Rules of Prey

John Sandford’s books aren’t as “literary” as those written by Mick Herron or Richard Price, but I love his books for their pacing—they always start out with a bang—and for Sandford’s sense of humor. I also admire the way he’s aged the recurring characters in the Prey books, taking Lucas Davenport from a young man in his thirties to the age of almost sixty in the last book. You can’t go wrong with any of the thirty-plus books in the Prey series, and I’m holding my breath for the next one. 

This is the first book in another long-running series, this one featuring Lucas Davenport, whom we first meet as a homicide detective on the Minneapolis Police Department. Like the characters above, Davenport is his own man and lives and works by his own code. In this case, he is tracking a serial killer who leaves notes for the police detailing the rules by which he selects and kills his victims. A great book in a fantastic series that features a lot of action, a great supporting cast, and a lot of black humor as well.

For an author to create a cast of characters who stay captivating and relevant throughout over 30 books in a series—I mean, wow. And Sandford has done just that with his Prey series, featuring crime-solver Lucas Davenport. His spinoffs with Kidd and Virgil Flowers are amazing too. I’ve not seen this done so effectively before. Never a dull moment, not a one! I can’t remember which Prey book I picked up first, but it was enough to move me to buy book 1, Rules of Prey  (published in 1989, though I discovered it many years later), and happily bounce… show more.

This is the very first Lucas Davenport mystery (there are now 32 in the series). Davenport is a tough Minnesota cop on the trail of a diabolical serial killer. As a police procedural, it is accurate and fast-paced, with Sandford being an expert at keeping the reader engaged. Sandford is also the master of quips, snappy dialogue, and bad jokes. I picked this book as a template for a continuing crime series for my novels.