Hidden Prey Hardcover – May 11, 2004 by John Sandford
Book 15 of 33: Prey (Lucas Davenport)
 
When Vladimir Orslov, a man with ties to the highest levels of government, is found shot to death along the shore of Lake Superior, Lucas Davenport must take on the local cops, the FBI, and the Russians as he attempts to unravel the case, following a trail of clues that leads to a deadly confrontation with dark secrets from the past. 600,000 first printing. Lit Guild, Doubleday, & Mystery Guild Main.
 
From Publishers Weekly
Det. Lucas Davenport has battled some real demons over the past 15 Prey novels and drifted in and out of lust and love with a host of women. But now he's happily married to the lovely Weather; has a nine-month-old son, Sam; and takes care of his 12-year-old ward, Letty West. Sure, he's got a measure of the old angst, but he's growing accustomed to the good life, spending quality time alone on the couch drinking beer and watching TV golf. His new job is running the Office of Regional Research at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension where he looks into various crimes and "fixes shit" for the governor. So when a dead Russian shows up on the docks in Duluth, Lucas is assigned to shepherd the lady investigator, Nadya Kalin, being sent by the Russian government. From the very first pages, the reader knows it's teenager Carl Walther who has killed the Russian. What makes the book intriguing is the manner in which the sagacious Davenport goes about uncovering the rest of the co-conspirators-a gang of Minnesota-based Communist spies headed by Carl's grandpa, 92-year-old ex-KGB colonel Burt Walther. That Sandford makes this unlikely plot believable is a mark of his mastery of the technical aspects of the mystery form and a testament to his overall writing skills. Readers will be pleased with this relaxed version of the moody Minneapolis investigator. In past novels, the womanizing Davenport would have romanced the good-looking Russian lady, but the new Davenport is content to play the part of friend and protector and go back to his cozy family with an unstained and remarkably contented soul.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
5.6
 
4.5