(2001)By far the best one of the series so far and a quick read. Lucas Davenport tries to track down the ?graveyard killer? who preys on young female blonde art students. Turns out he is the son of the head of the local art school and she becomes a target as well.Amazon.comWhen a spring thaw disinters the body of a young woman who's been missing for over a year, Minneapolis detective Lucas Davenport doesn't have much to go on except the victim's rumored connection with an unnamed man, who may be an artist and also, perhaps, a priest. But then the deserted property where her body was discovered turns out to be a killing field full of other young blondes last seen in the company of a man with a nasty habit of superimposing their faces on pornographic drawings. Davenport begins to close in on a serial killer whose perverted hobby provides the clues Davenport needs to stop him in his bloody tracks. James Qatar isn't a priest, and he's not really an artist, but he's definitely a monster, one who's met his match in Davenport.Davenport is a smart, thoughtful cop whose girlfriend is pressuring him to make a commitment to parenthood and whose boss is about to lose her job in a political turnover. While the search for the killer is handled in author John Sandford's usual, crisp, procedural style, it almost seems to be a pretext for exploring the evolution of Davenport's relationship with Dr. Weather Karkinnen. This 12th adventure in the author's popular Prey series will undoubtedly rocket to the top of the bestseller list, though it's not a standout. The novel displays the solid craftsmanship and narrative drive Sandford's known for, but his hero seems a little dispirited and out of sorts. Perhaps fatherhood will give Davenport a new lease on life.

A truly pleasant surprise. I stayed away from Prey books because of the stupid title. But this book, found at a book swap when I had run out of reading material, was a golden find. Minneapolis homicide detective LD is drawn into a well written serial murder case. Plenty of characters who were mostly defined enough that you knew who was how, a rapidly moving plot that made sense, and not too much dwelling on the imperfect hero. Unlike the Virgil Flowers novels the book was story driven and much less hanging on the quirks and desires of the detective. Sandford writes well and I found myself barking out in laughter at some of his one liners. A rare detective story that gets a 4.5. ( )

I don't remember reading this one when it first came out...but it was awesome! Great cop talk from Davenport et al, and a really juicy, creepy killer with issues. Loved it. ( )

This was a deeper, more character-driven Prey book. It's in this book that fans are caught up on everybody in the series. Also, we can see that things will be taking a turn job-wise for a few and maybe a baby for Lucas and Winter. ( )

This series is just chock-full of serial murderers. ( )