Field of Prey (A Prey Novel) Audio CD – Audiobook, CD, Unabridged

This was an interesting book as it contains some of John Sandford's greatest strengths (humour, easy to read style etc) but it did contain some issues that other reviewers have brought up and I felt were jarring.Letty is a character who we have seen mature in the series over the years and there is no doubt she is a bright individual but for Lucas to bring her to a crime scene and for her to give her thoughts to the other investigators and police was really overreaching.The subplots with Flowers and Del were strange as they added little to the plot but took up space in the novel that at 400 pages, it didn't need.The ending with the karma and Lucas felt like he is being softened too much. We had touches earlier in the novel of the old Lucas (the scene where he smiled but it wasn't really a smile, this was a copy from Winter Prey) but to have this at the end of the novel with the homeless man felt forced.The violence against Mattsson is something that I am sure will bring arguments for and against it in a Sandford novel. Personally I thought it was a bit over the top and unnecessary but I assume the author felt there was a valid reason for it.Those were some of my issues with the novel but that being said, it was an easy to read time filler written by a writer with skills and the ability to harness a very solid fan base based on his work. He might be on cruise control now that he is famous and writing a few books a year but I think his fans will accept this by casting a fond glance back to the early Davenport books and a shrug of the shoulders with the recent work and say that Davenport and the author are evolving.

FIELD OF PREY By JOHN SANDFORD (THE PREY SERIES BOOK 24)MY REVIEW FIVE STARS*****I RECALL THIS INSTALLMENT AS A PAGE-TURNER RIGHT OUT OF THE STARTING GATE, AND I REMEMBER THE TENSION MOUNTING UNTIL IT WAS AS TAUT AS A BOW STRING BEFORE THE ARROW IS RELEASED FOR THE KILL SHOT.I READ THIS NOVEL FOR THE FIRST (AND SO FAR ONLY TIME) DURING THE FIRST WEEK OF NOVEMBER IN 2015. I REMEMBER THAT IT WAS SANDFORD'S NEW PREY NOVEL FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR...I JUST HADN'T GOTTEN AROUND TO DOWNLOADING IT TO MY KINDLE.A DUMP SITE FOR A STARTLING NUMBER OF FEMALE VICTIMS IS ACCIDENTALLY DISCOVERED IN AN UNDERGROUND DUMP SITE BY A PAIR OF HORNY TEENAGERS PARKED IN AN EMPTY FIELD. FORENSICS QUICKLY DETERMINE THAT THE MURDERS DATE BACK MANY YEARS DUE TO THE VARYING DEGREES OF DECOMPOSITION OF THE BODIES. LUCAS, ASSIGNED AS AN INVESTIGATOR FOR THE BUREAU OF CRIMINAL APPREHENSION, FINDS HIMSELF FACING AN OPEN CASE OF MULTIPLE SEXUAL HOMICIDES WHICH IS THE HANDIWORK OF A SADISTIC SERIAL KILLER WHO HAS HUNTED HUMAN PREY FOR OVER A DECADE AND A HALF WITH NO ONE BEING THE WISER. AN OVERLY AMBITIOUS, OVERLY ZEALOUS, AND OVERLY CONFIDENT DETECTIVE WITH THE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE BY THE NAME OF CATLIN MATTSSON SOMEHOW WINDS UP WORKING ALONGSIDE THE SEASONED AND BATTLE-TESTED Minnesota State DETECTIVE LUCAS DAVENPORT.THIS UNLIKELY PAIR OF PROTAGONISTS WORK RELENTLESSLY TO FOLLOW ANY AND ALL LEADS THAT MIGHT HELP THEM TO FIND OUT THE IDENTITY OF THIS PROLIFIC SERIAL PREDATOR WHO IS BELIEVED TO BE WALKING THE STREETS OF THE SMALL TOWN OF RED WING, MINNESOTA WITH IMPUNITY. I REMEMBER THAT PART OF THE ALLURE FOR ME WAS THE FACT THAT A MONSTER WAS WEARING A "MASK" OF NOMALCY AND LIVING AMONG THE FOLKS OF THIS RURAL COMMUNITY FOR AT LEAST A DECADE AND A HALF, LIKELY LONGER THAN THAT.THE "MONSTER" HAD A "FAVORITE FLAVOR" AND ATTRACTIVE TAKE-CHARGE CATRIN MATTSON FIT THE TYPE "TO A TEE". SHE IS KIDNAPPED BY THIS SEXUAL PYSCHOPATH AND SUFFERS A DEGREE OF SEXUAL, EMOTIONAL, AND PHYSICAL ABUSE WHILE SHE IS HELD CAPTIVE THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO BELIEVE THAT HER PSYCHE COULD NOT BE PERMANENTLY DAMAGED. I RECALL THINKING AT THE TIME THAT I READ THIS NOVEL THAT SANDFORD HAD FIGURATIVELY "PULLED OUT ALL THE STOPS" WHEN HE DESCRIBED IN EXCRUCIATING, VIVID PROSE THE DETAILS OF HER NIGHTMARE EXPERIENCE WHILE BEING VICTIMIZED.DAVENPORT'S CONFRONTATION WITH THE "CONDUCTOR" OF SUCH MURDER AND MADNESS WAS MEMORABLE, AND HIS "RESCUE" OF MATTSON STEEPED IN REVELATIONS ABOUT DAVENPORT'S CAPACITY FOR EMPATHY, SYMPATHY, AND JUSTICE. THE BOOK HAS A GRAPHIC, GRIPPING, AND EMOTIONALLY PROFOUND CONCLUSION.I READ THIS BOOK, GEE WHIZ, GOING ON FIVE YEARS AGO. I DIDN'T USE KINDLE NOTES BACK THEN, DOGGONE IT!I ASKED MYSELF SIMPLY, WHAT DO I REMEMBER ABOUT THIS BOOK THAT MADE IT SO SPECIAL AND ONE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES IN THIS PROFILIC SERIES? SO IN ADDITION TO MY EARLIER REMARKS, HERE IT IS IN A NUTSHELL. LUCAS HAS ALWAYS LOVED WOMEN IN THE TRUEST SENSE OF THE WORD, NOT JUST AS THE LADYKILLER HE PROVED HIMSELF TO BE. HIS RESPECT FOR WOMEN HAS NEVER BEEN IN QUESTION IN MY OPINION. HOWEVER, IT IS IN THIS NOVEL IN PARTICULAR THAT THE VERY SIGHT OF CATLIN AFTER SHE WAS SO VICIOUSLY TRAUMATIZED, RAPED, AND HUMILIATED LEFT LUCAS SPEECHLESS. HIS EMPATHY AND SENSITIVITY FOR HER PLIGHT RUNS LIKE A POWERFUL CURRENT BENEATH THE DIALOGUE TAKING PLACE IN THE NOVEL. HIS DECISION AT THE END OF HER RESCUE FROM THE SOUL-LESS PREDATOR SPEAKS VOLUMES.IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE REVELATIONS, I WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY SANDFORD'S TALENT FOR MISDIRECTION IN THIS BOOK. THE SEARCH FOR THE MURDERER WAS A NAIL-BITING, PULSE-POUNDING EXPERIENCE IN ITS OWN RIGHT, BUT THE LANDMINES LAID BY THE AUTHOR TO SURPRISE AND SUCCESSFULLY MISLEAD THE READER WERE MEMORABLE, ORIGINAL, AND SHOWED OFF SANDFORD'S SKILL IN THIS DIFFICULT TECHNIQUE. FINALLY, THE WRITER EFFECTIVELY PULLED OFF A TRUE "PLOT-TWIST" AT THE END THAT I DID NOT SEE COMING WHATSOEVER. I ACTUALLY SMILED TO MYSELF, AND THOUGHT "KUDOS, KUDOS...A JOB WELL DONE".

As a long-time fan of Sandford's Prey series who has read many of the books twice, I always love reading about Lucas Davenport's latest investigations and the killer he is forced to pursue. My favorite part of the Davenport books has always been learning about the dark, unique killers Davenport matches wits against, and seeing what trick Davenport pulls out of his bag to take the bad guy down. The Prey books have also always been notable for its great supporting cast, from Lucas' family, to his trusty right-hand man Del and the rest of the BCA crew, to Lucas' psychologist-nun BFF Elle.However, Sandford has put Lucas through a lot of changes over the years, particularly by domesticating Lucas from the hard-boiled, womanizing young cop to the bureaucratic husband and father. It is this latter version of Lucas that Sandford has presented to readers for a while now, but after reading the latest Prey novel, it made me wish for the Lucas of yesteryear.There are several problems with the novel. First, the main plot itself is thin--serial killer terrorizes women, and Lucas has to bring him down. Been there, done that with Lucas, and more than once. Sandford employs a schtick with this particular killer that isn't particularly surprising when it is revealed, and just seems forced. As I mentioned above, Sandford has a knack for developing interesting and unpredictable antagonists who aren't simply omniscient, Hannibal Lecter-type evil geniuses, and in a way are more terrifying because of how realistic they are. Yet the killer here is incredibly one-dimensional, and the aforementioned schtick just makes the killer's chapters rather silly.Further hurting the book's plot is the fact that Sandord throws in nearly half-a-dozen subplots on top of the main plot, four of which are separate criminal investigations involving the rest of his BCA team. The one involving Virgil Flowers is simply a tie-in to Virgil's latest investigation, which I believe is the subject of the latest novel his own spin-off series. The other investigations don't really tie into the main story at all, and while Sandford has employed this tactic before, he has never introduced so many separate crimes in a single novel. None of these side-plots are particularly interesting, and apart from a dramatic moment involving a supporting character these amounted to little more than filler. Also, without giving too much away, Virgil actually ties into the story in more ways than one, and the resolution of the main story is actually moreso due to him than to Davenport's efforts. I like Virgil Flowers as much as the next Sandford fan, but I didn't get this to book to read about him. I wanted to read about Lucas. The tie-ins to Virgil were distracting, and unnecessary.Davenport really just doesn't do much in this book. A lot of the focus is given to a new character (well, a newish character...I think she may have been introduced in a Virgil Flowers book, though I'm not sure)--police officer Catrin Matsson, who was one of the best parts of the book for me. A lot of focus was also given to Lucas' adopted daughter, Letty, whom I think Sandford still hasn't figured out how to utilize since introducing her in Naked Prey. While Letty was awesome in that book, I've always felt like Letty was either a non-presence or a distraction since then, with the exception of Stolen Prey. As other reviews mentioned, Letty just randomly inserts herself into the investigation in this book, and Lucas--nor anyone else--seems to have no problem with this whatsoever, even though she's only 18. It really took away from the believability factor for me, and the way Sandford ultimately deals with Letty at the end of the book comes across as if he's just getting rid of her so he doesn't have to worry about her anymore.I kept wishing for the Prey books that covered the period from when Lucas met Weather and rejoined the Minneapolis PD to when he finally married Weather--from around Winter Prey to Mortal Prey, I think. Those are my favorite books in the series, featuring great moments from Lucas and the supporting cast and awesome villains. Unfortunately, almost none of those are to be found in this book. I almost got the sense that Sandford was bored writing about Lucas, as if he couldn't wait to get back to Virgil, or perhaps write a spin-off series about Letty or Matsson.I hope that's not the case, because I would love to see Lucas Davenport back on his A-game. Here, we get about a C or D game. Still entertaining, but one of the weakest entries in the series.