Reviews for Twisted Prey
by John Sandford
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Now that he's moved on from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to the elite U.S. Marshals Service, you might expect Lucas Davenport (Golden Prey, 2017, etc.) to deal with a distinctly higher class of lowlife. That's not how it works out.Minnesota Sen. Porter Smalls insists that the crash that nearly killed him and did kill his unacknowledged lover, Republican fundraiser Cecily Whitehead, was deliberately caused by a Ford F-250 truck that rammed his car and sent it plunging off a cliff. When the West Virginia accident investigator finds no sign of any such impact on his wrecked car, Smalls calls on Lucas to dig up the evidence that he's not just hallucinating and, ideally, that the crash was engineered by first-term Minnesota Sen. Taryn Grant, a proven sociopath who'd hate him even if she didn't already have her eyes on the White House. Smalls is right, of course, but making a case against someone as wealthy, ruthless, and well-connected as Grant won't be easy. While Lucas and fellow marshals Rae Givens and Bob Matees are chasing down leads, Grant, who's just as clearsighted as Smalls about her enemies, is issuing orders to her fixer, hustler Jack Parrish, about how to take Lucas out: mug him seriously enough to hospitalize him for a crucial month or so, arrange a distraction that will send him back to Minnesota, or, if all else fails, kill him dead. Spoiler alert: Even when they succeed short-term, Grant and her army of minions fail to derail Lucas' investigation into a particularly nasty episode in which the awarding of a military contract was manipulated to the significant detriment of the military services. The only thing that slows Lucas is the fact that every time he gets enough evidence against one of the underlings, his target is quite properly killed before he can testify against his fellow conspirators.Sandford is as professional as the evildoers aren't. The result is lots of great setups but remarkably few follow-throughs. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
The last time Lucas Davenport tangled with Taryn Grant, she was running for the U.S. Senate. She eked out a narrow win over an incumbent, Porter Smalls, on the basis of a manufactured child-pornography scandal and a couple of murders, too. Grant is rich, beautiful, smart, and a psychopath. Davenport was with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension back then, and he was unable to tie Grant to the murders. Smalls is now doing all he can to thwart Grant's presidential ambitions, but, while he is on a weekend tryst with a longtime lover, Smalls' car is purposely run off the road. He survives, but his lover doesn't. He's sure Grant is behind the accident and uses his clout to get Davenport, now a U.S. marshal, assigned to investigate. The latest Davenport novel is one of the best in an always-strong series. Given the current geopolitical reality, it's timely, too, and the conclusion is a rockin' didn't see that coming beauty.--Lukowsky, Wes Copyright 2018 Booklist
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Sandford's 28th Lucas Davenport novel, enhanced by an appropriately gruff narration by Ferrone, pits the lawman against an old foe: the beautiful and wealthy sociopath Senator Taryn Grant. Davenport was unable to stop the three-times murderer from winning her senate seat in Silken Prey (2013). Now, as she sets her sights on the presidency, he's hoping to right that wrong. Assisting him is Senator Porter Smalls, another character from the earlier book, who's at the top of Grant's current hit list. Voice actor Ferrone presents Davenport as hardboiled and unyielding on the job, tender with his family, and relaxed with his pals (like the author's other series lead, Virgil Flowers, who drops by for a cameo). Smalls sounds eager to assist, though understandably nervous and on edge. Grant speaks with almost unrelieved, hissing fury. Assassin Jack Parrish, who works for Grant, is a stoic professional, outwardly unruffled, though a flatness in his delivery suggests he's not amused by the threats and insults she aims at him. Ferrone's reading helps make this outing one of the best of the series. A Putnam hardcover. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
