BROKEN PREY opens with pervert (and possible murderer) Charlie Pope smelling rancid and miserably scratching out an existence as a garbageman, the only job that he could get since being released on parole from St. John's Security Hospital. Every time Charlie sees a good-looking woman he is reminded of the fact that he is tethered to an electronic ankle bracelet and constantly branded in the press as a danger to the community; after over eight years of incarceration Charlie is desperate enough to fulfill his physical desires by whatever manner necessary.
The narrative then switches to an upscale Minnesota suburb as Lucas Davenport arrives at a truly horrific murder scene in the Porsche so familiar to the legions of fans of the PREY series by John Sandford. Even to law enforcement professionals involved, the details of the gruesome crime are almost stomach turning. (In fact, it threatens to be the crime which finally causes Lucas' long time associate Sloan to totally burn out and retire from the police force.) The victim is a young woman; her body was systematically scourged, after her throat cut the body was arranged by the killer so that the display would have maximum impact. The details of the killing are not released to the press, both so as to avoid alarming the public and to aid the police in their investigation. When a second victim (a older male who was killed and displayed in the same manner ) is discovered several miles away three weeks later, it is clear that there is not only a serial killer but a true sociopath at large in southern Minnesota.
All the evidence that Lucas and his team assemble points to Charlie Pope, who has cut off his ankle bracelet and disappeared. And yet confusion and doubt linger. The crimes have been so meticulously plotted and carefully executed that Lucas wonders whether Charlie, a man of limited intellgence and supposedly subject to emotional impulse, could really have committed such acts on his own or is simply being manipulated in some manner by a clever mastermind. (Perhaps Charlie has somehow remained in contact with the "Gods Down The Hall", the three most dangerous prisoners at St. John's; they are all kept in solitary confinement due to the extreme danger which they pose to anyone with whom they come into contact).
This is John Sandford at his best - Lucas and his team (Del Capslock even makes a cameo appearance) trying to track down a deranged killer in a race against time. Small missteps result in further murders and the case threatens to become so explosive that it might demand political sacrifices before its conclusion. Lucas is still working as a freelancer for Rose Marie Rioux, the head of the BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension), but her role in this book is largely peripheral to the story. Lucas' childhood friend Elle (Sister Mary Joseph) plays a larger role than usual. Meanwhile Lucas is at loose ends while his wife Weather and his family spend the summe rin London while Weather at a hospital there. Thus, the enjoyable byplay between them is absent from this story. in fact, one of my major disaapointments is that despite maintaining the wonderful Letty West as an integral element in Lucas' life by making her his ward in the aftermath of NAKED PREY, she continues to have no further role in the series.
There is an even larger than usual assortment of interesting characters which intersect in various ways with the storyline; however, the only one who seems likely to have a role in a future novel in the series is Ruffee Ignace (read the book to find out how to pronounce his name.) He is a dogged reporter (and one weird dude) with the Star Tribune who plays a crucial role in the story while constantly listening to the different beat of his own internal "radio". The story has a lot of misdirection, both by the perpetrators of these horrific crimes and by the author of his readers. But it is always clever, never unfair. The gruesome nature of the crimes and the level of detail kept me from rating it a full stars; in fact, if the story had not been so good and I was not such a fan of the series I would not have read it. But I did round up my rating and simply accompany it with a TRIPLE X warning, since for the story to seem realistic the detailed extreme violence is essential. It also has a huge, impressive, exciting firefight near the conclusion - one of the best in this genre. In addition, Sandford does a great job of tying up the loose ends, all the questions which Lucas (and I the reader) had were eventualy answered.
Finally, a special tribute to the use of Lucas' compilation for his IPOD of the "100 Best Songs of the Rock Era" as a clever way to provide a unifying theme among almost all the individuals in the book. At first I thought it was an interesting filler but somewhat of a distraction. (You'll have to read the book to get the background.) However, it became increasingly enjoyable as various suggestions were made and debated. And the last reference to the list was so ingenious it really made me smile. Read the book to find out how Weather could convince Lucas that that his choice for #100 should be Jazz Suite No. 2; Waltz 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich.
The narrative then switches to an upscale Minnesota suburb as Lucas Davenport arrives at a truly horrific murder scene in the Porsche so familiar to the legions of fans of the PREY series by John Sandford. Even to law enforcement professionals involved, the details of the gruesome crime are almost stomach turning. (In fact, it threatens to be the crime which finally causes Lucas' long time associate Sloan to totally burn out and retire from the police force.) The victim is a young woman; her body was systematically scourged, after her throat cut the body was arranged by the killer so that the display would have maximum impact. The details of the killing are not released to the press, both so as to avoid alarming the public and to aid the police in their investigation. When a second victim (a older male who was killed and displayed in the same manner ) is discovered several miles away three weeks later, it is clear that there is not only a serial killer but a true sociopath at large in southern Minnesota.
All the evidence that Lucas and his team assemble points to Charlie Pope, who has cut off his ankle bracelet and disappeared. And yet confusion and doubt linger. The crimes have been so meticulously plotted and carefully executed that Lucas wonders whether Charlie, a man of limited intellgence and supposedly subject to emotional impulse, could really have committed such acts on his own or is simply being manipulated in some manner by a clever mastermind. (Perhaps Charlie has somehow remained in contact with the "Gods Down The Hall", the three most dangerous prisoners at St. John's; they are all kept in solitary confinement due to the extreme danger which they pose to anyone with whom they come into contact).
This is John Sandford at his best - Lucas and his team (Del Capslock even makes a cameo appearance) trying to track down a deranged killer in a race against time. Small missteps result in further murders and the case threatens to become so explosive that it might demand political sacrifices before its conclusion. Lucas is still working as a freelancer for Rose Marie Rioux, the head of the BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension), but her role in this book is largely peripheral to the story. Lucas' childhood friend Elle (Sister Mary Joseph) plays a larger role than usual. Meanwhile Lucas is at loose ends while his wife Weather and his family spend the summe rin London while Weather at a hospital there. Thus, the enjoyable byplay between them is absent from this story. in fact, one of my major disaapointments is that despite maintaining the wonderful Letty West as an integral element in Lucas' life by making her his ward in the aftermath of NAKED PREY, she continues to have no further role in the series.
There is an even larger than usual assortment of interesting characters which intersect in various ways with the storyline; however, the only one who seems likely to have a role in a future novel in the series is Ruffee Ignace (read the book to find out how to pronounce his name.) He is a dogged reporter (and one weird dude) with the Star Tribune who plays a crucial role in the story while constantly listening to the different beat of his own internal "radio". The story has a lot of misdirection, both by the perpetrators of these horrific crimes and by the author of his readers. But it is always clever, never unfair. The gruesome nature of the crimes and the level of detail kept me from rating it a full stars; in fact, if the story had not been so good and I was not such a fan of the series I would not have read it. But I did round up my rating and simply accompany it with a TRIPLE X warning, since for the story to seem realistic the detailed extreme violence is essential. It also has a huge, impressive, exciting firefight near the conclusion - one of the best in this genre. In addition, Sandford does a great job of tying up the loose ends, all the questions which Lucas (and I the reader) had were eventualy answered.
Finally, a special tribute to the use of Lucas' compilation for his IPOD of the "100 Best Songs of the Rock Era" as a clever way to provide a unifying theme among almost all the individuals in the book. At first I thought it was an interesting filler but somewhat of a distraction. (You'll have to read the book to get the background.) However, it became increasingly enjoyable as various suggestions were made and debated. And the last reference to the list was so ingenious it really made me smile. Read the book to find out how Weather could convince Lucas that that his choice for #100 should be Jazz Suite No. 2; Waltz 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich.
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