Rating: 
Summary: we need more
Review: Lucas Davenport returns to do what he does best: clean up potential crises for his political bosses.
In the Naked Prey, he attempts to solve the murder of Jane Warr and Deon Carr, a couple who were found hanging on a tree. When the case is solved, the cops realize it's just the beginning, not the end.
John Sandford does well to suprise us with the familiar i.e., the serial murders, the corrupt cop, the politician in damage control mode. Moreover, he gives us a satisfactory, though expected ending.
Notwithstanding there is a lack of ingenuity which keeps this plot firmly on the ground. It seems Sandford has finally lost the ability to shock his readers.
Naked Prey is still a good novel; which doesn't say much for a writer in Sandford's league.
Rating: 
Summary: Great new character keeps the prey series fresh
Review: Lucas heads off to Northern Minnesota to do damage control for the Governor when a black man and white woman are found lynched, naked, in a very small all white town.It turns out the racial aspect is a total red herring--it has nothing to do with the crime or the plot. Unfortunately, Sanford uses it as an opportunity to introduce a wholly gratuitous race baiting black activist (who I suppose is a cross between Jessie and Johniie Cochran??) Once he gets that off his chest, the plot settles down into a typical prey book. A criminal drug smuggling conspiracy of nuns, an international ring of chop-shops, and a series of child murder-kidnappings, all come unraveled as Lucas unwinds the lynching. In the midst of all, is Sanford's newest character--Lettie West. An 11 year old girl, who is also a trapper, who (as Lucas says) has a functioning age of about 42), and is not the least bit afraid to stand up to Lucas' bullying. Wise cracks abound, love grows. We should see more of her in future books!
Rating:
Summary: A great thriller with a few holes
Review: Naked Prey is an exciting thriller full of evil bad guys, twists and turns and police pursuits. Yet it also has a few plot holes and structural flaws. I listened to the book on audio tape and at times wonder if I missed a side of tape.
The story opens with the gruesome murder of Jane Warr and Dion Cash. They are kidnapped and drug out into the middle of nowhere and hung. Their naked bodies are found and Lucas Davenport and Del are called in to find out what happened in order to avoid a racial incendent (Jane was white and Dion was black)
Sandford then gives the details of the small town where Cash and Warr lived, and where they worked, Kalb's body shop. Early on, we get the details of Kalb running an illegal operation of stealing old Toyotas and selling them as new in Canada. Also, a group of Catholic nuns are running a drug operation by driving Kalb's cars to and from Canada.
Davenport and Del befriend a little girl named Lettie West who becomes a key part of the story. The investigation quickly finds the identity of the killer, a man named Hale Sorrell. Sorrell's daughter was kidnapped a few months ago and apparently Sorrel discovered who did it and then killed them. So, Lucas assumes Cash and Warr were the kidnappers. But then another murder happens and Davenport and Dell return to the small town and discover many new crimes.
Sandford also tells the story from the true kidnappers. The brief scenes where Sandford describes how the kidnapped girls were killed are chilling. Yet not enough time is spent on the kidnappings and how and why those occurred.
I saw a few other problems with the story. Kalb is established as a criminal early on and the entire small town seems to revolve around his auto body business. Yet Lucas and Del never really look into the activities there beyond a few cursury interviews.
The biggest problem I saw was when a main character was shot and seriously wounded. Lucas and Del easily surmised that the killer was trying to silence her. Yet Lucas and Del allow this character to return to the small town without any type of protection, leaving her vulnerable to get attacked again.
This is only my second Sandford book. My favorite part has to be the investigations by Del and Lucas. They seem to discover the evidence in real time. Nothing is sped up for the sake of the plot (although there are many other story sacrifices made for the sake of the plot.) In this book, the evil and the crime keep coming, and there are several twists, including one surprising one about the nuns.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Series Continues: Naked Prey
Review: The nasty business of politics has always been a strong secondary theme in the Lucas Davenport and it certainly is in this, the fourteenth book of the series. Lucas has moved on along with his boss Rose Marie Roux. Leaving a nasty political situation in their old jobs, Rose Marie with the strong blessings of the Governor has created a special situation for him. Officially he is designated as "Director, Office of Regional Studies" which is buried within the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension." But Lucas is not a desk jockey. He is a hands on investigator, and in reality, he is to be the Governor's fix it person when crime cases become too complicated or too political for local jurisdictions to handle. This will be the first case for the newly formed unit headed by Lucas and it seems to have all the ingredients for a major media firestorm. Two people, one female and white, one male and black, have been found dead near Armstrong, Minnesota. Not just murdered, but bound, nude, and hanging from trees. Lynching is an ugly word and describing an ugly practice and the Governor wants the case solved fast. But the case isn't solved fast and is just a small segment of a fast deteriorating situation in Armstrong. Because of Lucas and his partner, Del's investigation in Armstrong, pressure begins to come down on numerous persons in the same town. Various schemes interwoven and also independent of the original case begin to emerge and unravel and a bloodbath begins in the frozen north during the dark of winter. This book once again reminds the reader of how well a mystery can be done when the author takes the time to write a first class novel. While some authors are content to crank out a quick shallow read every few months, Sandford continues to evolve the Lucas character as well as create a complex mystery in novel after novel. A lot of changes have occurred over the course of this series for Lucas and it clear that quite a few more are in order in the next novel and ones to come. In the meantime, as in most of the other novels of the series, the writing and imagery is intense and the sense of pacing is just right. Sandford steadily raises the tension level while occasionally giving the reader a glimpse of the twisted humor he is known for. This series is alive and very well and definitely well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: This book was pretty good. It was predictable but good. There was plenty of suspense and character building. The book starts out with a bang. Two murders and lots of action. It leaves you wondering why. What did these two people do to deserve such a horrible and graphic death? You will have to read it to find out but I will say that the killer had his reasons for doing it and when you find out why you will wonder why he didn't do much worse. You really get attached to Letty a 12 year old girl. She is a tom-boy who has cared for her mother all these years. She is independent and has a real spitfire attitude. She makes a great character. She is funny and I really enjoyed her. Even though you see a lot of things coming it was a good read and Sandford did a great job on the plot.
Rating:
Summary: amiable Lucas Davenport
Review: This is almost a "pleasant" read, due to a less demented killer than typical for Sandford. As usual, Sandford shows his murderer early on (and here even identifies him!), but he is such a good writer you'll want to read on anyway to experience the twisted road to him and see how Lucas will finger him. Also in this story I was sure one layer after another would be peeled back, so my surprise was that I was NOT surprised at all by the final two twists. I hope Sandford's clues just happened to click with me this time, rather than that he ineptly telegraphed them. He's one of my favorite authors for his sense of place, plotting, and plausible characters. This just didn't have the tension, the socio-pathological intensity, of most of his other PREY thrillers.
It's fun how people from earlier stories reappear momentarily, like an in-joke for faithful readers--"ah yes, that Marcy!" The new characters are also interesting, especially a fatherless, mouthy, precocious girl--an informant--who attaches herself to Lucas in an enlivening and fetching way. Keep your eye on her.
Rating:
Summary: One great new character and some tired plot devices
Review: This is the third book of the prey books I have read and this is by far the least organized of the books with subject changes happening quickly and sometimes for no apparent reason which I found a little disconcerting.
The shining light in this book is Lettie West a young girl and if Sandford doesn't make her a part of upcoming books he is nuts. She is one of the most appealing characters he has ever created. Street smart, sassy and fresh she was the breath of fresh air these books needed. You will like this girl and want to take her home to live with your family.
The bad news is this great character is stuck in an OK book when she deserved far better. Naked prey is not bad, but is also not a great read. Why?
First: The bad folks were utterly transparent from the first - no need to guess- no suspense.
Second: Some plot twists and turns are simply dropped and abandoned leaving you to wonder why they were included at all.
Third: The country bumpkin local police idea was a lazy verbal move to try and make Lucas look better which I might not have minded except that a lot of time was wasted and it didn't advance the story line.
Fourth: The attempt to plant a perfect suspect for the police to find is far too similar to the same plot device in Choosen Prey
This is not a bad book but it is not a fantastic one either and ourside of Lettie West is does not shine.
Rating:
Summary: Sandford scores!
Review: This might be the best novel Sanford has written. Naked Prey has an intricately complex yet totally believable plot that will keep you transfixed until the last word of the last page. Lucas Davenport, law enforcer, becomes more appealing with age as his subtlety and humanity evolve. Lucas' stability with his new family life is about to enter another dimension of eye-opening malevolence. Where one explosive crime scene ends, another mystery begins. Letty West is a shrewd, self-sufficient young girl who is the most charming and beguiling character Sanford has yet created. Lucas is sure her discerning recall will help to solve the puzzle. Letty's character would provide added twists to future Sanford novels. A fascinating side story concerning a national problem unfolds through a charitable smuggling ring for legal drugs to be given to the poor who have fatal diseases, and a brief discourse on pages 256-259 and page 357 featuring references to drug prices in the U.S. and Canada. Naked Prey is an absolute read for mystery enthusiasts!
Rating:
Summary: Sandford Still Worth Hard-Cover Price
Review: Well I am glad to see that marriage and "the new kid" haven't slowed Lucas Davenport down. Usually the arrival of a baby is the kiss of death for a great character. Here, thankfully, "the new kid" is consigned to the care of the housekeeper/baby nurse and isn't mentioned in any more than a handful of sentences in the entire book. So w/the baby so well taken care of, Lucas is free to head up to the Northern part of the state to investigate the lynching murders of a biracial couple. In this small town Lucas soon discovers more murder, drug running nuns, a car theft/chop shop ring, arson, attempted murders and a serial kidnapping/killing ring. Enough to keep him and Del busy for a while anyway. AND most important, enough crime to keep the reader hooked. John Sandford is one of the few authors I still will buy in hardback. Catching up w/Lucas, Weather, and the rest of the gang is like seeing old friends again. Naked Prey doesn't disappoint.
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