Certain Prey (Lucas Davenport, #10)

May 24, 2010 Werner rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of "thrillers" (with reservations because of the language)

Recommended to Werner by: One of my Internet pen pals

Shelves: mystery-crime-fiction, books-i-own

This tenth novel in Sandford's popular Prey series is my first experience with his work; usually, I prefer to read a series in order, but the friend who recommended this one felt (probably correctly) that it can be read just as well as a stand-alone, or out of order. Series sleuth Lucas Davenport, a Minneapolis homicide detective (who, by the time of this novel, is actually a deputy police chief) isn't really the protagonist here; structurally, at least for much of the book, the co-protagonists...more This tenth novel in Sandford's popular Prey series is my first experience with his work; usually, I prefer to read a series in order, but the friend who recommended this one felt (probably correctly) that it can be read just as well as a stand-alone, or out of order. Series sleuth Lucas Davenport, a Minneapolis homicide detective (who, by the time of this novel, is actually a deputy police chief) isn't really the protagonist here; structurally, at least for much of the book, the co-protagonists are the villains, and Davenport is the antagonist, albeit one who's on the side of good, much like Holmes in John Gardner's Moriarity novels. And although I classified it as a mystery, the who-done-it, why and how of the contract killing here isn't a mystery to the reader; we're shown the personae, planning, and execution (literally) of the crime at the outset. As in the old Columbo TV series (and often on Monk as well), the element of detection is in seeing how the forces of justice will prove what we already know. And this time, it won't be easy.

When he was reading this novel, my friend told me, he was reminded of the story collection The Smoking Gun Sisterhood, which I reviewed here a while ago. The dissimilarities, though, IMO, are fairly marked: besides some stylistic and characterization factors noted below, the gun-toting females here won't be winding up on anyone's "action heroines" shelf anytime. So I didn't rate it as highly as I did the other book; but I did think it earned three stars.

On the plus side, Sandford does a very effective job of creating a really involving, page-turning read, with excellent plotting that throws curves into the story which you often don't see coming, but which are completely logical outgrowths of the situation and never forced. He hooked me early and hard, to the point where I knew I would finish the book no matter what; and while the adjectives "thriler" and "pulse-pounding" are advertising hype, there are places with a good deal of genuine suspense and tension here. (Readers familiar with the Twin Cities would probably say that he does a good job of incorporating their real-life geography into the book as well; but though I was born in Minneapolis, I wasn't raised there and have hardly ever been back, so that element was pretty much lost on me.)

His other outstanding feat here is the sheer virtuosity with which he creates his villainesses, the above-mentioned (in the Goodreads description) Clara and her employer, millionaire criminal-defense attorney Carmel Loan, who's hired the former to kill the wife of a fellow lawyer for whom she's in lust. Obviously, neither of these are one bit likable as characters (a likable villain is pretty much an oxymoron, anyway :-)). "Don't worry, I'm just a sociopath. Like you. I'm not a psychopath or anything," Carmel assures Clara at one point, but her claim to the contrary, she's both: she not only has a fixed determination to have anything she wants when she wants it, regardless of how much harm she has to do to anybody else in the process, but she derives a warped excitement and enjoyment from inflicting pain and death. Clara doesn't, as such (for her, killing is just a good-paying job), and some of Carmel's actions bother even her; but she's almost (though not quite) without a conscience or normal human empathy, like one of Philip K. Dick's androids. But they ARE fully alive, vital, three-dimensional and understandable as characters, and come across as (very flawed) human beings, not just cardboard incarnations of evil --though they do both happen to be evil, in their different ways. And they're strong, dominating, formidable characters, who hold your full attention and stay in your memory; like all well-drawn villains, they fascinate, in various ways and at various psychological levels. Sandford also excels at depicting the nuanced, fragile bond that grows between the pair, whose misguided life choices and defective personalities have prevented them from ever knowing real friendship, though there's a buried part of their psyches that's starving for it. And in keeping with the necessities of a good mystery plot, they're very worthy opponents for any detective; they're both smart, cunning and pretty ruthless (Carmel totally so); Clara's had years of practice covering her tracks, while Carmel knows rules of evidence and police procedure from the inside and her wealth and political connections make her almost untouchable. Grading just on the strength of his plotting and sharp characterizations of these two women, I'd give Sandford four or five stars here.

There are negatives to the book, though, that drag its rating down. I don't expect villains to be likable; but none of the characters here are particularly so, including Davenport. Many aren't drawn in enough depth to be either likable or unlikable, as if the author exhausted his resources on his protagonists. We don't even get much sense of knowing Davenport from the inside, though Sandford does bring out his phobia of flying in planes, and his liking for escaping job stress by fishing in the North Woods. (Of course, Sandford probably develops his character more in the earlier novels of the series --which does suggest one possible advantage of reading the books in sequence.) He has some unappealing traits, though, including a willingness to cut corners on legal restraints (he was temporarily kicked off the force for brutality some years before). I also don't think he's outstanding as a detective --he can be intuitive, and has a good memory for details, but he often doesn't recognize verbal clues or faces until long after the optimum time for doing so has passed, and he blabs one detail of the investigation to a civilian in a way that even I (with no police training!) recognized as really irresponsible. Many of the characters here have the sexual attitudes (and often the practices) of rutting warthogs, though there's no explicit sex; and there's a lot of bad language here, including a hefty seasoning of obscenities. These aren't used to distinguish one character's (or group of characters') speech from another, or to suggest differences of setting and milieu; they're just thrown in everywhere, indiscriminately and gratuitously. The stock excuse that this just "reflects" the incredible coarsening of American speech in the past generation in some quarters (though, as my next door neighbor, a Veterans Administration executive, noted, "I don't know anybody who talks that way!") is, I think, disingenuous --it also actively promotes, encourages and seeks to legitimate it.

All told, I got enough entertainment out of the book, in balance, that I don't regret reading it, and it earned its stars fairly. But I have no intention of seeking out other books in the series; there are other heroes in the genre that I would find more congenial than Davenport.
(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Dec 02, 2008 Eric_W rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I grabbed this particular book off the leasing shelf on a whim, began it in the station waiting for the train and could not put it down. Apparently, Sandford writes a series of novels that would be difficult to classify as either mysteries or thrillers. They all have the word “prey” in the title, and Lucas Davenport as protagonist. In this latest work, Davenport is a deputy chief of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Clara Rinker is a hitwoman. Raped after working one evening as a stripper at a...more I grabbed this particular book off the leasing shelf on a whim, began it in the station waiting for the train and could not put it down. Apparently, Sandford writes a series of novels that would be difficult to classify as either mysteries or thrillers. They all have the word “prey” in the title, and Lucas Davenport as protagonist. In this latest work, Davenport is a deputy chief of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Clara Rinker is a hitwoman. Raped after working one evening as a stripper at a nudie bar, she arranges with her bosses to have the man who raped her brought back to the bar so she can his hands. Deciding that wasn’t enough, she kills him, and the bar owners, impressed by her passion and lack of remorse, enlist her as a part-time hitperson for the St. Louis mob. She’s also very smart, but lonely, a fact that leads to some difficulties when she is hired by Carmel Loan, a successful lawyer in Minneapolis, to kill the wife of the man Carmel has the lust for. The killing succeeds but everything gets really complicated when she also has to shoot a policeman surreptitiously on his way for a hamburger. The cop is not killed and the complication arises that he might be able to identify her. Then Carmel learns that the love of her life has been having an affair with a secretary, and to make things worse, the drug dealer she hired to put her in contact with the hitman — notice how I’ve cleverly used all the appropriate endings to satisfy everyone – has sent a blackmail note revealing he kept a videotape of their conversation that recorded Loan requesting the hit. The denouement is quite satisfying. Lucas is an interesting character, albeit not as well developed perhaps as one would like, perhaps because he has been explained more in previous novels. He makes some very funny comments about a six-hundred-page report he has to read entitled “The Mayor’s Select Commission on Cultural Diversity, Alternative Lifestyles, and Other Ableness in the Minneapolis Police Department: A Preliminary Approach to Divergent Modalities” [Executive Summary] — otherwise known as the Perfection Report, or The Wellness Thing, or the Wholeness Report or the Otherness Report. It’s a very thick report that literally saves Lucas’s bacon — well, maybe not his bacon. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Sep 02, 2012 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Certain Prey" is perhaps the most exciting, humorous, and entertaining of John Sandford's many wonderful thrillers centered on the crime-solving talents of Minneapolis police detective Lucas Davenport. It stars two sociopaths, both women, both attractive, sexy blondes, and both merciless killers, Clara Rinker and Carmel Loan, who are so vividly portrayed that they steal not only every scene, but also every chapter. The plot is basic: Carmel, a high-powered defense attorney, is in love with one...more

like · see review

Jul 31, 2011 Dana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Carmel Loan gets whatever she wants and she wants Hale Allen. A pesky little detail is that he is already married to a wealthy socialite. Carmel is an intelligent, beautiful and driven lawyer. Carmel contacts a former client and arranges for a 'hit'.

Clara Rinker is a petite and attractive Southern bar owner who happens to be the mafia's best professional killer. She comes to do her job and it should be a walk in the park but an innocent policeman comes to be in the wrong place at the wrong time...more

like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Lola4 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I get the impression that if I had started this series with the original and read them in order, that I would have had even greater appreciation. I really like the well-drawn personality and snappy dialogue of Lucas Davenport, as well as his uncommon intelligence in solving crime. By this point Davenport would probably feel like an old friend instead of an interesting new acquaintance, and that is probably how this book is meant to be read. I definitely have to read more Sanford books. He seems...more

like · see review

Jan 19, 2011 Bob Koch rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Really liked it. I am slow to hook up to the Prey series by Sandford. Just starting to read again and not sure it's good for me as I tend to read at 1am when I get up to pee and with thrillers it's hard to get back to sleep! I really like the Lucas Davenport character. Trying to remember now all that I have read in this series. Rules of Prey was first.

I've read Silent Prey, Bekker in NYC. Then Winter Prey where he meets Winter. Mind Prey which had the villain John Mail and the victim Andi Manet...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 12, 2010 Jay Fromkin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have a rule of thumb for watching television - no doctors, no lawyers, no cops. It's different with books. I was given a copy of "Certain Prey," and decided to give it a shot. There's a lot to like in this book - the protagonist, Lucas Davenport, is a well-regarded cop. Attractive, but not too attractive; smart, but not too smart; determined, but willing to take time off to go fishing. There's a streak of independence that befits his status as a deputy chief, but he's not a Dirty Harry flouter...more I have a rule of thumb for watching television - no doctors, no lawyers, no cops. It's different with books. I was given a copy of "Certain Prey," and decided to give it a shot. There's a lot to like in this book - the protagonist, Lucas Davenport, is a well-regarded cop. Attractive, but not too attractive; smart, but not too smart; determined, but willing to take time off to go fishing. There's a streak of independence that befits his status as a deputy chief, but he's not a Dirty Harry flouter of the rules. You can't help but like Davenport and his fellow cops. I also liked the assassin, Clara Rinker, he and the FBI are chasing. She's not a stock character - for one thing, she's a woman. On one hand, she's reacting to a traumatic past; on the other, she's a shrewd businesswoman, doing very well what she does best.

The plot revolves around Rinker being hired to kill the wife of Minneapolis attorney Hale Allen. Why? Seems the woman who hired Rinker, high-powered Minneapolis attorney Carmen Loan, is fatally infatuated with Allen and hopes, with his wife out of the way, to become the second Mrs. Allen. The character of Carmen Loan is clearly the weakest element of the book - a highly intelligent, successful, ruthless nutjob in the mode of "Fatal Attraction"'s Alex Forrest. She has better taste in clothes than in men, attracted to Allen for the shallowest reasons and willing to engage in many more murders to cover her tracks. By contrast, Clara Rinker, while generally dispassionate about her job (though she will not murder a child witness), is generally clear-headed and highly professional. Her loneliness as a free-lance executioner with mob ties, causes her to bond with Carmen as a BFF, and that throws a serious kink into her business model.

This book really is a procedural - how and why do Rinker and Loan plan their murders and subsequent actions to deflect the police and FBI away from them; and do how the cops, led by Davenport, track them down. In the end, Carmen follows her lunatic plans right down the line; Clara Rinker, not so much, and that's another good thing about "Certain Prey."

I wonder whether the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce has a love/hate relationship with John Sandford. He brings attention to the city and shines a glowing light on its law enforcement professionals. He also avoids the "Fargo" cliches about Minnesotans (yes, I loved the movie). But he also amps up the murder rate in Minneapolis beyond what would seem believable. If you can suspend reality on that, and if you can swallow Carmen Loan as a character, this is a book to enjoy. I did.(less)

like · see review

Nov 13, 2010 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I usually NEVER read books that fall into the grocery store/airport/gift shop mass market category. There are a few exceptions to the rule including Jeffery Deaver, Phillip Margolin and Nora Roberts, so I was pleasantly surprised at how Certain Prey by John Sandford really grabbed me. It was extremely hard for me to put this novel down.

Certain Prey is about a beautiful and successful lawyer named Carmel Loan, who has her sights set on another handsome attorney named Hale Allen. The problem is th...more I usually NEVER read books that fall into the grocery store/airport/gift shop mass market category. There are a few exceptions to the rule including Jeffery Deaver, Phillip Margolin and Nora Roberts, so I was pleasantly surprised at how Certain Prey by John Sandford really grabbed me. It was extremely hard for me to put this novel down.

Certain Prey is about a beautiful and successful lawyer named Carmel Loan, who has her sights set on another handsome attorney named Hale Allen. The problem is that Hale is married, so Carmel hires a hitman (actually a hitwoman in this case) named Clara Rinker who kills Hale's wife Barbara so Carmel can move in on her "prey". When Carmel finds herself being blackmailed by the person who put her in contact with hitwoman Clara, the two dangerous women begin to conspire to kill anyone who gets in the way.

Certain Prey is an entertaining glance into some sick and twisted characters, mainly Carmel who is clearly psychotic. While readers can understand more of Clara and her background and motives as a professional killer, it's actually more evident that Carmel is the biggest, craziest monster of all.

Tenured detective Lucas Davenport eventually figures out that Carmel is up to no good, and pulls out all the stops to incriminate both women -- if he can catch them.

I'm a huge fan of police procedural, violent, contemporary crime novels, as well as true crime. Certain Prey is like addicting brain candy -- you'll devour it non-stop until it's over, when you realize you gained nothing in the way of knowledge but experienced hours of entertainment. The ending of Certain Prey is predictable, but the ride itself is fun and suspenseful.

I am impressed by the sprinkle of humor John Sandford incorporates off and on throughout the novel, such as when he dryly describes detective Davenport arranging his fingers in a steeple at his mouth, with the thought of how he hopes he resembles Sherlock Holmes. How random, and funny!

Certain Prey is the tenth novel in the Lucas Davenport "Prey" series, which is now twenty-one books deep. The author is incredibly prolific and has also written other series and stand-alone novels including The Night Crew (1997) and Dead Watch (2006). Check out John Sandford when you need a mind's rest from literature!

Read more book reviews at http://dreamworldbooks.com.(less)

like · see review

May 03, 2013 aPriL MEOWS often with scratching rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: awesomely-silly-but-i-loved-it, mysteries-suspense-thrillers, pulp-junk-i-adore

I think Sandford took a big chance in 'Certain Prey', but he pulls it off, just. It teeters into too-silly pulp territory, and probably some readers would be justified in complaining the book falls over. I gave it a four star rating because I think Sandford works it, but I can also see how one could argue that it failed. There are some plot contrivances that seem improbable, but not impossible. Lucky discoveries happen in police work all of the time, despite the emphasis on legal proofs in the c...more
I think Sandford took a big chance in 'Certain Prey', but he pulls it off, just. It teeters into too-silly pulp territory, and probably some readers would be justified in complaining the book falls over. I gave it a four star rating because I think Sandford works it, but I can also see how one could argue that it failed. There are some plot contrivances that seem improbable, but not impossible. Lucky discoveries happen in police work all of the time, despite the emphasis on legal proofs in the courtroom and those of us who prefer to believe in a logical human universe. Jaded adult serial killers could feel a simpatico friendship, albeit one with each new friend having plans to murder the other if the need comes up. Humans, especially females, might possibly spend time analyzing their killing tendencies along with their favorite stores to shop, but inevitably, listening in to such a conversation might feel so surreal as to turn into a Saturday Night skit. But again, I could see it really happening, too, people being people.

It's unfortunate how tawdry real life relationships which end up in criminal acts sound in print and on television. Check out the Jerry Springer and Maury television shows, or the crime or weird news sections of any newspapers, or 20/20 and 48 Hours true crime TV shows. (I realize the Jerry Springer show producers and others of the same ilk actually use website registries of low life professionals to program a five-day-a-week show, but these show guests started out being for real, once.) People from all walks of life get overwhelmed by base emotions sometimes, and we all know people who live through their gonads all of the time. To create a novel around such people requires special handling. Obviously, if a person gossips on the cold hard facts of a gonad story you end reflex giggling. However, Sandford can do it genre-real, usually. (So can Jonathon Kellerman, as a sidebar.) Pulp fiction territory, in my opinion, requires honest talent and ability; the writer must create thriller tension and not become disrespectful of his characters, in spite of the natural comedy imbedded in such stories. Great mystery genre authors appear to do this with ease. Occasionally, though, there are so many pulp elements in the air spinning like plates on a stick, I can't help but hold my breath as I turn the page.

In this 10th Lucas Davenport novel, Sandford introduces us to two very interesting serial killers: Clara Tinker, hit man for the mob (it makes me giggle to type that!), and Carmel Loan, top defense lawyer in the Twin Cities, but also a closeted psychopathic murderer. Loan falls in lust with a male beauty, a lawyer, Hale Allen, who, unfortunately for everybody, is married to Barbara. Calling certain contacts, Loan hires Tinker to kill Barbara. Events spiral, and soon Davenport is facing down two of the most deadly and scary people he may ever have met. When insane people know where you live, a lot of dumb luck is better than a big gun.

Although I'd call this more of an interesting fun read rather than a thriller mystery, perhaps a twisted chick lit label suits it the best. Whatever. Davenport responds in his usual full metal jacket manner. The running gag throughout the story about the 'alternative lifestyles and diversity' seminar manual was definitely an overkill insult response to someone leaning on Sandford in real life, I think, but if Davenport's Neanderthal, but reasonable, nature offended me, I'd have stopped reading awhile ago.

(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jun 06, 2011 Girlfoxgirl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this book pretty interesting. I was very excited when they introduced the 'villains.' The character of the hitwoman Rinker was very sympathyzable with. I found myself liking her and rooting for her from the get-go. I was excited whenever she or Carmel were in a scene because of their genius plotting, philosophical debates, and heartless indiscriminate killing. Not to mention that epic torture scene with the drill. They were sleek, they were sexy, and they were entertaining.

My problem wit...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 16, 2012 Monnie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Much as I love John Sanford's "Prey" series, this one -- the 10th in the series -- just didn't grab me quite like most of the others so far. This one, for the record, also was made into a USA Network made-for-TV movie starring the very hunky Mark Harmon - and also for the record, the movie didn't much grab me either. Like the book, the movie centers on Minneapolis Deputy Chief Lucas Davenport as he tries to first identify, then apprehend, two female killers. Of course, he succeeds, but the real...more

like · see review

Jun 11, 2011 Lisa H. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, police-procedurals, series

I read a bunch of John Sandford's "Prey" series a number of years ago - I forget which one I started with, but I do know it wasn't the first (Rules of Prey.) In any case, I think I read the first six or so before I got a little bored with the characters and moved on. Picked up and re-read the first couple a few months back and decided to see what had happened with Lucas Davenport and company in the intervening time.

One aspect of the series I like a good deal is that Davenport and the people he...more I read a bunch of John Sandford's "Prey" series a number of years ago - I forget which one I started with, but I do know it wasn't the first (Rules of Prey.) In any case, I think I read the first six or so before I got a little bored with the characters and moved on. Picked up and re-read the first couple a few months back and decided to see what had happened with Lucas Davenport and company in the intervening time.

One aspect of the series I like a good deal is that Davenport and the people he works with have a history together, and a good deal of it has been played out in the course of the books; past events are referred to, but not in an obvious or gratuitous way, just in passing, as would be normal in a long-shared work environment. Davenport is also aging, and beginning to think about ending his bachelor ways and settling down; his former fiancee, surgeon Weather Karkinnen, is still around, and beginning to warm up to him again after breaking off their engagement (a previous case got a little too close to home, and she concluded Davenport's life was too violent for her liking.)

In Certain Prey, the murder of a socialite leads Davenport to the FBI investigation of a female assassin. The hit woman, Clara Rinker, is a former nude dancer who discovered she had a knack for killing people without any pesky guilt or second thoughts.

Unlike most of the Prey books I've read to date, Certain Prey spends a good deal of time following the criminals: Rinker and her client, a successful criminal lawyer who has hired Rinker to remove the major obstacle to her winning the love of another attorney - his wife. Rinker is by virtue of her chosen career path pretty much of a loner, and colorful, charming Carmen Loan strikes a chord with her, of her lost teenage years and time with close female friends that she's never had. Like a murderous Thelma and Louise, the two of them match wits with Davenport, who's not above a few dirty tricks of his own in pursuit of a suspect. Rinker's not a monster, though, however unlikely that seems, and as Davenport uncovers her history he begins to feel some sympathy for this crafty opponent.

Rinker reappears in book #12 of the series, Mortal Prey.(less)

like · see review

Mar 01, 2013 Kayla rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While the plot was interesting enough to compel me to continue reading - out of curiosity as to how everything would be resolved, I found myself unable to really connect to or sympathize with any of the characters. There were two that I liked, but none that I loved, so rather than really rooting for the book to play out a certain way - rather than becoming heavily invested in the fates of any of them - I found myself feeling more like an interested, objective, outside observer. Being unable to s...more

like · see review

Nov 15, 2012 Mysterious Ed rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, law-enforcement

#10 in the Lucas Davenport series. Lucas' fling with detective Marcy Sherrill has run its course and he's been spending his time with a six hundred page report on Cultural Diversity; he welcomes a diversion and it comes in the form of a dead lawyer, a shot cop and a female shooter.
Sandford has a knack for portraying females as the 'bad guys'. A good, solid series entry and the introduction of a memorable assassin.

Lucas Davenport series - Two female antagonists steal the show from Davenport. Clar...more

1 like · like · see review

May 21, 2012 Jerome Statema rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense, thriller

I received a sense of déjà vu when I started reading this book. I was reasonably certain that I hadn't read it before, but it seemed somewhat familiar. It wasn't until I was a few pages in that I realized that this was the "Prey" book which was made into a TV-movie starring Mark Harmon as Lucas Davenport. I'd watched the movie and, though the book started a bit differently, there were enough similarities to set my "spidey-sense" tingling. I'm glad they made the movie, and I hope they turn more b...more

like · see review

Jul 24, 2011 Charleta Mckoy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Certain Prey was supposed to be this thriller about a female hitman. The twist in this book is that she was the most sympathetic character. I actually liked her. I didn't really care for this Luca Devenport addition. But, the is the first one I've encountered that I did not like. The reason I didn't care for this installment was because the connections that led Lucas to the killer were contrived. I also HATED two characters in this book. One I am supposed to hate, Carmel Loan. The other, I don't...more

like · see review

Nov 20, 2011 Miranda Polanía Vélez rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Oct 26, 2011 Thom rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sandford-john

Great book, and while I love Mark Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS, casting himself as Detective Lucas Davenport in the small-screen adaptation of this book is a mistake. Although his attitude is right, he's too short, too slight of build, to thinning and gray. In a nutshell, he's not not macho enough, not credible as a tough guy in that Sinatra & Bogart kind of way. He's a physical wimp. Treat Williams would be my first choice, simply based on looks and physical presence....more

1 like · like · see review

Jul 06, 2012 Dotti Elrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Clara Rinker.. a very smart, careful, controlled, and deliberate assassin, Until she takes a job from one of Minneapolis' best defense attorneys Carmel Loan. Then both their lives begin to spiral out of control.
Carmel is in love with Hale Allen. In order to have him she has to get rid of his wife. So she goes to a drug dealer she once represented, and through his connections, hires Clara to do the job.
Well as in every aspect of life, there are loose ends that no one saw coming. To keep themselve...more

like · see review

Nov 05, 2011 Monica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, thriller, suspense, murder, fiction, popular-fiction

This is my first book by John Sandford and I loved it. I decided to read it because I saw that a movie was coming out on USA and I wanted to read it before I watched the movie. I just hope the movie is just as good as the book.

Lucas Davenport is a detective in Minnesota and is after a murderer. You follow Detective Davenport as he tries to unravel not just one murder but 3 murders that look like they were committed by a professional. Lucas also has it in for a lawyer, Carmel Loan. The twists and...more

like · see review

Dec 08, 2012 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Found this at a library sale for a $1! My first book by John Sanford & the Prey series with Lucas Davenport. My dad would love this. Davenport does not seem to be central to this story, but more of a support role. Contract killer Clara Rinker seemed like a real person & is smart with a conscience. She is hired by attorney Carmel Loan to kill the wife of attorney Hale Allen who is good looking but not much more. She wants him for herself so decides the wife is in the way. A friendship ens...more

like · see review

Aug 05, 2011 Bob Kublawi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, suspense-and-horror

Another in the Lucas Davenport series, this novel focuses on two killers, one a famous Minneapolis defense attorney who is clearly evil and enjoys torture and killing, and another woman is cold and methodical. This second woman sees killing as purely a job, a way to make her way in the world and it's something she's good at.

Sandford does an excellent job of putting us in the mindset of both of these characters, helping us to understand their impulses, emotions and actions. These two women, diffe...more

like · see review

Apr 28, 2012 Vicki rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the best Sanford novels in the Prey series. Clara Rinker is the "bad guy" but the way Sanford builds her character throughout the book creates a personal connection that leads you to root for her, despite her ill deeds. The plot is woven so intricately that each scene has you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will happen next--making it difficult to put the book down. Detective Lucas Davenport is his usual mysterious and charismatic self...smart, cunning, and charming all at on...more

like · see review

Feb 14, 2011 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

May 02, 2013 Brenda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: to-re, owned-books

Lucas is being hunted. The huntress' are obsessed. The lawyer is beyond obsessed and sexually overheated. The assassin has killed who she was paid to kill but, she returns to take care of witnesses and the person who hired her, the attorney. These aren't spoilers....I won't give away the results but, they're not what you'd expect. Obviously Lucas isn't killed as we still have 12 more books in the series following this one but, it isn't for a lack of exciting trying on the assassin and the attorn...more

like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Darrell Davis added it · review of another edition

I picked up this book on a whim.. not reading the back to get an idea of what it was about or anything. Got back to my room and started reading it that morning. By the next day I was finished and astounded at how good this book is! I'm not a big reader, so when I can finish a book that quick, it has to be good! Also, the fact that she uses .22 pistols the whole time is pretty awesome! If you like thrillers, this should be one to pick up! I haven't read any of the other books in the series, but I...more

like · see review

Oct 18, 2011 Kevin Bresnahan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Certain Prey" is my favorite Prey novel to date. It is a formula that works. Clara Rinker is an assassin with a troubled past. Carmel Loan is a hot-shot defense attorney who will stop at nothing to get what she wants for power. Lucas Davenport is the cop assigned to stop them. We know early on this arrangement, as Sandford portrays both sides and their strategies. The reader is taken on a deadly cat-and-mouse game, the bodies pile up, and no one is safe. The twists and turns occur at perfect ti...more

like · see review

Feb 13, 2012 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, mystery-thriller-suspense

The tenth book in this excellent series (21 books as of 2011) is one of the best. Lucas Davenport, the 40-something protagonist, is between girlfriends, but he's upstaged by two females, a legal shark and a hit woman. The villains of this entry are developing a friendship that is both funny and fascinating. The humor is very dry as these two sociopaths go on a killing spree while planning a vacation in Mexico - if they don't wind up killing each other first. Lucas isn't the only one who wants to...more

like · see review

May 06, 2013 James Thane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction, lucas-davenport, john-sandford

This is probably my favorite book in John Sandford's Prey series, featuring Lucas Davenport of the Minneapolis P.D. and, later, of the Minnesota State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Sandford is famous for creating terrific villains and the main antagonist here, Clara Rinker, is perhaps his best. Actually, Lucas is up against two great antagonists in this story: Rinker, who is a particularly deadly professional hitwoman and Carmel Loan, a man-eating, ass-kicking Minneapolis criminal attorney.

As...more This is probably my favorite book in John Sandford's Prey series, featuring Lucas Davenport of the Minneapolis P.D. and, later, of the Minnesota State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Sandford is famous for creating terrific villains and the main antagonist here, Clara Rinker, is perhaps his best. Actually, Lucas is up against two great antagonists in this story: Rinker, who is a particularly deadly professional hitwoman and Carmel Loan, a man-eating, ass-kicking Minneapolis criminal attorney.

As the story opens, Carmel Loan has fallen madly for Hale Allen, a sexy but rather dimwitted attorney who also works in her firm. The problem is that Allen is married and thus, for the moment at least, unavailable. Carmel has kept her desire for Allen a secret and, through the intercession of a drug dealer she successfully defended, she hires Carla Rinker to kill Allen's wife, Barbara. Once Barbara is out of the way, Carmel figures to help Hale get over his loss ASAP.

Rinker arrives in Minneapolis and smoothly dispatches Barbara Allen. She then collects her money and returns to her home base in Wichita, Kansas, where she owns a bar. But then, everything turns to crap on a variety of fronts when Carmel's ex-client tries to blackmail her over the hit. Rinker returns to the Twin Cities and together, she and Carmel attempt to tie up the loose ends.

Davenport and his team are on the case, but as the bodies continue to pile up, there's precious little evidence pointing toward the killer or killers. Davenport, though, is one of those detectives who works by inspiration as much as anything else, and when he gets a sense of what might be going on, the fun really begins.

As is always the case in this series, the action moves rapidly. There's a great deal of humor, and it's great fun to watch Lucas and his usual cast of characters at work. It's especially fun to watch the by-play between Lucas and Carmel Loan, and Clara Rinker is an inspiration. On the one hand, she's a truly bad person who's killed a couple of dozen people just for the money. On the other hand, though, you can't help but love her, just as you can't help rooting for Lawrence Block's great professional hitman, Keller.

This book does depend on at least one pretty amazing coincidence, but by the time it occurs, you really don't care. You're having so much fun by that point that you're perfectly willing to suspend disbelief and happily go along for the rest of the ride. This is a great read.

(less)

15 likes · like · see review

May 14, 2011 Kellie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads, prey-series, series, mystery-thrillers

#10 of the Prey Series-I think the author took some very unrealistic liberties with his character in this book. Davenport is a very tough, very aggressive cop in the twin cities of Minnesota. In this book, he is after a female hit man. As always, he stretches the law in his investigation. Especially in this one. I think he went a bit too far. He has always seemed above the law in this series and gets away with things that a normal cop would not. It almost makes him like a superhero. This is what...more

like · see review

title link	preview: Certain Prey
avg rating	preview: Certain Prey Goodreads rating: 4.11 (6113 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9807958-certain-prey?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1302019720l/9807958.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9807958-certain-prey?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Certain Prey by John Sandford[/url]

Certain Prey (Lucas Davenport #10)

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (21)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About John Sandford

Books by John Sandford

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Certain Prey