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Lucas Davenport #20
Storm Prey
The brilliant new Lucas Davenport thriller from the #1 New York Times best-selling author.
"Sandford's track record as a best-selling author is amazing, but it's not an accident," wrote Booklist of Wicked Prey. "His plotting is sharp, his villains are extraordinarily layered, and his good guys are always evolving.
And this time, there's a storm brewing...Very early, 4:45, on a bitterly cold Minnesota morning, three big men burst through the door of a hospital pharmacy, duct-tape the hands, feet, mouth, and eyes of two pharmacy workers, and clean the place out. But then things swiftly go bad, one of the workers dies, and the robbers hustle out to their truck-and find themselves for just one second face-to-face with a blond woman in the garage: Weather Karkinnen, surgeon, wife of an investigator named Lucas Davenport.
Did she see enough? Can she identify them? Gnawing it over later, it seems to them there is only one thing they can do: Find out who she is, and eliminate the only possible witness...
"Sandford's track record as a best-selling author is amazing, but it's not an accident," wrote Booklist of Wicked Prey. "His plotting is sharp, his villains are extraordinarily layered, and his good guys are always evolving.
And this time, there's a storm brewing...Very early, 4:45, on a bitterly cold Minnesota morning, three big men burst through the door of a hospital pharmacy, duct-tape the hands, feet, mouth, and eyes of two pharmacy workers, and clean the place out. But then things swiftly go bad, one of the workers dies, and the robbers hustle out to their truck-and find themselves for just one second face-to-face with a blond woman in the garage: Weather Karkinnen, surgeon, wife of an investigator named Lucas Davenport.
Did she see enough? Can she identify them? Gnawing it over later, it seems to them there is only one thing they can do: Find out who she is, and eliminate the only possible witness...
408 pages, Hardcover
First published May 18, 2010
1897 people are currently reading
5192 people want to read
About the author
John Sandford
234 books9,630 followersJohn 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,118 reviews
September 29, 2016
Storm Prey is the twentieth entry in the Prey series. Add in the four books about Kidd, three with Virgil Flowers, two stand-alone novels, and that’s a total of twenty-nine John Sandford novels. I’ve read them all, and I’ll probably keep reading if he writes another twenty-nine. So yeah, I guess you could say I'm a fan.
When a group of bikers rob a Minneapolis hospital pharmacy for a fortune in drugs it seems like the perfect plan. Except that they manage to kill a hospital employee in the process, and one of them gets spotted without his mask by a surgeon, Weather Karkinnen. Weather just happens to be the wife of Lucas Davenport, the Minnesota state cop and hero of this series.
With a felony murder charge hanging over all of them the thieves turn on each other, and a young psycho biker gets brought in to act as an ad hoc hit man. Despite concern for Weather’s safety Davenport and his people quickly identify the gang and seem on the verge of wrapping up the whole thing when an unexpected act by of one of the thieves surprises the cops and kicks off a string of ever more violent murders. It’s every man for himself, and Lucas and his friends (Including Virgil Flowers popping in from his own series.) will have to try and figure out who is killing who while watching Weather’s back. And they’ll also have to keep an eye out for the inside man at the hospital.
At this point reading a new Davenport book is like getting a visit from an old friend. Sandford is still a master at plotting the cat-and-mouse game between the cops and the criminals, and he still keeps me turning pages way past my bedtime to see what happens next.
My only complaint is that this is the second book in a row to feature a threat to Davenport’s family. He’s used that plot device before in other books so it’s more than a little repetitive that he goes to it again so soon, and it won't be the last time he'll play that card. I do give credit to Sandford for coming up with a logical reason why the very wealthy Davenport simply doesn’t fly Weather out of the country while they deal with the threat. She’s a key member of a surgical team doing a series of tricky operations to separate two conjoined babies so she can’t leave town. That subplot also adds some more drama to the story and helps keep Weather as a vital character and not just a damsel in distress.
Summing up: Smart, tough and funny cops. An innocent surgeon in danger. A motorcycle gang. A cold blooded killer. A drug addicted doctor. Conjoined babies. Operating room drama. Robbery. Drugs. Shoot-outs. ‘Roid rage. And hand grenades. All set during a brutal Minnesota winter.
What more could anyone ask for in a crime thriller?
Next: Lucas flashbacks to the case that made him a detective in Buried Prey.
When a group of bikers rob a Minneapolis hospital pharmacy for a fortune in drugs it seems like the perfect plan. Except that they manage to kill a hospital employee in the process, and one of them gets spotted without his mask by a surgeon, Weather Karkinnen. Weather just happens to be the wife of Lucas Davenport, the Minnesota state cop and hero of this series.
With a felony murder charge hanging over all of them the thieves turn on each other, and a young psycho biker gets brought in to act as an ad hoc hit man. Despite concern for Weather’s safety Davenport and his people quickly identify the gang and seem on the verge of wrapping up the whole thing when an unexpected act by of one of the thieves surprises the cops and kicks off a string of ever more violent murders. It’s every man for himself, and Lucas and his friends (Including Virgil Flowers popping in from his own series.) will have to try and figure out who is killing who while watching Weather’s back. And they’ll also have to keep an eye out for the inside man at the hospital.
At this point reading a new Davenport book is like getting a visit from an old friend. Sandford is still a master at plotting the cat-and-mouse game between the cops and the criminals, and he still keeps me turning pages way past my bedtime to see what happens next.
My only complaint is that this is the second book in a row to feature a threat to Davenport’s family. He’s used that plot device before in other books so it’s more than a little repetitive that he goes to it again so soon, and it won't be the last time he'll play that card. I do give credit to Sandford for coming up with a logical reason why the very wealthy Davenport simply doesn’t fly Weather out of the country while they deal with the threat. She’s a key member of a surgical team doing a series of tricky operations to separate two conjoined babies so she can’t leave town. That subplot also adds some more drama to the story and helps keep Weather as a vital character and not just a damsel in distress.
Summing up: Smart, tough and funny cops. An innocent surgeon in danger. A motorcycle gang. A cold blooded killer. A drug addicted doctor. Conjoined babies. Operating room drama. Robbery. Drugs. Shoot-outs. ‘Roid rage. And hand grenades. All set during a brutal Minnesota winter.
What more could anyone ask for in a crime thriller?
Next: Lucas flashbacks to the case that made him a detective in Buried Prey.
January 11, 2022
Truly enjoyed this one!
A robbery has occurred at the hospital where Weather Karkinnen works at. Weather is Lucas Davenport's wife. During the robbery, a man was attacked and he succumbs to his injuries. Lucas is called to investigate the crime once he realizes Weather might have seen the killers leaving the premises. Unbeknownst to Weather, she has also met another one of the criminals the morning of the attack.
Lucas would like to make Weather leave the city but she is performing a conjoined twin surgery so she won't do it. Weather decides to let Lucas worry about her safety and she will only concentrate on the twins' surgery and their survival instead.
Another great addition to this series! John Sandford continues to write great character development. He also brings his other main character, Virgil Flowers to help protect Weather which makes fans of both series quite happy.
There is plenty of action and hilarity on this one too, things that I have come to expect regularly from this series.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
A robbery has occurred at the hospital where Weather Karkinnen works at. Weather is Lucas Davenport's wife. During the robbery, a man was attacked and he succumbs to his injuries. Lucas is called to investigate the crime once he realizes Weather might have seen the killers leaving the premises. Unbeknownst to Weather, she has also met another one of the criminals the morning of the attack.
Lucas would like to make Weather leave the city but she is performing a conjoined twin surgery so she won't do it. Weather decides to let Lucas worry about her safety and she will only concentrate on the twins' surgery and their survival instead.
Another great addition to this series! John Sandford continues to write great character development. He also brings his other main character, Virgil Flowers to help protect Weather which makes fans of both series quite happy.
There is plenty of action and hilarity on this one too, things that I have come to expect regularly from this series.
Cliffhanger: No
4/5 Fangs
MrsLeif's Two Fangs About It | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
January 25, 2018
“The problem is we’re stupid people.”
Well, that pretty much sums up the plot of this book. Things go from bad to worse with the robbery of a hospital pharmacy. Lucas leads the charge trying to figure out who’s responsible.
Another worthwhile effort by Sandford.
I listened to this and Ferrone did a great job with the narration.
Well, that pretty much sums up the plot of this book. Things go from bad to worse with the robbery of a hospital pharmacy. Lucas leads the charge trying to figure out who’s responsible.
Another worthwhile effort by Sandford.
I listened to this and Ferrone did a great job with the narration.
August 30, 2020
Not one of the better stories in this series. Too much stereotyping for me. For example, an innocent black man going home from work shot and killed. Davenport presumes, "some gang thing," usually a code for "black" and not the case at all. 4 of 10 stars
March 20, 2011
As I've said before here, I'm a huge fan of John Sandford's "Prey" series. I think that Lucas Davenport, Sandford's main protagonist, is a marvelously-imagined character, and Sandford has surrounded him with a great supporting cast. I especially love the humor in the books, which seems appropriate even in the darkest situations. If this isn't the way cops actually talk to one another, it probably should be. Additionally, Sandford has written some really good plots, often making it impossible to put one of these books down once you've started it.
That said, I wasn't all that knocked out by Storm Prey. I enjoyed reading it, but it's certainly not one of the better books in the series. It opens with the robbery of a hospital pharmacy. And this just happens to be the hospital where Davenport's wife, Weather Karkinnen, works as a surgeon. As it further happens, Weather is coming in early to perform a delicate surgery and catches a glimpse of a couple of the men who may have been involved in the robbery. A hospital employee is murdered during the course of the robbery and the robbers conclude that Weather must be eliminated so that she cannot identify them. The story then centers principally on the robbers' attempts to kill Weather while Lucas Davenport tries to protect her.
I'm never very happy when a writer puts into jeopardy a family member or close friend of his protagonist. Whenever this happens, I always assume that the creative juices were off on vacation in Mexico and, rather than calling them back, the writer decided instead to resort to a tired old plot device. And as much as I love these books, Sandford has done this a lot. Over the course of this series virtually everyone close to Davenport has at one time or another been targeted by some nasty antagonist, and to see it happen yet again just makes you want to groan.
To further complicate matters, the villains in this book are a gang of Really Dumb Guys. They are among the least interesting and least scary villains that Sandford has ever created--and he's created some great ones. But not for a moment is any reader ever going to believe that THESE are the guys who are finally going to outwit Lucas Davenport, penetrate his defenses, and do serious harm to someone he loves.
Ultimately, it's the interaction between Davenport, Weather and the rest of the cast that saves the book and makes it an enjoyable read in spite of these shortcomings. It's a fun way to spend an evening or two, although someone coming fresh to the series would probably want to start with one of the earlier books in the series. For my own part, I still eagerly await Lucas Davenport's twenty-first outing. I'm just praying that it doesn't open with Davenport's infant son, Sam, being kidnapped on the way to his nursery school.
That said, I wasn't all that knocked out by Storm Prey. I enjoyed reading it, but it's certainly not one of the better books in the series. It opens with the robbery of a hospital pharmacy. And this just happens to be the hospital where Davenport's wife, Weather Karkinnen, works as a surgeon. As it further happens, Weather is coming in early to perform a delicate surgery and catches a glimpse of a couple of the men who may have been involved in the robbery. A hospital employee is murdered during the course of the robbery and the robbers conclude that Weather must be eliminated so that she cannot identify them. The story then centers principally on the robbers' attempts to kill Weather while Lucas Davenport tries to protect her.
I'm never very happy when a writer puts into jeopardy a family member or close friend of his protagonist. Whenever this happens, I always assume that the creative juices were off on vacation in Mexico and, rather than calling them back, the writer decided instead to resort to a tired old plot device. And as much as I love these books, Sandford has done this a lot. Over the course of this series virtually everyone close to Davenport has at one time or another been targeted by some nasty antagonist, and to see it happen yet again just makes you want to groan.
To further complicate matters, the villains in this book are a gang of Really Dumb Guys. They are among the least interesting and least scary villains that Sandford has ever created--and he's created some great ones. But not for a moment is any reader ever going to believe that THESE are the guys who are finally going to outwit Lucas Davenport, penetrate his defenses, and do serious harm to someone he loves.
Ultimately, it's the interaction between Davenport, Weather and the rest of the cast that saves the book and makes it an enjoyable read in spite of these shortcomings. It's a fun way to spend an evening or two, although someone coming fresh to the series would probably want to start with one of the earlier books in the series. For my own part, I still eagerly await Lucas Davenport's twenty-first outing. I'm just praying that it doesn't open with Davenport's infant son, Sam, being kidnapped on the way to his nursery school.
April 7, 2019
Honestly not too much to say about this. The POVs with the bad guys in this one don't work. It was good to get more of Weather's POV though and I realize it's been a while since Sandford had her actually part of the story besides going to work and getting Lucas out of his bad moods. Other than that though, this book really doesn't work. The bad guys are some of the stupidest people ever. The fixation on killing Weather makes zero sense. And then there's an update about a character in this one that Sandford totally forgets about in the next book.
"Storm Prey" has Weather preparing for a really big medical case. She and her colleagues will be operating on conjoined twins. While getting to the hospital she happens to spy some men in an van and without realizing it, has seen men who have just robbed and murdered someone at the hospital. Once Lucas and others figure out what has happened, Weather and her family are under instant protection. Things intensify when Weather is almost gunned down while driving. Lucas, Marcy, Del, and others work almost 24/7 to figure out who the men are before Weather can be hurt.
Lucas is Lucas in this one. There is no serial killer to chase, but he's hell-bent on keeping Weather safe after someone comes after her. There are some updates on Marcy (happily married with one child) and Del (who just had his child too) and others we have gotten to know. Virgil shows up in this one too. There is the usual lousy cop jokes, but with more seriousness in this one since no one is going to let Weather, Letty, or Sam get hurt. There is also a discussion among Lucas and Weather about having another child. You think after adopting Letty they be good, but they and everyone else seems to find her charming. She's still a hot mess to me dancing towards being a psychopath.
The only good parts which is the main reason why I gave this 3 stars is that we get to get in Weather's head in this one. And that's been a long time since we have done that since she's been introduced to readers. She's focused on saving the twins and that Lucas and everyone else will keep her safe.
The writing was okay, but switching to the multiple POVs with the multiple bad guys did not work. I started getting sick of reading them after a while and skimmed and dismissed. The flow wasn't great either. The first part was fine, but after that the whole book drags until we get to the end.
The ending was a surprise though and I don't know what else to say about it. I felt pretty indifferent towards things as soon as we got to the end.
"Storm Prey" has Weather preparing for a really big medical case. She and her colleagues will be operating on conjoined twins. While getting to the hospital she happens to spy some men in an van and without realizing it, has seen men who have just robbed and murdered someone at the hospital. Once Lucas and others figure out what has happened, Weather and her family are under instant protection. Things intensify when Weather is almost gunned down while driving. Lucas, Marcy, Del, and others work almost 24/7 to figure out who the men are before Weather can be hurt.
Lucas is Lucas in this one. There is no serial killer to chase, but he's hell-bent on keeping Weather safe after someone comes after her. There are some updates on Marcy (happily married with one child) and Del (who just had his child too) and others we have gotten to know. Virgil shows up in this one too. There is the usual lousy cop jokes, but with more seriousness in this one since no one is going to let Weather, Letty, or Sam get hurt. There is also a discussion among Lucas and Weather about having another child. You think after adopting Letty they be good, but they and everyone else seems to find her charming. She's still a hot mess to me dancing towards being a psychopath.
The only good parts which is the main reason why I gave this 3 stars is that we get to get in Weather's head in this one. And that's been a long time since we have done that since she's been introduced to readers. She's focused on saving the twins and that Lucas and everyone else will keep her safe.
The writing was okay, but switching to the multiple POVs with the multiple bad guys did not work. I started getting sick of reading them after a while and skimmed and dismissed. The flow wasn't great either. The first part was fine, but after that the whole book drags until we get to the end.
The ending was a surprise though and I don't know what else to say about it. I felt pretty indifferent towards things as soon as we got to the end.
October 29, 2012
Storm Prey is a stupid 3 Stars. Honestly that is not a put down. The theme of stupid criminal runs throughout, actually is the backbone of the plot. Where Sandford used to have really devious and brilliant adversaries, he gives us a bunch of Darwin award winners for criminals here. The robbery of the hospital pharmacy begins a chain of events that puts Lucas's wife Weather in harm's way, brings Virgil Flowers into the main story, and reunites a bunch of the old gang of "Prey" characters. There is no "Storm" here until the end, so not clear why that was in the title--he must be running out of words to precede "Prey". There is a lot of medical info as we follow Weather in her job, not pertinent to the story but interesting in a way. I bumped it to 3 Stars because he actually described a character as "Christian, conservative and competent". Holy crap, he musta got a whipping from his lib friends for that one, considering his constant put down of conservatives in other books in the series. It reads exceptionally fast and really no mystery on where this one will wind up.
June 26, 2013
Terrific premise! Terrific! Crooks have just robbed a hospital pharmacy. During their escape, a woman eyeballs them, and they’re afraid she’ll identify them. She happens to be a surgeon named Weather, who is essential to a delicate operation to save the lives of conjoined twins!
I was excited! I could see the crooks abducting Weather, a frantic search to save her before the crooks did her in, the poor babies’ lives hanging in the balance . . .
Got none of it. Instead, the book focused mainly on the criminal gang, who would fit right in on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and who, from paranoia or sheer meanness, start killing each other off. Alongside this uninteresting story, a group of run-of-the-mill cops engage in run-of-the-mill police work through which, along with some luck and bumbling by the criminals, they eventually identify all the perpetrators. By the time they actually locate the perpetrators, the perpetrators are all dead, except for one, and the cops only nab him because he turns himself in.
Weather, the surgeon/witness, is never in any real danger and plays little to no part in solving the crime. She separates the twins in spectacularly un-dramatic fashion.
Terrific premise terrifically wasted.
I was excited! I could see the crooks abducting Weather, a frantic search to save her before the crooks did her in, the poor babies’ lives hanging in the balance . . .
Got none of it. Instead, the book focused mainly on the criminal gang, who would fit right in on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and who, from paranoia or sheer meanness, start killing each other off. Alongside this uninteresting story, a group of run-of-the-mill cops engage in run-of-the-mill police work through which, along with some luck and bumbling by the criminals, they eventually identify all the perpetrators. By the time they actually locate the perpetrators, the perpetrators are all dead, except for one, and the cops only nab him because he turns himself in.
Weather, the surgeon/witness, is never in any real danger and plays little to no part in solving the crime. She separates the twins in spectacularly un-dramatic fashion.
Terrific premise terrifically wasted.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2018
A good, but not stunning addition to the series. There were a lot of twists & turns as the bad guys tried to get out from under while Lucas & company closed in, but they often caused their own problems since they were running when no one even knew who to pursue, so they drew attention to themselves. Pretty dumb, maybe too dumb at times. Definitely too coked up. I had trouble believing that the doctor could function unnoticed.
The twins & their operation were interesting. The weather (& Weather) were great. As usual, Sandford had several threads running through the book to wind between. 'Real' life intruding into the action. That was well done.
My copy of Heat Lightning, the 2d Virgil Flowers book, finally became available at the library, so I'm going to listen to it next. I'm still 6th in line for the 3d book, but I think I'll skip it & I'll listen to the 4th VF book before continuing this series since the hints in the books make me think they should be read in publication order.
18. Phantom Prey (2008)
VF 2. Heat Lightning (2008)
19. Wicked Prey (2009)
VF 3. Rough Country (2009)
20. Storm Prey (2010)
VF 4. Bad Blood (2010)
The twins & their operation were interesting. The weather (& Weather) were great. As usual, Sandford had several threads running through the book to wind between. 'Real' life intruding into the action. That was well done.
My copy of Heat Lightning, the 2d Virgil Flowers book, finally became available at the library, so I'm going to listen to it next. I'm still 6th in line for the 3d book, but I think I'll skip it & I'll listen to the 4th VF book before continuing this series since the hints in the books make me think they should be read in publication order.
18. Phantom Prey (2008)
VF 2. Heat Lightning (2008)
19. Wicked Prey (2009)
VF 3. Rough Country (2009)
20. Storm Prey (2010)
VF 4. Bad Blood (2010)
June 14, 2010
I am stupidly dedicated to the Prey series and I will probably always love me some Lucas Davenport. And Virgil Flowers. But I've been wondering: what happened?? Why is the Prey series now a run of the mill mystery?
Lucas is incredibly intelligent, shrewd and will kill you if he needs to. He used to go up against some intelligent, shrewd killers in previous books but the last few have been disappointing. He's having to go against some of the dumbest damn people ever. There's no mystery or challenge anymore.
The hospital that Weather works at is robbed with the pharmacy wiped clean. Someone dies in the process and everyone is up in arms. The Mack brothers and an inside doc are the criminals and they are all as dumb as bricks. And drug addicts to boot. Fabulous.
For a regular ol' mystery, this is good. For a Davenport book (with that Fuckin' Flowers even!!!) it's just not that good. Lucas needs better villians to go up against. No more stupid rednecks.
Lucas is incredibly intelligent, shrewd and will kill you if he needs to. He used to go up against some intelligent, shrewd killers in previous books but the last few have been disappointing. He's having to go against some of the dumbest damn people ever. There's no mystery or challenge anymore.
The hospital that Weather works at is robbed with the pharmacy wiped clean. Someone dies in the process and everyone is up in arms. The Mack brothers and an inside doc are the criminals and they are all as dumb as bricks. And drug addicts to boot. Fabulous.
For a regular ol' mystery, this is good. For a Davenport book (with that Fuckin' Flowers even!!!) it's just not that good. Lucas needs better villians to go up against. No more stupid rednecks.
April 29, 2015
So good you don't want it to end.
August 26, 2018
As we begin John Sandford's 20th entry in the Lucas Davenport series, we know, from past experience with that series, that we will experience three effects. First, the story will be a thriller, not a mystery, as we will be introduced to the bad guys at the very beginning of the book. In this case, a doctor, a biker bar owner, the bar owner's brother, and two biker friends plan and execute a pharmacy robbery at a major hospital. They strip every drug from the pharmacy and strip the life from the pharmacist. Then they nearly smash into Weather Karkinnen, Davenport's surgeon wife, as they flee the hospital's parking garage at oh-dark-thirty in the morning. And they know she has seen them eyeball-to-eyeball.
Secondly, we will be in on the thoughts and actions of the bad guys, in real time, throughout the book. Therefore, we are always one or more steps ahead of Davenport and his team, knowing when they are right and also when they are heading off into the weeds.
And thirdly, we will be dropped into a secondary sub-plot that is actually a mystery. In this novel, it is the surgery surrounding the separation of two twin girls, conjoined at the skull, but having separate brains. Unfortunately, one of these girls has a congenital heart condition that threatens not only her life but the life of her normal twin. And it threatens the progress of the surgeries involved, already expected to take over 20 hours in OR time and utilizes a 40-member surgical team. Weather is the opening/closing surgeon for each stage of the process which is why she just happens to be in the path of the robbers that particular day at that particularly early hour. For the entire book, we will follow the operations and their problems, wondering every minute if one or both of the children will survive both the operations and the stalker determined to keep Weather from identifying the bad guys.
At first glance, these robbers seem too stupid to evade Davenport for too very long. They've been seen, one of the thugs left DNA under the fingernails of the pharmacist he killed and, except for the doctor, none of the guys has much formal education. But Davenport doesn't know what we know: the bar owner - who actually planned the robbery - and his brother were raised from the crib to be thieves, fences and non-using drug dealers. Their IQ's may not be that high but their street cred is impeccable. Basically, Davenport underestimates his quarry and believes that he is hunting a different level of robber/killer than he really is. And it takes 6 bodies and 300 pages for him to realize what we have known since somewhere around page 25: there is a 6th player, a cleaner (and I don't mean a Molly Maid, either.)
As the story progresses, we get to spend time with all the members of Davenport's team, especially Virgil Flowers, Shrake and Jenkins. We even get to catch up with Marcy Sherrill, now a deputy chief in the Minneapolis PD. And we get a liberal sprinkling of the witty repartee that Sandford throws in during conversations between the main characters.
For me, the best episode in that vein - the one that had me chuckling for several minutes afterward - occurs several days into the investigation. Weather was nearly assassinated the evening of the robbery and now must endure a 24-hour bodyguard situation. She is escorted to and from the hospital in an armed convoy. Either Virgil, Shrake or Jenkins is always outside the OR door or hovering around any office or waiting room that Weather frequents, even the cafeteria. Weather takes it pretty much in stride but at one point, the following conversation occurs:
Weather: Give me a half hour. I need one more consult.
Jenkins: Right here?
Weather: Upstairs.
Jenkins: I'll come along.
Weather: Jenkins . . .
Jenkins: Look, if you get killed, Lucas is gonna pound me on my annual review. Okay?
Good writing, well-plotted villains, lots of nail-biting scenarios, reasonable and believable investigative paths even when they were flawed due to stress and linear thinking (like believing that the only people who have a French accent are from France - oops, that cost some time and a life or two!) Oh well, not even Davenport is perfect.
Secondly, we will be in on the thoughts and actions of the bad guys, in real time, throughout the book. Therefore, we are always one or more steps ahead of Davenport and his team, knowing when they are right and also when they are heading off into the weeds.
And thirdly, we will be dropped into a secondary sub-plot that is actually a mystery. In this novel, it is the surgery surrounding the separation of two twin girls, conjoined at the skull, but having separate brains. Unfortunately, one of these girls has a congenital heart condition that threatens not only her life but the life of her normal twin. And it threatens the progress of the surgeries involved, already expected to take over 20 hours in OR time and utilizes a 40-member surgical team. Weather is the opening/closing surgeon for each stage of the process which is why she just happens to be in the path of the robbers that particular day at that particularly early hour. For the entire book, we will follow the operations and their problems, wondering every minute if one or both of the children will survive both the operations and the stalker determined to keep Weather from identifying the bad guys.
At first glance, these robbers seem too stupid to evade Davenport for too very long. They've been seen, one of the thugs left DNA under the fingernails of the pharmacist he killed and, except for the doctor, none of the guys has much formal education. But Davenport doesn't know what we know: the bar owner - who actually planned the robbery - and his brother were raised from the crib to be thieves, fences and non-using drug dealers. Their IQ's may not be that high but their street cred is impeccable. Basically, Davenport underestimates his quarry and believes that he is hunting a different level of robber/killer than he really is. And it takes 6 bodies and 300 pages for him to realize what we have known since somewhere around page 25: there is a 6th player, a cleaner (and I don't mean a Molly Maid, either.)
As the story progresses, we get to spend time with all the members of Davenport's team, especially Virgil Flowers, Shrake and Jenkins. We even get to catch up with Marcy Sherrill, now a deputy chief in the Minneapolis PD. And we get a liberal sprinkling of the witty repartee that Sandford throws in during conversations between the main characters.
For me, the best episode in that vein - the one that had me chuckling for several minutes afterward - occurs several days into the investigation. Weather was nearly assassinated the evening of the robbery and now must endure a 24-hour bodyguard situation. She is escorted to and from the hospital in an armed convoy. Either Virgil, Shrake or Jenkins is always outside the OR door or hovering around any office or waiting room that Weather frequents, even the cafeteria. Weather takes it pretty much in stride but at one point, the following conversation occurs:
Weather: Give me a half hour. I need one more consult.
Jenkins: Right here?
Weather: Upstairs.
Jenkins: I'll come along.
Weather: Jenkins . . .
Jenkins: Look, if you get killed, Lucas is gonna pound me on my annual review. Okay?
Good writing, well-plotted villains, lots of nail-biting scenarios, reasonable and believable investigative paths even when they were flawed due to stress and linear thinking (like believing that the only people who have a French accent are from France - oops, that cost some time and a life or two!) Oh well, not even Davenport is perfect.
January 19, 2017
Another Davenport family in peril story. Now instead of Letty in danger, Weather is the one targeted by a biker gang no less. Sub plot about Weather's part in surgically separating conjoined twins was vaguely interesting.
March 8, 2016
Thrilling!
June 2, 2010
I've read every Prey book--many several times over. I have to agree with other reviewers who have noticed a decline in the overall quality of Prey books. Beyond copy-editing issues, there are several times where there are point-of-view shifts between multiple characters in the same scene. Sandford would never have done this in earlier books. The plotting isn't THAT intricate either. Not only are the villains not much of a threat--they're actually pretty incompetent and dumb--there's really no sense of urgency here (not even in the relatively distracting B-storyline about the operation-which was pretty much of a snooze, even if technically correct).
I think the problem here is what Sandford has Lucas realize midway through the book: Lucas is happy. (And another baby? Please, say it isn't so. I can see it now; Lucas retires because he realizes he wants to be around for his kids and/or Weather nags him into a guilt trip about it.) The problem here is that a happy Lucas doesn't make for a compelling read. Nothing really shakes him up; no one's really in danger; he doesn't stand to lose much (the threat to Weather was no threat at all); and no character is very interesting for long without conflict or something to lose. There is none of that here. (This was the problem with the last book, too. You knew nothing was REALLY going to happen to Letty--which was a shame because I'd been waiting for a Letty book since Naked Prey.)
Also, it was pretty obvious to me that this novel felt like an excuse to have Virgil Flowers trot onto the stage--a pretty bald attempt to get readers accustomed to him and, perhaps, ready to embrace him when Sandford decides that Lucas has to retire. Certainly, if Sandford's tired of writing about Lucas, you can understand that; it's a Conan Doyle kind of thing. But that doesn't mean that Virgil Flowers can really take Lucas's place. Flowers just doesn't do it for me--a surfer-looking dude with a gun and rock band t-shirts who likes to think about God at night is pretty uninteresting. I don't think the Flowers books are nearly as well-written as the Prey books either--even the not-so-great Prey books--and Lucas's seal of approval for Flowers isn't reason enough for me to climb on the Flowers bandwagon.
And I also agree that the ending of this book is pretty lame--yet another problem that didn't use to be. I think about the endings of books like Mortal Prey and Sudden Prey--and I just want to weep.
Phantom Prey was a pretty good Prey book, but the last *decent* Prey book before that was Broken Prey (which was a fabulous exercise in misdirection and I think the only one where Sandford kept us ALL in the dark about the killer's identity until nearly the very end). Problem is: a couple of years between good Prey books is just too darned long to wait.
I used to preorder all of Sandford's books, but next time I'm gong to wait until I snag a copy at the library. You can't keep churning out a substandard product and expect people to keep buying out of loyalty. I feel guilty saying this because I've been a Sandford fan from the beginning, but his writing is just getting sparer and sparer and the spark is gone. Don't know if he'll find it again, but I sure hope so.
I think the problem here is what Sandford has Lucas realize midway through the book: Lucas is happy. (And another baby? Please, say it isn't so. I can see it now; Lucas retires because he realizes he wants to be around for his kids and/or Weather nags him into a guilt trip about it.) The problem here is that a happy Lucas doesn't make for a compelling read. Nothing really shakes him up; no one's really in danger; he doesn't stand to lose much (the threat to Weather was no threat at all); and no character is very interesting for long without conflict or something to lose. There is none of that here. (This was the problem with the last book, too. You knew nothing was REALLY going to happen to Letty--which was a shame because I'd been waiting for a Letty book since Naked Prey.)
Also, it was pretty obvious to me that this novel felt like an excuse to have Virgil Flowers trot onto the stage--a pretty bald attempt to get readers accustomed to him and, perhaps, ready to embrace him when Sandford decides that Lucas has to retire. Certainly, if Sandford's tired of writing about Lucas, you can understand that; it's a Conan Doyle kind of thing. But that doesn't mean that Virgil Flowers can really take Lucas's place. Flowers just doesn't do it for me--a surfer-looking dude with a gun and rock band t-shirts who likes to think about God at night is pretty uninteresting. I don't think the Flowers books are nearly as well-written as the Prey books either--even the not-so-great Prey books--and Lucas's seal of approval for Flowers isn't reason enough for me to climb on the Flowers bandwagon.
And I also agree that the ending of this book is pretty lame--yet another problem that didn't use to be. I think about the endings of books like Mortal Prey and Sudden Prey--and I just want to weep.
Phantom Prey was a pretty good Prey book, but the last *decent* Prey book before that was Broken Prey (which was a fabulous exercise in misdirection and I think the only one where Sandford kept us ALL in the dark about the killer's identity until nearly the very end). Problem is: a couple of years between good Prey books is just too darned long to wait.
I used to preorder all of Sandford's books, but next time I'm gong to wait until I snag a copy at the library. You can't keep churning out a substandard product and expect people to keep buying out of loyalty. I feel guilty saying this because I've been a Sandford fan from the beginning, but his writing is just getting sparer and sparer and the spark is gone. Don't know if he'll find it again, but I sure hope so.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 25, 2024
5 Stars. A 5-star triumph by John Sandford. I got so caught up in this one. I listened to it on a drive to the nation's capital, Ottawa, and delayed getting out of the car twice to finish chapters - once in Gatineau, Quebec and once in my driveway on returning! He hits the mark in so many ways. First, interesting cases. A group of bikers target the drugs in the pharmacy supply room at the Minnesota Medical Research Center. Extremely valuable on the street. But there were two unfortunates for the thieves. One of them kicked an older staff member to death resulting in a full-court press by the local police and Minnesota's BCA high profile detective Lucas Davenport. Lucas was there because of their other unfortunate; his wife Weather, a MMRC surgeon involved at the exact same time in an operation to separate con-joined little girls, may have seen the thieves as they exited the parking lot, and she also may have inadvertently spoken to their inside contact, Dr. Alain Barakat, in an elevator. She's in serious danger. The second way Sandford hits the mark in 'Storm Prey'? Virgil Flowers has a featured role and I love his brains and outrageous personality. It's great. (De2024)
August 23, 2017
As with all the books in the Lucas Davenport series, the story is always face paced, well written, and filled with suspense.
December 12, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this 20th book in John Sandford's "Lucas Davenport" series!
September 8, 2010
I kind of had the hots for Lucas Davenport in that Book Boyfriend way. He's a freaking fantastic character. Intelligent, cocky, vain, hard as nails when needed, a total man-whore, and unapologetic as Hell. I admire an author who can write someone like that without constantly trying to explain it or justify it.
Lucas had gotten kind of stagnant since he's settled down with Weather. I liked him better single, though I see where him being married with kids adds another layer to his character. However, I don't like Weather's character because she doesn't add anything to the series for me. She's a strong, intelligent woman, which I appreciate, but she's also a giant amount of Blah, which clashes horribly with Lucas's fire.
The last Lucas book was boring. It just was. This one was anything but. It started out hard and got harder. It was intense and fast paced but it was so bogged down by Weather's part in it. I didn't *care* a lick about the excrutiatingly detailed plot about her involvement in a surgery to separate conjoined twins. Why would I? What does that possibly have to do with the hospital pharmacy being robbed and one of the workers being killed?
It took up so much time from the book. The surgery scenes broke the intensity, broke the flow, killed the momentum. The rest of it that involved Lucas and his team (Virgil Flowers, my love, you have now replaced Lucas in my heart!) was SO GOOD!!!!!
I hate it when authors want to force you to care about another aspect of a character's life. We really don't have to. Seriously. I'm perfectly okay just reading about Lucas and his cases.
Lucas had gotten kind of stagnant since he's settled down with Weather. I liked him better single, though I see where him being married with kids adds another layer to his character. However, I don't like Weather's character because she doesn't add anything to the series for me. She's a strong, intelligent woman, which I appreciate, but she's also a giant amount of Blah, which clashes horribly with Lucas's fire.
The last Lucas book was boring. It just was. This one was anything but. It started out hard and got harder. It was intense and fast paced but it was so bogged down by Weather's part in it. I didn't *care* a lick about the excrutiatingly detailed plot about her involvement in a surgery to separate conjoined twins. Why would I? What does that possibly have to do with the hospital pharmacy being robbed and one of the workers being killed?
It took up so much time from the book. The surgery scenes broke the intensity, broke the flow, killed the momentum. The rest of it that involved Lucas and his team (Virgil Flowers, my love, you have now replaced Lucas in my heart!) was SO GOOD!!!!!
I hate it when authors want to force you to care about another aspect of a character's life. We really don't have to. Seriously. I'm perfectly okay just reading about Lucas and his cases.
April 28, 2011
This volume of John Sandford's Prey series gives more attention to the criminals and to Lucas' wife, the surgeon Weather Karkinnen, is part of the team that is separating two Siamese twin babies. Lucas is not in total control of the murder case, he makes mistakes.
A non-too-smart Lebanese ER physician at Weather's hospital is abusing drugs and is out of money. He persuades some bungling low-level crooks to steal about a half million dollars worth of drugs from the hospital pharmacy. They do so, but, being incompetent, accidentally kill one of the pharmacists. While dashing away in a car, they pass Weather who is arriving for the twin's operation. Weather sees and is able to identify one of the bunglers. The crooks decide, among other dumb ideas, to kill Weather so that they would remain unidentified. "My friend," one of them says to another, "you are smarter than you look," and this emphasizes how dumb they really are.
Virgil Flowers, Lucas' assistant and the protagonist of three excellent Sandford novels, plays a role in the book, protecting Weather, but shows little or none of the flare that made him such an enjoyable character in the three Flowers books.
All in all, this mystery lacks the usual humor of the Sandford mysteries, the bungling mars our desire to identify with Lucas, and the story lacks suspense.
2 Stars
A non-too-smart Lebanese ER physician at Weather's hospital is abusing drugs and is out of money. He persuades some bungling low-level crooks to steal about a half million dollars worth of drugs from the hospital pharmacy. They do so, but, being incompetent, accidentally kill one of the pharmacists. While dashing away in a car, they pass Weather who is arriving for the twin's operation. Weather sees and is able to identify one of the bunglers. The crooks decide, among other dumb ideas, to kill Weather so that they would remain unidentified. "My friend," one of them says to another, "you are smarter than you look," and this emphasizes how dumb they really are.
Virgil Flowers, Lucas' assistant and the protagonist of three excellent Sandford novels, plays a role in the book, protecting Weather, but shows little or none of the flare that made him such an enjoyable character in the three Flowers books.
All in all, this mystery lacks the usual humor of the Sandford mysteries, the bungling mars our desire to identify with Lucas, and the story lacks suspense.
2 Stars
April 15, 2018
'Storm Prey' is the twentieth novel in the Prey series by John Sandford and it might just be the best one yet.
Sandford delivers with his depiction of the mismatched outlaws: a couple of drunken bikers, a twenty year old psychopathic skinhead and a cocaine addicted Lebanese doctor. Stuck in the middle of this is BCA agent Lucas Davenport and his surgeon wife Weather.
'Storm Prey' is one of the more violent Prey novels with scenes of mutilation, torture, gun battles, merciless shootings, brutal murders and constant backstabbing.
Sandford's greatest achievement with this novel lies with the antagonist, Cappy. Cappy is a twenty year kid who murders if he feels wronged or embarrassed or if he is simply asked to do so. Cappy is one of the most memorable adversaries of Lucas Davenport. His presence is dreaded when he is the chapter's focus but is also missed when he's not.
'Storm Prey' is genuinely frightening, a straightforward but completely original crime thriller. The violence is fast, the thrills are sharp, the dread builds, character's safeties are threatened and you can't predict if they will live to see the next page.
Sandford never (quite literally never) disappoints.
Sandford delivers with his depiction of the mismatched outlaws: a couple of drunken bikers, a twenty year old psychopathic skinhead and a cocaine addicted Lebanese doctor. Stuck in the middle of this is BCA agent Lucas Davenport and his surgeon wife Weather.
'Storm Prey' is one of the more violent Prey novels with scenes of mutilation, torture, gun battles, merciless shootings, brutal murders and constant backstabbing.
Sandford's greatest achievement with this novel lies with the antagonist, Cappy. Cappy is a twenty year kid who murders if he feels wronged or embarrassed or if he is simply asked to do so. Cappy is one of the most memorable adversaries of Lucas Davenport. His presence is dreaded when he is the chapter's focus but is also missed when he's not.
'Storm Prey' is genuinely frightening, a straightforward but completely original crime thriller. The violence is fast, the thrills are sharp, the dread builds, character's safeties are threatened and you can't predict if they will live to see the next page.
Sandford never (quite literally never) disappoints.
June 23, 2010
I absolutely could not finish this. I was so weary of the foul language that contributed nothing to the plot/action/reading enjoyment.
I couldn't even find anything to like about the characters. Yes, I understand Lucas Davenport is a hero, but really....Why couldn't he figure out that if his wife could describe the villains she saw, they could also identify her and come after her? What kind of "smart" guy is this?
And that was just one of the things that put me off so much I finally said: Enough! There are lots better things to do with my time. And lots better books to read as well.
I couldn't even find anything to like about the characters. Yes, I understand Lucas Davenport is a hero, but really....Why couldn't he figure out that if his wife could describe the villains she saw, they could also identify her and come after her? What kind of "smart" guy is this?
And that was just one of the things that put me off so much I finally said: Enough! There are lots better things to do with my time. And lots better books to read as well.
July 3, 2010
I started reading the "Prey" series years ago, and after about 5 I said I was done and yet here I am reading yet another. This time, Sanford decided to add many more pages of implausible plot and stick characters to his latest. All I can say is that I could hardly wait until it was over and I am certain that this will be my last
December 28, 2014
3.5 but it's Christmas so maybe it was just a mood thing.
September 8, 2018
Good believable story with the exception of Letty operating in the adult world. Davenport becomes bit more 'less' violent and Virgil becomes a bit more professional.
March 29, 2017
I guess I expected more from a "#1 New York Times Bestselling Author." I read the hardback version of "Storm Prey" and was not overly impressed. I guess I was supposed to have read his other books like "Shadow Prey," "Wicked Prey" and so on. Lucas Davenport is the good guy and Weather Karkinnen is his doctor wife. She is a witness to a robbery of a hospital pharmacy and a series of bad guys try to rub her out. And these are really bad guys. They commit a series of grislymurders without any trace of remorse.
The writing was good. Sandford knows how to set up a scene and use dialogue and the pace moves the reader swiftly along.
But the whole thing seemed fuzzy, sloppy and unformed. A kind of pastiche of mayhem while Davenport fumbles around trying to stop the bleeding, while his surgeon wife tries to separate
two Siamese twins.
Probably my own fault for reading a #20 in a series. Bad place to start. The bad guys seemed to be fleshed-out characters, but Lucas and Weather were not. I hardly got to know them.
It was a competent enough read, but mainly for fans who are already hooked on Sandford's writing. I was not overly impressed.
The writing was good. Sandford knows how to set up a scene and use dialogue and the pace moves the reader swiftly along.
But the whole thing seemed fuzzy, sloppy and unformed. A kind of pastiche of mayhem while Davenport fumbles around trying to stop the bleeding, while his surgeon wife tries to separate
two Siamese twins.
Probably my own fault for reading a #20 in a series. Bad place to start. The bad guys seemed to be fleshed-out characters, but Lucas and Weather were not. I hardly got to know them.
It was a competent enough read, but mainly for fans who are already hooked on Sandford's writing. I was not overly impressed.
October 5, 2011
I’m hooked on John Sandford’s “Prey” novels, featuring the emotionally complex Lucas Davenport, and have several friends who are as well. Last year’s Storm Prey was the 20th. The first, Rules of Prey, came out in 1989. That puts him at a book a year, except he’s launched two other series, Kidd and Virgil Flowers and has written a couple others besides. The point is, John Sandford has fallen prey to the New York publishing mill, turning out more and more and, at least for me, satisfying less and less. [Note: please read my review of 2011’s Buried Prey for my more positive reaction.] I’m willing to wager that his manuscripts go from first draft to print, with little if any revision. No time for enriching or embellishing, or working in more complex situations or characterizations, shrieks the publisher – we gotta have a hardcover and at least one paperback on the bestseller lists at all times!
To test my thesis, I recently bought a copy of Rules in a used book store [having collected all of them, then given them to my local library in Holderness, New Hampshire] and re-read it. The writing was scintillating, gripping, a real pleasure to read. By comparison, Storm Prey reads like little more than a good first draft without the rich scene descriptions, characterizations and plot intricacies. Just take a look at the first page of Rules of Prey:
“A rooftop billboard cast a flickering blue light through the studio windows. The light ricocheted off glass and stainless steel: an empty crystal bud vase rimed with dust, a pencil sharpener, a microwave oven, peanut-butter jars filled with drawing pencils, paintbrushes and crayons. An ashtray full of pennies and paper clips. Jars of poster paint. Knives.
“A stereo was dimly visible as a collection or rectangular silhouettes on the window ledge. A digital clock punched red electronic minutes into the silence.
“The maddog waited in the dark.
“He could hear himself breathe. Feel the sweat trickle from the pores of his underarms. Taste the remains of his dinner. Feel the unshaven stubble at his groin. Smell the odor of the Chosen’s body.”
” A digital clock punched red electronic minutes into the silence.” Wow. This is wonderful writing. You can see, smell, hear, feel the scene. There is an entire tableau before you, so you know it’s an artist’s studio. Sandford is paying attention to the detail that draws the reader. But you don’t get this kind of richness in the first draft.
Lucas Davenport, the dashing police detective and former software designer who made millions selling his computer program, is married to Weather Karkinnen, a doctor. They have an adopted daughter and an infant son of their own. A cocaine-snorting intern at the hospital enlists the help of three bikers to knock off the hospital pharmacy; he plans to sell the drugs to support his massive coke habit. Of course the plan goes to hell and he thinks Weather recognized him, so he plans to get her killed. Not bad for a plot, and as far as the plot goes it’s pretty good, but I never had the feeling Lucas was truly worried for his wife’s safety – or his family’s. In fact, the teenaged girl, Letty, and the baby don’t make an appearance in the first few scenes at Lucas’ home – which I found strange. Ditto on the guy trying to chase Weather down in her car. Why isn’t anyone worried about the obvious threat? It’s a plot slip that I think Sandford would have caught on a subsequent draft.
Lucas displays his trademark emotion [frustration or anger, rarely gentleness or compassion - after all, he is a cop] only once with respect to the danger to his wife. Otherwise, he and the other cops are pretty much stick figures. The two main crooks have more depth and are revealed in deeper ways than Lucas and Weather. These are small defects, but I think Sandford would have dealt with them had he spent more time revising. Which, of course, is something that rarely happens with “summer reading” books. But I think it was noted by his readers in the fact that this book only spent a few weeks on the New York Times best seller list. I have avoided reading any reviews of Storm Prey, but after I read the last book, Wicked Prey, I browsed the reviews on Amazon; many commented that it was disappointing or not up to the quality of earlier works. For this I don’t blame Sandford, but his publisher, for making their author crank out books like they were widgets, instead of respecting the work of a creative mind. Hey John – are you having fun?
If you haven’t read the Lucas Davenport novels, I suggest you start with the first and read serially. He is an evolving character and there are lots of dimensions to the back story – even though Sandford makes an occasional stab at refreshing the reader’s memory about different folks. Here are Sandford’s “Prey” novels in published order:
1. Rules of Prey (1989)
2. Shadow Prey (1990)
3. Eyes of Prey (1991)
4. Silent Prey (1992)
5. Winter Prey (1993)
6. Night Prey (1994)
7. Mind Prey (1995)
8. Sudden Prey (1996)
9. Secret Prey (1998)>
10. Certain Prey (1999)
11. Easy Prey (2000)
12. Chosen Prey (2001)
13. Mortal Prey (2002)
14. Naked Prey (2003)
15. Hidden Prey (2004)
16. Broken Prey (2005)
17. Invisible Prey (2007)
18. Phantom Prey (2008)
19. Wicked Prey (2009)
20. Storm Prey (2010)
21. Buried Prey (2011)
Sandford’s real name is John Camp, and he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper journalist for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. You can learn a lot more about the author and his work at johnsandford.org.
To test my thesis, I recently bought a copy of Rules in a used book store [having collected all of them, then given them to my local library in Holderness, New Hampshire] and re-read it. The writing was scintillating, gripping, a real pleasure to read. By comparison, Storm Prey reads like little more than a good first draft without the rich scene descriptions, characterizations and plot intricacies. Just take a look at the first page of Rules of Prey:
“A rooftop billboard cast a flickering blue light through the studio windows. The light ricocheted off glass and stainless steel: an empty crystal bud vase rimed with dust, a pencil sharpener, a microwave oven, peanut-butter jars filled with drawing pencils, paintbrushes and crayons. An ashtray full of pennies and paper clips. Jars of poster paint. Knives.
“A stereo was dimly visible as a collection or rectangular silhouettes on the window ledge. A digital clock punched red electronic minutes into the silence.
“The maddog waited in the dark.
“He could hear himself breathe. Feel the sweat trickle from the pores of his underarms. Taste the remains of his dinner. Feel the unshaven stubble at his groin. Smell the odor of the Chosen’s body.”
” A digital clock punched red electronic minutes into the silence.” Wow. This is wonderful writing. You can see, smell, hear, feel the scene. There is an entire tableau before you, so you know it’s an artist’s studio. Sandford is paying attention to the detail that draws the reader. But you don’t get this kind of richness in the first draft.
Lucas Davenport, the dashing police detective and former software designer who made millions selling his computer program, is married to Weather Karkinnen, a doctor. They have an adopted daughter and an infant son of their own. A cocaine-snorting intern at the hospital enlists the help of three bikers to knock off the hospital pharmacy; he plans to sell the drugs to support his massive coke habit. Of course the plan goes to hell and he thinks Weather recognized him, so he plans to get her killed. Not bad for a plot, and as far as the plot goes it’s pretty good, but I never had the feeling Lucas was truly worried for his wife’s safety – or his family’s. In fact, the teenaged girl, Letty, and the baby don’t make an appearance in the first few scenes at Lucas’ home – which I found strange. Ditto on the guy trying to chase Weather down in her car. Why isn’t anyone worried about the obvious threat? It’s a plot slip that I think Sandford would have caught on a subsequent draft.
Lucas displays his trademark emotion [frustration or anger, rarely gentleness or compassion - after all, he is a cop] only once with respect to the danger to his wife. Otherwise, he and the other cops are pretty much stick figures. The two main crooks have more depth and are revealed in deeper ways than Lucas and Weather. These are small defects, but I think Sandford would have dealt with them had he spent more time revising. Which, of course, is something that rarely happens with “summer reading” books. But I think it was noted by his readers in the fact that this book only spent a few weeks on the New York Times best seller list. I have avoided reading any reviews of Storm Prey, but after I read the last book, Wicked Prey, I browsed the reviews on Amazon; many commented that it was disappointing or not up to the quality of earlier works. For this I don’t blame Sandford, but his publisher, for making their author crank out books like they were widgets, instead of respecting the work of a creative mind. Hey John – are you having fun?
If you haven’t read the Lucas Davenport novels, I suggest you start with the first and read serially. He is an evolving character and there are lots of dimensions to the back story – even though Sandford makes an occasional stab at refreshing the reader’s memory about different folks. Here are Sandford’s “Prey” novels in published order:
1. Rules of Prey (1989)
2. Shadow Prey (1990)
3. Eyes of Prey (1991)
4. Silent Prey (1992)
5. Winter Prey (1993)
6. Night Prey (1994)
7. Mind Prey (1995)
8. Sudden Prey (1996)
9. Secret Prey (1998)>
10. Certain Prey (1999)
11. Easy Prey (2000)
12. Chosen Prey (2001)
13. Mortal Prey (2002)
14. Naked Prey (2003)
15. Hidden Prey (2004)
16. Broken Prey (2005)
17. Invisible Prey (2007)
18. Phantom Prey (2008)
19. Wicked Prey (2009)
20. Storm Prey (2010)
21. Buried Prey (2011)
Sandford’s real name is John Camp, and he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper journalist for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. You can learn a lot more about the author and his work at johnsandford.org.
September 4, 2017
this was a descent enough mystery that I would read more. apparently this author been around and I have never read the other 28 or so books.
gangsters
drug raid
murders
gangsters
drug raid
murders
July 9, 2020
Weather find a herself under fire in this novel when she inadvertently see something she shouldn't. We get a great insight into Weather world as the story unfolds. Add to that we get plenty of Virgil and what you have a cracking Davenport read. That being said let's hope that this novel is the last book where we find the Davenports under fire for a while.
June 13, 2021
Another great Lucas Davenport story as a fairly amateur robbery of a hospital pharmacy puts his wife in danger as a potential witness. Moves with great pace as usual.
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