Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
G.P. Putnam's Sons (2009), Edition: Reprint, 480 pages
Description
Terrified by her goth-associated daughter's disappearance and the signs of a deadly struggle in their home, a widow implores Lucas Davenport to use his connections to local authorities to expedite the investigation, which subsequently reveals the work of a serial killer.
User reviews
LibraryThing member mscanlan
Not a great book. Plot forced and doesn't really hold you. I think Lucas Davenport is going through a midlife crisis--spends alot of time talking about women's appearances or chicks as he calls them and using the F word. Characters poorly developed. Didn't really like anybody in the book.
LibraryThing member mrtall
Phantom Prey, the latest in John Sandford's long-running Prey series, is enjoyable but not up to the standard of his best.
This time Lucas Davenport and his team are investigating the mystifying killings clustered in 'Goth' hotspots frequented by a rich young woman who herself has disappeared. The
As always, the story rips along pretty smoothly, with a near-perfect balance of detection, action, background and comic relief. But this one's not particularly compelling, mostly because the killer is not an interesting character, no matter how Sandford tries to manufacture such interest.
Recommended, but if you're new to the Prey series, start elsewhere.
This time Lucas Davenport and his team are investigating the mystifying killings clustered in 'Goth' hotspots frequented by a rich young woman who herself has disappeared. The
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subplot involves a stakeout, as Lucas and Del take turns watching a local gangster's moll take off her undies and parade around her apartment.As always, the story rips along pretty smoothly, with a near-perfect balance of detection, action, background and comic relief. But this one's not particularly compelling, mostly because the killer is not an interesting character, no matter how Sandford tries to manufacture such interest.
Recommended, but if you're new to the Prey series, start elsewhere.
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LibraryThing member susanamper
Most recent in Sanford's Prey series, Lucas Davenport, Minneapolis police bigwig, is asked to investigate the disappearance of a friend's daughter who is presumed dead. Not up to Sandford's usual good stories. Here he attempts to investigate the world of goths, but I didn't care, and the story
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lines about Sybil-like personalities and imaginary friends are really lame Show Less
LibraryThing member amf0001
Weather's friend - or at least the woman who owned the gym she goes to, has had a personal tragedy - her daughter has disappeared, and Alyssa asks Weather to get Lucas involved, as the police are doing nothing. The daughter was a goth, and now other goths are getting killed, and Lucas starts
The plot was a bit too clever for it's own good, though I definitely enjoyed the sub plot with Heather, the smart bimbo, and the back chat amongst the cops. I wouldn't rate this as one of his best ones, but a solid B+. I read it in 24 hours, and stayed up to 3am till the words blurred, so it's very easy to read and grips you, but it' more like good junk food, gives you a sugar high and then makes you feel a bit queasy at the end, than something really substantial.
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pulling on the threads...The plot was a bit too clever for it's own good, though I definitely enjoyed the sub plot with Heather, the smart bimbo, and the back chat amongst the cops. I wouldn't rate this as one of his best ones, but a solid B+. I read it in 24 hours, and stayed up to 3am till the words blurred, so it's very easy to read and grips you, but it' more like good junk food, gives you a sugar high and then makes you feel a bit queasy at the end, than something really substantial.
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LibraryThing member thejazzmonger
Another great contribution to the always entertaining series on Lucas Davenport's battle with the devious criminal mind. If you have never read one of Sandford's "Prey" novels, start with the first "Rules of Prey" and see the character of Lucas Davenport develop; through an excellent series.
LibraryThing member SonicQuack
Another Prey novel featuring Lucas Davenport and his cohorts in the Twin Cities. Each Prey novel is a standalone book, with character building strands that flow between them. Phantom Prey tweaks these themes to offer a slightly different approach, presumably to prevent the series from being
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repetitive. As expected the central storyline revolves around a killer, with Davenport ushered in to support. However, there are other plots weaved through the book, some without closure, which may be building for use in a later book - new territory for Sandford. The most important plot element is interesting and offers plenty of opportunities for the wit, irony and reality checks that make Sandford's books so enjoyable and easy to read. Phantom Prey isn't the strongest in the series, however is a page-turner with great characters. Show Less
LibraryThing member theatrearchivist
I like John Sandford because his books are set in Minneapolis (for a change), he is wry, his books are GREAT to read on the subway!! You feel you get to know Sandford after a while ... He's not preachy or pompous. His cop Lucas Davenport is flawed, loves women, and eats cool food. Now Sandford is
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writing books without Lucas Davenport - I look forward to trying those out! Show Less
LibraryThing member AmieG
Great book! Sometimes the language and visuals are a little harsh, but overall a very good book!
LibraryThing member dickmanikowski
Even by the exacting standards of John Sandford's series of Lucas Davenport mysteries, this is a a masterpiece. The characters (even the ones that only exist in the troubled mind of the murderess) are fully fleshed out, and the plot is captivating. Even the parallel subplot grabbed me . . . and
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that's not an easy thing to do with a police stake-out. Show Less
LibraryThing member readafew
This is the 18th Lucas Davenport novel and I have to say I was impressed. A couple books ago things I thought Lucus was going to jump the shark, but this one surprised me. Sandford was able to bring Lucas back with a cool new twist to keep things fresh but still keep to the feel of the story.
I
It all starts when a rich mother gets Weather to pester Lucas to look into her daughters disappearance several months earlier. At first Lucas isn't happy about the meddling by either the mother or Weather. But eventually, something sparks his interest and then the fun starts. There appears to be at least one other murder that might be linked to the daughters disappearance and that is where Lucas starts. At the same time he's looking for the missing person, he's also working a long term stakeout for a major drug dealer that skipped town months ago but was likely to come back to visit his wife.
I
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actually took a few of the hints and hit it right on the nose with several of the mysteries early on. However, later clues were done so well they made me seriously doubt my earlier predictions. It's not often I get tricked that well. In my opinion one of the better books in the series.It all starts when a rich mother gets Weather to pester Lucas to look into her daughters disappearance several months earlier. At first Lucas isn't happy about the meddling by either the mother or Weather. But eventually, something sparks his interest and then the fun starts. There appears to be at least one other murder that might be linked to the daughters disappearance and that is where Lucas starts. At the same time he's looking for the missing person, he's also working a long term stakeout for a major drug dealer that skipped town months ago but was likely to come back to visit his wife.
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LibraryThing member TheJeanette
The latest installment in the Lucas Davenport series. Excellent plot and pacing. Sandford just never misses. His writing is sharp and clean and fast-paced. He always has kind of a "double" plot---the main story and then a side story of another case Lucas is working on. In this book, both stories
The main plot has a nice sinister, otherworldly edge to it, which I haven't seen in this series before. Sandford took a little Stephen King and put it in one character's head. :)
A very wealthy woman's daughter is missing and presumably murdered. Then some of the missing girl's "Goth" friends get murdered, and Lucas has to figure out how it's connected.
Meanwhile, in the subplot, Lucas and Del are monitoring the activities of the wife of an escaped Lithuanian criminal, "Siggy". They spy on her apartment to see who visits her and try to figure out when Siggy will be sneaking back to see his wife and child.
I was close to giving this book five stars, but the ending was a little weak. Not bad, just not strong. It had a sort of "to be continued..." feel to it, which is okay for a series, but it should also stand on its own.
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are exciting and interesting. The main plot has a nice sinister, otherworldly edge to it, which I haven't seen in this series before. Sandford took a little Stephen King and put it in one character's head. :)
A very wealthy woman's daughter is missing and presumably murdered. Then some of the missing girl's "Goth" friends get murdered, and Lucas has to figure out how it's connected.
Meanwhile, in the subplot, Lucas and Del are monitoring the activities of the wife of an escaped Lithuanian criminal, "Siggy". They spy on her apartment to see who visits her and try to figure out when Siggy will be sneaking back to see his wife and child.
I was close to giving this book five stars, but the ending was a little weak. Not bad, just not strong. It had a sort of "to be continued..." feel to it, which is okay for a series, but it should also stand on its own.
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LibraryThing member SunnySD
When a young, wealthy woman vanishes leaving only a few spatters of blood in her mother's kitchen, police are baffled. After some arm twisting from Weather, Davenport agrees to look into things. A string of baffling killings in the Goth community seems linked... but how?
More than a little
More than a little
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far-fetched, but well tied together. Show Less
LibraryThing member nbmars
John Sandford has written 26 (that’s right, 26) novels with the word “prey” in the title. All feature Minneapolis cop Lucas Davenport . Phantom Prey, published in 2008, is the 18th in the series. This is only the second I have read, but I suspect Sandford’s fans have gotten to know
In any event, Phantom Prey starts out pretty well as a who-done-it. A wealthy widow, a friend of Weather, returns to her McMansion to find blood everywhere, but no body. Her daughter is missing. The widow asks Weather to get Lucas Davenport interested in the case, which in due time involves three other murders.
The plot takes a few interesting twists, but I have two major complaints about the structure of the story. First, about 10% of the book is devoted to another case that has nothing to do with the central murders. The only function of the side story is that by lucky happenstance it provides Lucas with a bullet proof vest when he most needs it while solving the principal case. In that respect, it seems like a deus ex machine, a plot device of which I seldom approve.
The second is too spoilery to mention, but it has to do with conveying the identity of the murderer, which was a bit too gimmicky for my taste.
(JAB)
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Davenport, his surgeon wife (named Weather, of all things), and his fellow cops quite well.In any event, Phantom Prey starts out pretty well as a who-done-it. A wealthy widow, a friend of Weather, returns to her McMansion to find blood everywhere, but no body. Her daughter is missing. The widow asks Weather to get Lucas Davenport interested in the case, which in due time involves three other murders.
The plot takes a few interesting twists, but I have two major complaints about the structure of the story. First, about 10% of the book is devoted to another case that has nothing to do with the central murders. The only function of the side story is that by lucky happenstance it provides Lucas with a bullet proof vest when he most needs it while solving the principal case. In that respect, it seems like a deus ex machine, a plot device of which I seldom approve.
The second is too spoilery to mention, but it has to do with conveying the identity of the murderer, which was a bit too gimmicky for my taste.
(JAB)
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LibraryThing member danhammang
The first line is a killer, reeling in the unwary. The rest is good plotting, fun characters and the world according to Lucas. Haven't read everything in this series but I've read a lot of it. And I continue to enjoy Officer Davenport and his cohort.
LibraryThing member Carol420
Alyssa Austin, recently widowed when the airplane carrying her millionaire pilot husband Hunter crashed in Canada, comes home to discover the alarm system of her suburban home turned off, but no one in the house. Knowing the housekeeper Helen is gone for the day, Alyssa calls out for her daughter
John Sanford is simply one of the finest authors of police procedurals in the business. The nice thing about the "Prey" series is that if you start with one, you will be drawn to reading the others. Start with the first and work your way through all of them. Enjoy some excellent reading!
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Frances who might be visiting. Alyssa searches the house and finds what turns out to be a small blood stain on the wallpape. The blood belongs to Frances and the police find that more blood has been wiped from the floors. But... there is no corpse.John Sanford is simply one of the finest authors of police procedurals in the business. The nice thing about the "Prey" series is that if you start with one, you will be drawn to reading the others. Start with the first and work your way through all of them. Enjoy some excellent reading!
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LibraryThing member TysonAdams
Fast paced police detective novel. Story was fine, characters fine, just felt like this could have been done better. I'm not sure I will bother with any more books in this Prey series.
LibraryThing member writertomg
The antagonist f'ed a ghost.
Not the worst police-procedural book I've read. But the main character drives a Porsche and the antagonist f'ed a ghost. That is all.
Not the worst police-procedural book I've read. But the main character drives a Porsche and the antagonist f'ed a ghost. That is all.
Subjects
Awards
Minnesota Book Awards (Finalist — Genre Fiction — 2009)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2008-05-06
Physical description
480 p.; 4.19 inches
ISBN
0425227987 / 9780425227985