Certain Prey, starring Lucas Davenport, is another winner in John Sandford’s Prey series. I find it constantly surprising that Sandford can come up with such original plot lines while maintaining a contiguity of characters throughout the series. In Certain Prey, Sandford introduces psychopathic lawyer, Carmel Loan and hit woman Clara Rinker. These two combine their infamous actions after
Carmel’s twisted desire to possess fellow attorney Hale Allen causes her to hire Clara to murder Hale’s wife. As the women begin to discover, through a leak in the police force, however, there are several loose ends that have to be taken care of. These loose ends result in several murders and actually turn the two women into a twin turbine smooth killing machine.
Fortunately, for the citizens of the Twin cities however, the doggedness of Police Detective, Lucas Davenport, results in the capture of one these two ladies. Unfortunately, however, Clara is able to escape the net that Lucas has thrown out despite the fact that he was closer to capturing her than any one else has ever been.Overall, Certain Prey is an engaging read that strives to give you an insight into the minds of all the players by telling the story from all viewpoints. Sandford is so adapt at his masterful portrayal of the characters that you are even able to feel a certain amount of sympathy for the Clara since you are told what events led her to her life of crime. However, Sandford is also good at directing your dislike toward Carmel who is shown to be single minded when it comes to what she wants no matter who is stepped upon or in this case killed to accomplish it.
Certain Prey is the 14th installment of the Prey series and throughout the entire series Sandford has managed to identify a unique combination of plot and memorable characterizations that allows each story to unfold in a logical and believable manner. As in the other installments in the series I found Certain Prey to follow a well defined path of ensnaring serial killers but at the same time providing the reader with a balanced view of both the good and the bad. Additionally, I must say that this particular book is one of the best of the series and should definitely be given a read by anyone who wants to see into the mind of a serial killer and the proponents of justice whose mindset is to capture them.
Another exciting book that will rivet readers this summer is The Triumph and The Glory by Steven Edward Rustad. In this new release Rustad does a great job of delving into the minds of Hitler, Stalin, Beria, FDR, and others as he attempts to engage the reader in the struggles of the Second World War. Before you begin the reading, however, you should know that not of the historic parts are true but events motivated by Russian Commisars are true including the one where they order that a young boy be put into a penal battalion. The book goes even further as it helps the reader to understand the terrible thinking behind the holocaust and the emotions of the American GI’s who fought to free its victims. Overall, the author of tale goes into the minds of soldiers, nurses, captains and others to make it a truly unique read.
[tags]book review, fiction, assassins, Lucas Davenport, John Sandford, Certain Prey, serial killer, The Triumph and the Glory, women serial killers, police drama, World War II[/tags]
