire. I hope not, I usually love his stuff. He can still catch me offguard and make me laugh at the most unusual moments with his snark. His characters are one-of-a-kind. But, seriously? I don't care if Lucas drives his Porsche down a certain highway anymore. Oops, did I say that?

[Paula K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all the Lucas Davenport books.

[Muld00n · Rating 3 out of 5]

First a rant. Del Capslock ? Really ? I have been a fan of John Sanford for a few years now and thoroughly enjoy the Lucas Davenport series, but I can't abide this name perversion any longer. I know it must be hard for writers to come up with memorable character names but this one is ridiculous. Capslock? Are there generations of Capslocks that have preceded Del; does their family coat of arms contain a wireless mouse crest emblazoned on a keyboard shield with the famous motto "Please wait..." topping off the design? Give me a break.

Now for the review...

The first half of this book was pretty slow to develop but once it finally got rolling, it moved pretty fast. Lucas ferrets out the killer(s) but the ending was somewhat disappointing. SPOILER ALERT! Lucas apparently decides that Lauren must have been the one that broke into Senator-elect Tyran Grant's house and stole all her money and jewelry from her bedroom safe. There is not even a single suspicion by Lucas prior to his making this revelation. It's a little hard to swallow.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is good, not as great as the other ones in the series. More political, less crime.

[meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silken Prey is the 23rd in the "Prey" series, which follows the adventures of Lucas Davenport, Minnesota cop. Any of the Prey novels could stand on their own as a great summer read, and they're all very well-written thrillers, incredibly well-paced, with just the right touches of humor splashed on top of suspense. Sandford has penned a couple other series, all within the same basic universe, featuring other protagonists, Kidd (just Kidd) and Virgil Flowers, over the years. Lately, he's alternated Davenport and Flowers novels, with each series making an appearance once per year. Kidd hasn't been featured in a Sandford book since 2003's "The Hanged Man's Song."

I'm a stickler for a series - and I MUST read them in order. When I find an author I like, it's not unusual for me to tear through the past ten or more years of books in just a few months, then wait anxiously for the new ones to come out every year or half-year.

All that being said, Silken Prey felt very much like a reward to series-long fans like myself.

As usual, Lucas has gotten himself into a case that not just anyone could solve, this time falling into a bit of a political jam. Because of the sensitive nature of what he's been asked to do, Lucas doesn't want to involve some of his old Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) standbys to help. Davenport turns to an old acquaintance, Kidd, for help and we readers are allowed to catch up on what this really interesting and unusual character has been doing over the past ten years or so. Lots of old characters make appearances in this book - some that we haven't seen in several books (like Sister Mary Joseph, Lucas' childhood friend), some from other parts of the world Sandford has created (John & Marvel Smith from Longstreet, featured in Kidd novel, "The Empress File"). Political intrigue, hired killers, sociopaths, and Sandford's dry, quick humor round out this really great read, with some of the more recent favorites like Del, Virgil, and the Minnesota Bash Brothers Jenkins and Shrake coming in for the climax.

It's mentioned in this book that Lucas is soon to turn 50 - it must be a challenge to Sandford to continue to find ways to make this character interesting and compelling, not to mention realistic, in the context of the world we've come to expect from him. Somehow he manages to do it, and "Silken Prey" was no exception. Great, fun, exciting read, with laugh out loud moments mixed into mystery, action, suspense, and thrills.

[Obsidian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well it was a few short months ago when I almost quit this series. I was tired of the Letty is definitely a psychopath but let's ignore it shall we that was going on in the series. And the total retconning of a character in order to make them die so Lucas could be "torn." Bah. Fridging women characters is BS and I wish authors would stop. "Silken Prey" has Lucas trying to find out if a Senator running for re-election was looking at child pornography as he is being accused of. Instead Lucas finds out that the Senator has been set up, but the who behind it is a surprise. I also liked that for some reason Sandford zeroed in on Kidd and his wife Lauren in this one. I don't know if I buy that hot painter is secretly a hacker story-line, but just let myself go limp and enjoy it. I do think the ending is Sandford trying to set Lucas against another epic nemesis like Clara Rinker. It just doesn't quite work though. I still gave this five stars though.

"Silken Prey" starts off with a murder. We have a man being taken away by two other men and murdered. We then jump to Lucas waking up and being asked by the governor of Minnesota to look into whether a man running for re-election (Porter Smalls) really was looking at child pornography on his campaign computer. Lucas quickly ascertains after some digging via his local hacker called ICE and being pointed to Jason Kidd's direction that someone set up Smalls. Readers quickly find out who is behind this, but Lucas and friends have a ways to catch up. And then the hits keep coming with more threads to pull on this conspiracy.

Lucas seems more mellow this time around. Thank goodness we don't have a lot of Letty. She appears, but seems muted. I wish that she go off to college already, but alas. We get to see Lucas do what he does so well, takes a look at something and starts to tear it apart. He is definitely giving a helping hand via Kidd though.

We also have Lucas realizing that he has to be careful on this one though since it can mean the end of his career and also of people close to him like Del.

We get more insight into Kidd and we find out more about his wife Lauren too. I initially thought the whole story-line didn't work, but in the end as I said just said eh and let it go. Hopefully Sandford revisits it.

Flowers shows up and honestly I am still squicked out about the first book in his series I read so I tended to just ignore him for the most part.

The writing was good and though we know who is behind it, it was exciting to read to see how Lucas gets there too and of course Lucas being Lucas, he can't help but poke the bear.

The ending definitely leaves Lucas with a very powerful enemy and I wonder how that may impact the rest of the series.

[Watchingthewords · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Sandford’s Prey series focus on Lucas Davenport, an independently wealthy detective for Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. In this role, he takes on complicated and politically charged cases, and in this latest installment Davenport is in the thick of the politics, helping out the governor with a potential scandal in the upcoming Senate race. With a missing political operative and no one offering up information, Lucas calls in his friends to help out. Appearing from other Sandford series are Virgil Flowers and Kidd, both offering their own talents to the case. Since I love Flowers and Kidd, I was hoping for more out of this meeting, it left me wanting more of them and less on-and-on about the nightmare that is political wrangling. More suspense than mystery (you know who the bad guys are early on and can’t figure out why Lucas can’t figure it out), it was not one of my favorites in the series. Maybe I’ve grown out of the series and need to move on to other authors, or maybe this just wasn’t his best work and the next one will be better…

See more on my blog at www.watchingthewords.wordpress.com

[Michael B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This came out yesterday. Sanford has hit another home run with his latest of the "Prey" series. His protagonist is what one would call a man who knows what he's about. Sanford writes at a level which assumes his audience is sophisticated enough not to have everything explained. Sanford is brilliant at nailing the quirky sides of people - often in one or two lines which provide a belly laugh. His characters are believable though I suspect as in every Davenport the number of bodies will build up with eye raising frequency. If the twin cities had as many murders as portrayed in Sanford's books, it would be the deadliest place in America! Be that as it may, I am half way through and already dreading the ending which means another whole year before the next "Prey" fix!

[Joanne Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Davenport is tasked with finding out if a political candidate is guilty of a crime or if he has been framed. As is the norm in Sandfords book we already know the answer but damned if I don't love watching Lucas catch up to us. What sets Sandford apart from other authors is that even though all is revealed upfront I am still on the edge of my seat watching it all unfold. All of the gang get a show in this novel and the interaction between Lucas and Virgil around Letty is some of the funiest I have read.

It was really great to see Ice again and Kidd and Lauren were a welcome addition to the cast of characters in this novel.

[Carol Jones-Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Read: I enjoyed this one more than some of the others. The plot didn't let up for a minute, and the language was some cleaner than other books of his. Not perfect, but better. The intrigue, the political arena and all the happenings that went on with it. Kinda reminds me of current world situations. Pretty good afterall.

Second Read: Very early one morning, a Minnesota political fixer answers his doorbell. The next thing he knows, he's waking up on the floor of a moving car, lying on a plastic sheet, his body wet with blood. When the car stops, a voice says, "Hey, I think he's breathing," and another voice says, "Yeah? Give me the bat." And that's the last thing he knows.

Davenport is investigating the smear when the trail leads to the man's disappearance, then — very troublingly — to the Minneapolis police department, then — most troublingly of all — to a woman who could give Machiavelli lessons. She has very definite ideas about the way the world should work, and the money, ruthlessness, and sheer will to make it happen.
No matter who gets in the way.

Filled with John Sandford's trademark razor-sharp plotting and some of the best characters in suspense fiction, Silken Prey is further evidence for why the Cleveland Plain Dealer called the Davenport novels "a perfect series," and Suspense Magazine wrote, "If you haven't read any of the Prey series, you need to jump on board they are worth the read."

[Marty Fried · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just about any book in this series starts with five stars before I ever start. It could go down a bit, but usually doesn't. But this one made me wish I could go up, because I liked it a lot. It was lots of fun, filled with politics that sounded pretty realistic. It definitely wasn't pretty, but I'll still take it compared to what we have now, I think.

Unlike most books featuring politics, this one didn't push one side over the other. Both sides were equally bad or good. The Democratic candidate in this round was a beautiful, rich billionaire who seemed to suffer from a narcissistic personality disorder, while the Republican candidate was a ladies' man suffering from no more than being a conservative Republican. Davenport tended to dislike that type, but this one wasn't too bad, and when the governor asked him to investigate a big problem affecting the Republican, he had to do it.

He needed a lucky break to prove his case in the end, and it wasn't 100% to his satisfaction, but sometimes, you take what you can get.

And the ending... it was a bit shocking, but I suppose it helped alleviate some of the sour feelings of an entitled rich pig getting winning it all..

[Ray Palen · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Sanford knows a good formula when he sees it. Why else would this prolific thriller author have released twenty-two ‘Prey’ thrillers? Now, along comes number twenty-three with the release of the latest Lucas Davenport novel entitled SILKEN PREY.

Lucas has received a well-earned reputation as a person you can call on to get almost anything done. From killing to crime solving to stakeouts to personal protection --- Lucas Davenport is your man. As a member of the BCA --- the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension --- Lucas is part of a team that can fix all sorts of problems. He is also able to continually draw upon his previous background with the Minnesota Police Department where he was unfairly dismissed from back in the nineties.

The premise of SILKEN PREY does not initially come across as anything too exciting. Prior to an upcoming Senate race in Minnesota the Republican candidate --- Porter Smalls --- is faced with criminal charges when one of his interns entered his unoccupied office only to discover some highly disturbing child pornography on his desktop computer. Intern calls dad --- dad calls the police --- Porter Smalls is in big trouble and now finds his slim lead in the Senate race about to evaporate.

Lucas and the BCA are assigned to the case to help out Smalls. It is not enough to get him acquitted --- they need to find the responsible party who allegedly set him up or the mere suspicion of being involved in child porn could stain and ruin his political career. As Lucas calls upon allies to assist with various parts of the case he turn his attention to the most obvious suspect and the one individual who seeks to gain the most by defaming Smalls --- his Democratic adversary, Taryn Grant.

Grant is an interesting character. At 34 she is already a multi-millionaire and highly successful businesswoman. On the surface it would seem she stood a decent shot at winning the election on her own merit. However, her staff includes two ex-Army trained killers as well as potential spies working in the office of Smalls. When a low-level political ‘fixer’ goes missing in an attempt to help Smalls the BCA recognizes that Grant and her allies are a force to be reckoned with and far more dangerous than they could ever conceive.

There are the usual twists, turns and a-ha moments that accompany your typical thriller. However, SILKEN PREY never seems to rise to the level of previous PREY novels. It may come down to the fact that, in the world we live in where all politicians operate under a microscope, it just isn’t that thrilling to read about corruption in the political ranks. A sad statement to make as politics and corruption seem to go hand in hand. Regrettably, it is difficult to turn them into an engaging summer thriller.

Reviewed by Ray Palen for New Mystery Reader

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sandford is in top form in this excellent audiobook read by Richard Ferrone. Lucas is asked by the governor to look into allegations that the Republican Senator has been set up. Kiddie porn was found on his campaign computer by a volunteer, and the governor, who has known Porter Smalls all his life, is sure he’s innocent. He’s worried some zealous advocate from his own party might be responsible for having set up Smalls and if that came out, the political backlash could hurt him as well as Smalls. The problem is that an inconclusive investigation isn’t good enough. The mere whisper of suspicion that someone might be involved with kiddie porn is more than enough to sink someone’s life, and not just politically.

Taryn Grant, Smalls opponent in the upcoming senatorial election, is smart, beautiful, rich, and amoral, willing to do just about anything to win the seat. She has dogs, both human and canine, willing to help her get there. But how could the kiddie porn have come from the Minneapolis Police’s evidentiary file on to Smalls’ office computer?

Lucas calls in favors from a variety of sources and characters from his other series all appear: Flowers, Kidd, and Loren.

Some reviewers have said Sandford’s political views are too obvious in this book. Well, if Sandford's political views are that he hates politicians then I would agree. It's certainly impossible to discern any other political leaning as each of the main characters: Taryn (the narcissistic and evil Democrat, the governor (the manipulating self-interested politician), and Smalls (the womanizing Republican) are all distinctly unlikeable, and the ending is quite cynical.. I think it's one of Sandford's better books.

Not a mystery, though. The bad guys motivations and actions are laid out right from the start, and Lucas, for once, does some hard investigating.

[John Biddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best in a long series of excellent books, Silken Prey was outstanding. By this point, the characters have become old friends, but are always fresh and interesting, adding layers to the story. The plots are intricate but understandable and the action constant but always believable.

Silken Prey includes a great deal of politics but not any preaching. Characters have points of view but all are dealt with intelligently and fairly. This was quite refreshing.

Lucas Davenport vies with Virgil Flowers and Harry Bosch as my favorite protagonist, and who sits in the number one spot usually depends on which book I'm reading at the time. The idea that two out of three are the creation of the same author is amazing and a testament to his greatness. I dread finishing these series.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wildly unbelievable, but a good fun read nonetheless. John Sandford is becoming as humorous as Nelson DeMille.

[Mal Warwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Politics in Minnesota: Murder, scandal, and psychopaths at play

Here’s Lucas Davenport again, that brilliant, multimillionaire, Porsche-driving cop, a friend of the governor, who takes on the most difficult criminal cases in the state as the top agent in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This time around, Lucas is caught up in a murder case that’s somehow tied to the U.S. Senate campaign between the loony right-wing incumbent and the beautiful young billionaire psychopath who markets herself as a liberal Democrat. In other words, this is not the Minnesota we met in Fargo. It is, in fact, perilously close to the real state of the state. It’s no accident that Sandford’s suspenseful novel brims over with so much unrealized potential for satire. That’s just Minnesota. (Or, for that matter, just about any state in the Union.)

Here’s the skinny: A disgusting collection of child porn has shown up on the Senator’s personal computer, and the media is now merrily lynching him. Soon afterwards, an unscrupulous Democratic campaign trickster named Tubbs has gone missing, and foul play is suspected. Among the possibilities that occur to Davenport are (1) Tubbs planted the porn to torpedo the Senator’s campaign and was killed by whoever had hired him to do it, quite possibly the psychopathic Democratic challenger; (2) Tubbs was murdered by someone he was blackmailing, or simply on general principles for being such an odious character; or (3) Tubbs has gone on an extended bender, which he’s done before. Since the possible political repercussions of Tubbs’ disappearance are obvious, and evidence indicates that a bender is highly unlikely, the governor has asked Lucas to investigate. As Lucas ponders the possibilities, he learns that the source of the porn was, astonishingly, the Minneapolis Police Department. Soon, other complications ensue — and Lucas finds his life on the line as he pursues this case to the very top of the political heap.

Silken Prey is the 23rd novel in Sandford’s eminently satisfying Prey series, which revolves around the life and work of Lucas Davenport. Other characters in the series have spawned novels of their own — a total of 13 more books. Previously, I’ve reviewed several of Sandford’s works: Stolen Prey, Storm Prey, and Phantom Prey, plus Shock Wave and Mad River, featuring investigator Virgil Flowers. Sandford writes with a sure hand, imbuing his characters with the sort of contradictory values and behavior that label them as fully human. Their foibles and foolishness give rise to humor, more often than not, softening the violence that characterizes all his books.

Sandford, now 69, was a Pulitzer-winning journalist before 1989, when he turned to full-time fiction writing. Sandford is a pseudonym for John Roswell Camp.

[Franklin Atherton · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Sandford's newest effort, Silken Prey, clearly defines him as a craftsman of fine literary entertainment. A quarter of the way through you will be so intrigued you can't put it down. Halfway through you will absolutely crave a resolution to all of the intricate criminal insanity, and at the three quarters mark, the pace becomes breathlessly frantic, as the clues begin to close circle, Davenport circles the wagons, and the bad guys circle the drain.

The entire Sandford ecosystem comes out to play in this one. Davenport and the boys, Shrake, Jenkins, Del, Sandy the researcher, and his family, Weather, Letty, and Sam. Virgil Flowers is credited with an assist, and we even get a lengthy appearance from Sandford's seldom heard from, but most excellent character, the landscape painter and computer genius, Kidd and his thief of a wife Lauren. I can't say enough about how good it is to see Kidd back in action. At the end of the last Kidd novel, The Hanged Man's Song, Kidd had just inherited the most cutting edge computer system from the recently-deceased hacker, Bobby, and he was poised to take over the world. Sandford inexplicably ended that series with that book, and we've heard nothing from Kidd since then, except the occasional cameo appearance in the Prey series (although, I've often thought that Kidd was probably the real genius behind that Wikileaks thing). If you've never read one of the Kidd novels, I highly recommend you check them out. The technology will be dated, but they are otherwise solid contributions to the Sandford Universe.

Some of the features to look for in this one are Davenport producing results by irritating all the right people, as he so often does, plenty of entertaining cop-to-cop-repartee, Flowers wearing a cowboy hat, the BCA technology department unable to keep up with Kidd who breaks down complex computer security in seconds, while it takes them hours to do the same. We get to see Kidd's wife, Lauren, exercising her considerable skills, and, for the second book in a row, all the important gun-play is done by women. Hmm. I wonder if there's a message there? We also have an excellent ending involving Kidd and Lauren which I am hoping portends a new Kidd novel in the works. I find him a much more interesting character than Davenport.

For Sandford fans, this is a definite must-read. If you're not a Sandford fan, this is the book that will make you one. I highly recommend it. Check it out!

[Monnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like its many predecessors, this latest in John Sandford's series featuring Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent Lucas Davenport is a winner - but with a couple of flaws that kept me from going all out with 5 stars.

One thing I noticed early on is a lack of background on some of the characters; generally, authors find a way to provide a bit of a backstory on most of the people who have appeared in previous books. I suppose those who are reading a Davenport book for the first time won't really notice, but there was more than one character whose name was familiar to me that I'd like to have had a little reminder because I just couldn't remember exactly. The other noticeable omission is any real interaction between Davenport and his surgeon wife, Weather. Usually, she plays a larger role; but here, except for a few comments, she might as well not be included at all.

Even the usual inclusion of Sanford's other series character, Virgil Flowers, is done without much fanfare (except for the also usual reference to him as "that f**kin' Flowers"), athough he plays a somewhat bigger role in this one than in others. Overall, it occurred to me that maybe Sandford - like other prolific authors such as James Patterson and Nora Roberts - has become just a teeny bit lazy in an attempt to churn out quantity.

I must admit, though, that I was a little turned off at the outset, when I learned that the story centers on the world of politics. Not my thing (not even close), so I had a harder time getting interested. But once things got moving, my interest picked up considerably. The Minnesota governor has turned to Davenport to investigate a campaign scandal when a Republican running for a U.S. Senate seat gets sandbagged as kiddie porn is found on an office computer. Immediately, his Democratic opponent - a beautiful, filthy rich sociopath - is a suspect. But how to prove it? When some of the players in her campaign turn up missing (and are presumed murdered), the plot thickens.

Throughout, it's fun to see what the dapper and also filthy rich Davenport is wearing, which of his vehicles he chooses to drive for what occasion and get some insights (not always positive) on the technology experts to whom he turns when it's time to dig up information on the sly. Ultimately, it's a good book, but by no means Sandford's best.

[Terri Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a Prey fan. I’m a fan of the Prey series. I have been a Prey reader since Eyes of Prey back in 1991. Once I got hooked on the life of Lucas Davenport, the lead character of the series, I purchased the two prior Prey books and every one since 1991 to the present, Silken Prey.

Lucas has aged, he’s changed jobs a couple of times, he’s had two children and married and remains an interesting character with more stories to tell. I admire John Sanford for his ability to build upon such an iconic figure as Lucas Davenport and even add other characters to the mix such as Virgil Flowers or Kidd (both of whom have their own series of books).

In Silken Prey the story turns to politics and Lucas is asked to clear the name of an incumbent running for another term in the Senate who has been accused of possessing child pornography on a computer located in one of his campaign offices. Porter Smalls continues to claim innocence and the Governor is interested in Lucas finding out whether or not he is, and whether or not it was his political rivals that were responsible.

The investigation turns up more than just the child pornography, there is murder, blackmail, and theft, and Lucas must pull in both Flowers and Kidd to get to the bottom of it.

The story moves along at a fast pace, with believable investigation, interrogations, and arrests. The action was moderate to heavy throughout most of the story, follow Davenport as he maneuvers through the twists and turns of deceit. The end is satisfying (mostly, you’ll see why) and leaves room for another antagonist in the Prey future. I highly recommend this story for those interested in police procedurals with an edge and for those fans of Sanford and Davenport.

[Jerry B · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ve long enjoyed Sandford and have 100% of his bibliography on our already read shelf – even the now somewhat obscure Kidd novels. And while we’re also fond of the author’s more recent Virgil Flowers stories, the “Prey” books are still the first class entrees – with “Silken” no exception. Despite Lucas Davenport now more of an fifty-ish executive in the Minnesota BCA, he pretty much works the interesting case herein himself when the governor personally asks Lucas to find out if a hot Senate race has been tampered with when kiddie porn is found on the incumbent’s computer at campaign headquarters. The seemingly coincidental missing person case of a political animal named Tubbs, who was probably a pawn in the challenger camp of wealthy narcissist Taryn Grant, adds to the intrigue; and before long we readers know who all the thugs are and what they’re up to. While Flowers puts in at best just a cameo, Kidd wound up with a fairly prominent role, as his extreme computer hacking skills wound up keeping Lucas supplied with fresh clues to pursue. (Some amusing asides with Kidd’s wife, the former cat burglar LuEllen, add to the entertainment, especially for readers of the early Kidd tales…)

As typical of the set, suspense and thrills are close at hand, and while the conclusion – mostly, but not completely, resolved – irritated some readers, we were OK with it, as it is not at all likely to be a sequel setup. And overall, the pace through which we burned through this one reflects directly our commensurate enjoyment!

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

The latest John Sandford Lucas Davenport novel "Silken Prey" wasn't one of my favourites of the ongoing Prey series which is otherwise one of the most reliable that I know. I don't want to create any spoilers so I'm just going to bullet-point the areas that were a letdown.
- Davenport wasn't enough of the central force of the plot. This was mostly because:
- The case has Davenport recruiting Sandford's otherwise abandoned series characters Kidd & Luellen (the last book in their series was 2003's The Hanged Man's Song) and the normally sharp Davenport seems clueless as to who he's dealing with.
- Key case points and plot turns mostly come from the Kidd & Luellen antics and not from anything clever that Davenport does or observes.
- Virgil Flowers makes his usual cameo appearance but there is hardly any of the regular Davenport-Flowers banter that I enjoy.
- I'm not a fan of the Weather the Doctor and the Letty the Kid Reporter subplots, but the Davenport family angle was almost completely missing this time, and I did miss that lack of a human interest side to the book.
- The final resolution is completely unsatisfying. Can't really say more about that.
This was still 3 stars, which Goodreads describes as a "Like", but it just wasn't in the usual 4-5 stars Sandford / Davenport area for me.