Buried Prey

In Buried Prey, this latest John Sandford drama features his favorite main character, policeman "hunter" of bad guys, Lucas Davenport, who revisits a cold case from his past. Victims of a case he had worked on early in his career are discovered and reinforces his guilt of having mishandled the case due to his inexperience. He had to leave the case unsolved. He feels a lot of responsibility to hunt down criminals to prevent additional victims. He seems haunted by the additional victims of the perpetrator from the cold case. Lucas is a smart guy who writes computer simulations on the side and likes puzzles. So he sees his job as a "hunt" to find killers to protect the public.

The main character is a very likeable creation with laudable motivations who works on overcoming his inner conflicts. He's a strong, "guy's guy" who gets along well with co-workers even when he disagrees with them. The character manages to be loyal to his family, protect them and he tries to find a modicum of normalcy in the middle of the madness of the job he does so very well. His continuing relationship with his adopted daughter, Letty, who was a little "toughie" for whom he developed a soft spot and rescued in a previous novel, is especially endearing.

The preceding twenty "Prey" novels follow the career of Lucas Davenport and show a great progression in character development from one novel to the next. He just gets more and more likeable. I highly recommend reading the whole series from the beginning because the trip is worth the time. John Sandford is at the top of my list of favorite authors and the consummate professional. The plot development and the fictional world he spins together gets and keeps my attention. The other supporting characters are equally interesting and Virgil Flowers is an entertaining co-worker about whom four novels have been written.

John Sandford (John Camp) lives and works in Minnesota, a place I've never visited. I especially enjoy how he sets a scene with descriptions that make me feel I have actually seen the places. I appreciate how he can describe the weather and nature. He comes from the field of journalism and his attention to detail slows me from my usual speed reading to savor his descriptive sentences. I've enjoyed every book I've read by John Sandford.