Mortal Prey by John Sandford is the 13th book in the “The Prey” thriller series. Publisher: Putnam, May 2002
Lucas Davenport encounters an old nemesis, in the chilling new novel by the number-one-bestselling author.
Over the last thirteen years, John Sandford has become not only one of our greatest-selling suspense writers, but “one of the most skilled thriller writers at work in this country or other” (Richmond Times-Dispatch). “You know life is good when you have a new Lucas Davenport thriller to escape into,” wrote the Chicago Tribune—and Mortal Prey proves it again.
Years ago, Lucas Davenport almost died at the hands of Clara Rinker, a pleasant, soft-spoken, low-key Southerner, and the best hit woman in the business. Now retired and living in Mexico, she herself nearly dies when a sniper kills her boyfriend, the son of a local druglord, and while the boy’s father vows vengeance, Rinker knows something he doesn’t: The boy wasn’t the target—she was—and now she is going to have to disappear to find the killer herself.
The FBI drafts Davenport to help track Rinker down, and his fiancée, deep in wedding preparations, is really just as happy to get him out of her hair—but he has no idea what he’s getting into. For Rinker is as unpredictable as ever, and between her, her old bosses in the St. Louis mob, the Mexican druglord, and the combined, sometimes warring, forces of U.S. law enforcement, this is one case that will get more dangerous as it goes along. And when the crossfire comes, anyone standing in the middle won’t stand a chance.
Of John Sandford’s last novel, Chosen Prey, the Los Angeles Times wrote, “The reading is great. The wit and imagination never flag; the cops are effective and fuffn;fff the prose is absorbing and the suspense consistent.” USA Today called it “terrific, packed with detail and attitude and real characters.” And Kirkus Reviews said simply, “Spellbinding? You bet.”
Mortal Prey is even better. Filled with the rich characterization and exceptional drama that have become his hallmarks, it is Sandford’s most suspenseful novel yet—high-octane all the way.
Another great read. My rating: 4 stars #Dec 2009