EXTREME PREY
By John Sandford
Having recently been critical of Sandford's novels—his early ones were my favorites—I was thrilled to find Extreme Prey to be a real page-turner!
Lucas Davenport takes a job investigating a threat to a presidential candidate who is making her political rounds in Iowa before the caucuses begin. Davenport no longer beds every woman he meets, a fact I found refreshing, although, oddly enough, I saw a review that mentioned this fact made the book boring.
Having spent a lot of years living in Iowa, I particularly enjoyed following the trail with Davenport as he visited so many small Iowa towns trying to find the culprits. The suspense carries the reader quickly through the book to a nail-biting final scene at the state fair. A great read, one I highly recommend to lovers of suspense.
Things authors can learn from Extreme Prey:
- There is always a fresh approach to a long-term series.
- Always have a few characters that are sympathetic.
- Have interesting characters! The Purdy family was excellent, and even had one member who was a sympathetic drunk.
- Have the main character visit lots of different places searching for clues, and interview many kinds of people.
- Keep the suspense and conflict at a steady pace, don’t slow it down with lengthy back-story or family drama. In Extreme Prey, the reader sees just enough about Davenports own family to understand where he’s coming from.
Dear Readers,
As a long-time Sandford reader, I was happy to be able to share a glowing review for one of his Prey series’ books. Glad I hung in there. Hope you will enjoy reading Extreme Prey. If you’ve discovered another suspense book we should know about, please comment.
Hope, you’re enjoying the summer,
