Book reviews

Naked Prey
John Sandford Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography History
John Sandford Books
New book search
John Sandford Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of Naked Prey
"

Putnam, May 2003, 26.95, 352 pp.
ISBN 0399150439

A lot has changed for Lucas Davenport in the last year. He married the love of his life Weather and they have an infant son and have moved into a new home with a separate apartment for the nanny/housekeeper. Rose Marie Roux is still Lucas's boss but she is now the Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner and Lucas reports directly to her and the governor as the Director in the Office of Regional Studies which is a part of The Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions.

Lucas gets the police cases that the local departments are not equipped to deal with or are political hot potatoes. His latest case involves a white woman and a black man hung by a rope to a tree and strangled to death. Lucas doesn't take long to identify the killer but when he goes to arrest him, he finds someone already murdered the perpetrator and his wife. Lucas returns to the small Northern Minnesota town of Broderick to find another killer but he doesn't realize that the small bucolic town is a cesspool of crime and corruption, a place where his homicide is interrelated to a series of other felonious acts.

There is nobody who writes a police procedural better than John Sandford. His plots are so complex that readers find themselves unable to put the book down until the last page is turned and all the loose ends are sewn up. NAKED PREY is one of the best novels in the series because the hero has undergone some radical changes both in his personal and professional life and that keeps the series fresh. This is a must read for fans of cop thrillers.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Naked Prey
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Kind of investigator - police procedural, American
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is.... - stalking/killing innocents
Any non-mystery subplot? - life in small town
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - white collar fraud or theft
Mostly a criminal POV story Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - stolen goods organization

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - police/lawman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 5-7
Amount of dialog - mostly dialog
Most similar books to Naked Prey
Jack In the Pulpit by Cynthia Riggs
While Others Sleep by Helen R. Myers
Have You Seen Her? by Karen Rose
Deadly Associations by Laura Belgrave
The Hot Pink Farmhouse by David Handler


Click here for more information about this book


John Sandford Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Harriet Klausner  

SCHOLARS:
Caroline Thompson  Rick Colund  Vanessa  Tracey Ray  Kevin R. Tipple  debra  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Thriller/Action books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Big vehicle disaster?

Crime Thriller

Disaster, natural or nuclear

Exploring into the wild

Horror Story?

Legal Thriller

Medical Thriller

Religious overtones?

Spying/Terrorism Thriller

War Thriller

Water adventure

Western



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
Feedback
About us
Bribe your congressman!
Rudy Giuliani



Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
Online Dating Advice
Erin Hunters 8:01:38 AM
Judith McNaught 5:06:54 AM
Ray Bradbury 12:56:20 AM
Gary Paulsen 12:31:20 AM
Annette Curtis Klause 10:46:22 PM
Herman Melville 10:11:58 PM
Mary Stewart 10:05:17 PM
George W. Bush 9:24:15 PM
Suzanne Collins 8:54:37 PM
James Patterson 7:47:37 PM
Kara Dalkey 5:37:03 PM
Teri Woods 4:55:49 PM
Southampton Row 4:05:35 PM
V.C. Andrews 3:51:51 PM
Jeanette Walls 2:50:57 PM
General Discussion (All Topics) 1:22:33 PM
Ruth Minsky Sender 12:31:59 PM
Lilian Jackson Braun 10:25:33 AM
Deric Longden 7:40:15 AM
Robin Jenkins 4:55:32 AM

More message boards