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| Phantom Prey (Lucas Davenport Mysteries) | 
 enlarge | Author: John Sandford
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy Used: $4.96
You Save: $21.99 (82%)
New (80) Used (72) Collectible (9) from $4.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  97 reviews
Sales Rank: 829
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0399155007
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780399155000
ASIN: 0399155007
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: LIBRARY SURPLUS WONDERFUL CONDITION, IN STOCK AND READY TO SHIP TODAY.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Sandford's worst yet. May 11, 2008
11 out of 20 found this review helpful
John Sandford has a gift. His plots are riveting and unexpected. His characters are compellingly flawed. And most noticeable, his dialog is pithy, quick, and "tight". (I'm not a writer, but this is the word that first comes to mind.) Even though I found some of his previous villans to be almost TOO dark for my taste, his books keep me awake and reading.
But this book seems forced. As though Mr. Sandford's publishers are pushing his deadlines. The plot is all Hollywood - shallow, unimaginative, 800% predictable. In fact, I'm a little angry that Mr. Sandford broke my trust. I will buy anything he writes immediately. But fool me once...
In this case, the villan is silly. Our beloved protagonist, Lucas, follows his script by rote. And the plot unfolds over 200 pages just as we might predict after reading the first 20.
But you should NOT dispair. Don't buy this book, but instead, buy ANY OTHER SANDFORD NOVEL that you haven't already read at least twice. While not High Literature, they are deeper and more entertaining than anything else in the category.
 (3.5) "It might be chaotic, but there were threads in the chaos." May 17, 2008
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
Sandford takes a detour in Phantom Prey, our favorite Twin Cities detective, Lucas Davenport, uniquely challenged by a case that delves into the counter culture for clues to a young woman's disappearance, possibly her violent death. When Alyssa Austin returns home late one night, she experiences an eerie sensation. Something is amiss in her upscale home- either there is an intruder or some other menace, so unsettling that Mrs. Austin carries a loaded handgun while she searches the darkened rooms. No one is there after all, but blood-spatter on the wallpaper, almost invisible against the design, suggests recent violence. Since there is no body, Austin can only speculate on the fate of her daughter, Frances. When the police investigation yields little information, Austin turns to her friend, Weather Davenport, hoping Weather's husband, Detective Davenport can find some answers for her.
With little to go on, Davenport begins one of his most frustrating investigations, tracking the daughter's latest activities and her flirtation with the Goth community. Contrary to the social status of the wealthy Austin family, the Goths represent the opposite of the success and privilege that defines Frances' world, at least on the surface. Unwilling to believe her daughter is dead, the widow Austin, CEO of a fitness empire, provides Lucas with a list of names, a slender thread to her daughter's rebellious affiliations. Armed with only this short list, Davenport's job becomes more critical when certain individuals, all Goths, are savagely murdered, an unfamiliar "fairy" (attractive female Goth) appearing shortly before each of the deliberate killings. Determined to untangle this knotted web of dark intentions, Lucas is somewhat diverted by another investigation, the long term surveillance of an attractive young woman married to a career criminal of particular interest to the police.
While Davenport applies himself enthusiastically to the surveillance case, he also pursues the enigmatic society of Goths, most of whom tend to surface after hours at particular clubs, arrayed in black clothing, a stark contrast to the usual club familiars. Wherever he goes, Davenport just misses the tantalizing fairy, the unknown element in a mystery that includes theft, murder and the bizarre activities of a behind-the-scenes player. Juxtaposing the two cases, Lucas methodically traces Frances' acquaintances, sensing a terrible pattern that yields shocking consequences. As always, Davenport is a man of many talents, although this particular plot doesn't deliver the punch of the earlier "Prey" series. But after eighteen mysteries, Sanford can be forgiven going out on a limb in search of new material. Some unusual twists surface, albeit without much meat left on the bone for real fans. Luan Gaines/2008.
 Our "literary crapshooter" John Sandford has rolled a seven instead of snake eyes! May 11, 2008
9 out of 12 found this review helpful
Phantom Prey, the 18th novel in Sanford's "Prey" series, marks the return of Lucas Davenport, a state investigator for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This action-packed yarn of a serial killer roaming loose in the Twin Cities is one of author's best.
When a wealthy widow, Alyssa Austin, returns home and finds blood splattered on the wall, she fears the worst, for her college-age daughter, Frances, is missing. Davenport's wife, Weather, one of Alyssa's friends, persuades him to help find the missing girl.
Four murders occur and the chief suspect is a mysterious, elusive "fairy Goth," a diminutive but athletic young woman who apparently has joined the Goths--people who walk around in dark clothes and have a morbid fascination with darkness and death.
The serial killer is both highly intelligent and a "certified" schizophrenic--a deadly combination. Other than Davenport himself, Sanford has never before created a more fascinating, albeit chilling, character.
The novel contains a lot of foul language, and a sub-plot featuring a low-life hood named Siggy and his paramour Heather gives Sanford an opportunity to indulge in prurient voyeurism.
The good news is that Phantom Prey, featuring snappy dialogue, memorable characters, humorous repartee and bloody carnage, is a page-turner. Our literary crapshooter has rolled a seven instead of snake eyes.
Not the greatest Sandford novel-I was disappointed May 11, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have read all of the Sandford/Davenport novels and I have only been disappointed once--that was with "Easy Prey." (Too complicated with all the characters he put in the plot gave me a headache) Now I was disappointed again with Sandford's "Phantom Prey."
I read Sandford because he is humorous, crafty, and quirky and the characters throughout the books have grown on me and I have learned to care about them--especially if you read the Davenport series in order, up to the marriage of Weather and Davenport, the baby Sam and the ward, Letty.
This plot was boring-not the usual substance that Sandford offers his fans.
The book to me wasn't based on the "Goth" sub-society, but about a schizophrenic character that likes to kill and a sub plot that has to do with a pregnant flasher that throughout the entire book is waiting for her drug running boyfriend to travel from Miami to Minnesota to see her and the baby.
I have to admit though that some of the book just made me laugh my head off-I will give it 3 stars for the entertainment quality.
Unremarkable & formulaic June 18, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
It's been a while since John Sandford wrote a novel that wasn't mediocre. He seems, quite frankly, to be in a rut. Recent novels, including those in the Prey series and others like Dark of the Moon, are becoming so predictable and formulaic that they feel like they are being churned out on an assembly line.
There's nothing groundbreaking to this novel and in fact, it feels a little lazy. The Goth angle feels like it's been thrown into the mix without much of an indication that Sandford made an effort to research Goth culture. That said; it's not a terrible novel. It's just unremarkable. Phantom Prey is unlikely to win Sandford any new fans but it will probably satisfy most (marginally at least).
The biggest problem with this novel is how formulaic it is, following the Sandford playbook to the letter. I'm getting tired of novels where the killer decides that the cop `is getting too close' and they need to kill him off before he stumbles on the truth. This rarely happens in real life. It's a tired idea that gets used too often in crime fiction, often as a way to resolve the mystery (why solve a crime when you can wait for the killer to come after you?) Inevitably these attempts to kill off our hero are doomed to fail. There are actually two attempts on Lucas' life in this novel. There was one attempt on Flowers' life in Dark of the Moon, and one attempt on Lucas' life in Invisible Prey.
I have another beef with the Prey series that is bound to be unpopular but I think it needs to be said. Sandford has made Davenport's life so contented that he's not very interesting anymore. His volatile temper has been tamed, his womanizing ways have been replaced with a monogamous loving relationship, the depression that plagued him in the past is no longer an issue, the conflict he once had with his superiors isn't a problem anymore because he landed his dream job with a great boss and loyal employees who are all eccentric, but dedicated cops. There's nothing really wrong with any of this (who am I to begrudge Lucas a little happiness) but I found the character more interesting when he had demons to wrestle and his character was seriously flawed.
The bottom line: As with Dark of the Moon, whether or not you choose to read this novel should be directly related to how many novels you read in a year. If you read a lot of novels (a few a week for example) - while Phantom Prey is nothing special, it's probably better than most of what's out there,so you may as well read it. If, on the other hand, you only read a few novels a year, you can do better. I can even offer suggestions.
If you're looking for the best in the series, I recommend Eyes of Prey and Rules of Prey. Phantom Prey is probably the weakest.
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