Friday, April 15, 2011

John Sanford's Buried Prey

Just a year ago Penguin and TLC organized the Days of Prey blog tour celebrating John Sanford's 20th Lucas Davenport novel.  It was my introduction to the unusual and endearing detective.  The 21st novel in the series, Buried Prey, comes out this May 10, 2011.

Buried Prey
Buried Prey by John Sanford

The blurb:
An entire block on the edge of the Minneapolis loop is being torn down for development, when an unpleasant surprise is unearthed: the bodies of two girls, wrapped in plastic, underneath an old house.  It looks like they've been down there a long time.  Lucas Davenport knows exactly how long.

in 1985, Davenport was a young cop just about to be promoted out of uniform, despite a reputation for playing fast and loose with regulations.  A local hockey hero, a womanizer, a superb undercover guy, he was part of a massive police effort that followed the kidnapping of two girls who were never found again, dead or alive.  Eventually, the case was closed.

But not for Davenport.  Now, with the bodies discovered, he has the chance to investigate the kidnappings all over again and the deeper he probes, one more thing becomes clear: It wasn't just the bodies that were buried.  It was the truth.

Review:
I love detective novels and gravitate towards those with characters that draw me in.  John Sanford's Detective Lucas Davenport is a memorable sort.
  • independently wealthy - he started designing computer games in college and the revenue stream from his game designs keeps him living well
  • impeccably dressed - a clothes horse with an appreciation for expensive suits
  • impressive physique - a lifelong athlete, he played varsity hockey and almost went professional
  • a natural - he has a feel for investigating and has the tenacity for it
This particular book, Buried Prey, is a good introduction to the series.  While the best way to get to know Lucas Davenport is by reading the books in order, I jumped into the series - reading from the middle.  This 21st novel in the series takes us to Davenport's first homicide case from its unsatisfying conclusion to the grisly discovery years later.   The flashbacks give us a fuller sense of Lucas as a young detective, one who nearly left the force for another career.

Fans of John Sanford's Lucas Davenport will surely enjoy Buried Prey while it'll serve as a fun introduction to readers discovering Davenport for the first time.

ISBN-10: 0399157387 - Hardcover
Publisher: Putnam Adult (May 10, 2011), 400 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author:
John Sanford is the author of 21 Prey novels and ten other books, most recently the Virgil Flowers novel Bad Blood. He lives in Minnesota.  Learn more about at www.johnsanford.org

John Sandford is actually the pseudonym of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Camp. Camp was born in 1944 and was raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He received his B.A. in American Studies from the University of Iowa, and received his first training as a journalist and reporter in the Army.

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