.com In the 10th installment of his popular Prey series, John Sandford (a.k.a. John Camp) pits his popular antihero, Lucas Davenport, against a pair of cunning killers unlike any he has encountered before. Attorney Carmel Loan is preternaturally beautiful, intelligent, and ambitious. When she becomes infatuated with fellow barrister Hale Allen, she isn't going to let a little thing like his being married get in her way. A quick meeting with an ex-client sets up the hit on Hale's wife, Barbara. The professional killer, Clara Rinker, is one of the best in the business. Smart, attractive, with a gentle Southern drawl, no one would suspect her of being a top Mafia hit man... er, hit person. When she takes the Allen assignment, she figures it will be easy money for a day's work. But things go wrong from the beginning. Loan's ex-client made a tape of the meeting, and is shaking her down for money. Worse, the shooting of a witness--a cop--brings deputy inspector Lucas Davenport into the case. Somehow Davenport has not only linked Loan to the killing, but seems to have a lead on Rinker as well. Carmel and Clara team up to clean up the loose ends, which includes getting Davenport off their back by whatever means necessary. Like all of Sandford's books, Certain Prey is a fast and furious ride. Fans of previous Prey books will find Davenport a little older, a little more wary, but no less sharp-witted and determined. Though parts of the plot may stretch the limits of credulity and the dialogue falls a little flat in places, this is still a wonderfully crafted thriller, possibly one of the best of 1999. Certain Prey cements Sandford's standing among such luminaries as James Lee Burke, Lawrence Block, and Thomas Harris. --Perry AtterberryFrom Publishers WeeklyFor all his brooding, Minneapolis cop Lucas Davenport lacks the charisma of, say, Robert B. Parker's Spenser or James Patterson's Alex Cross. The vast popularity of the Prey novels is probably due, then, not so much to this dependable hero as to Sandford's clever plotting, sure pacing and fully rounded villainsAas well as his smart prose. As if acknowledging his series' hero's unflashy demeanor, Sandford, in his 10th Prey book (after Secret Prey), allows two gleefully unrecalcitrant female antagonists to steal the show from Davenport. Clara Rinker's life as a murderer and mob hit woman begins when she is raped at age 16 and beats her assailant dead with a baseball bat. Years later, the other femme fatale, sociopathic Minneapolis defense lawyer Carmel Loan, hires Rinker to kill the wife of property attorney Hale Allen, whom Carmel desires; within days, she has Hale in bed. The storyline spools out as a cat-and-mouse among the women and Davenport, with the villainesses dominating the action, sometimes in tangential scenes. When the junkie who connected Carmel to Rinker blackmails the pair, for instance, Carmel tortures him with an electric drill as Rinker watches. The action doesn't always wash: Davenport tumbles to Carmel's involvement too easily, and Carmel's ferocious response to being framed by Davenport redefines the term "over the top." The play between the two women, who bond like sisters, is as fascinating as the courtship of venomous lizards, and the novel's background humAcomprised of various amatory rustlings, forensic and legal ploys, and maneuvers among cops, FBI agents, mobsters and the killersAis rich in authentic detail. While not the pseudonymous Sandford's best, (he is Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Camp) this is a swift, satisfying entry in a series with long, muscular legs. 300,000 first printing; $300,000 ad/promo; BOMC main selection; author tour. (May) FYI: Mind Prey was adapted into a TV movie, John Sandford's Mind Prey, which aired on ABC in March .Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.From Library JournalThis time, Lucas Davenport's formidable opponent is a hitwoman. A BOMC main selection.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. what is a book enthusiast Certain Prey
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. If you're considering getting into Sandford, and want to start with the best book rather than the first book... here's the best.By Matthew LalaOne of the more action-packed prey books, with a lot of the stuff that Sandford does so well. We have an extremely interesting and scary antagonist, who takes Davenport's involvement very personally and has this aura of invincibility that creates suspense for the reader... it never feels like a foregone conclusion that the good guys will win, and the bad guy will be caught or killed. A lot of the people Lucas takes down in the Prey books are nuts, maybe not that tough, and never as smart as he is. Clara Rinker breaks the mold and has him on his back heels constantly.We have a sort of secondary villain whose inner psychopath is brought out by her involvement with Clara, and their friendship and character development is what keeps the book fresh and real (despite some unrealistic plot conveniences). I almost hated to root against Clara, but found some deep satisfaction in how Sandford deals with her partner in crime.I wish everyone could start the series with this book to see what Sandford is capable of when he nails it.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Eh....By C. N. HarwoodI don't know about this one. I have read so many from the Prey series, and I do keep coming back, because Lucas Davenport is a likable character, John Sandford brilliant at times. HOWEVER, I think he "Jumped The Shark" with this one. Just too much craziness. The ending extremely, uncomfortably dumb. Some of the story line was VERY interesting...and you feel like you're going on a great ride, but then it fizzles.Also, I wish Sandford, would just be comfortable knowing he's a great story teller, and STOP putting so many characters in his books for the sake of "depth" Sometimes it's just too exhausting to remember everyone. I don't want to WORK so hard when I kick back to lose myself in a great read. I wish he'd spin his tales and build his plots, and remember the old adage, "Less Is More."0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Lady hitmanBy Eric J. FulliloveAnother enjoyable book. These never get old and never seem repetitive. Clara Rinker is as likeable as she is deadly, a real twist for the series. Lucas continues to amaze as a cold blooded law man who dreams up the wildest schemes to get the guilty. Bravo.