Mortal Prey

There seems to be considerable debate as to whether discussing the identity of the killer in this novel constitutes the spoiling of a previous entry in the series. I’ve come down on the side that it is not--so if you personally have any doubt, please exit now with my 5-Star rating and hearty recommendation because . . .
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. . . I have two reasons for going forward. First of all, both her assumed identity and real name are the focus of the first chapter, so any previously issued blurb, synopsis and/or review would almost certainly contain the same information. Secondly, the author has publicly stated that four of his most popular books with fans are the pair featuring Michael Bekker and the two featuring Clara Rinker, a clear enough show more statement that neither was killed during their initial appearance. Mortal Prey spotlights the latter foe in her second encounter with Deputy Chief Lucas Davenport.

Which is just as well, as I have no great fondness for Bekker in either of his appearances, and therefore no real insight. Clara Rinker is a completely different matter, and this vital difference allows me to state with confidence what I consider to be the secret of her wide-ranging appeal. We like her. It’s that simple. She is a stone cold killer. She kills without hesitation or remorse. And we still like her. A lot.

In Certain Prey, her debut, Sandford quietly established our affection for Clara by revealing the traumatic and abuse-ridden childhood of her past and juxtaposing it against two major story elements in the present. The first of these was the level-headed, well-adjusted adult she somehow survived to become, in spite of the fact that she's a professional killer. The second contrast was Davenport himself, the supposed good guy, who commits some ethically questionable and fairly ruthless acts in the pursuit of Clara and her accomplice. Even Davenport--when he meets Clara before learning who she is--came away really liking her. (She was aware of who he was, by the way; she was trying to discover how close he was getting.)

Sandford could not, however, use any of this as a springboard in Clara’s return. Recaps bring no emotional impact. He could sprinkle it in later to add texture but Sandford needed a different means to get the readers on Clara’s side immediately. He chose to make her a victim again. Retired, hiding in Mexico, in love and newly pregnant, an assassin’s bullet robs her of everything but her life. Righteous anger takes her to St. Louis seeking revenge for her losses and freedom from her past. The FBI getting word of her general location brings Davenport down from Minneapolis to help in the search. The rematch is set.

The novel is mostly about Clara. We meet friends and acquaintances, rivals and enemies. We also receive more glimpses into her past with Davenport’s visit to her home town. She is inventive in how she eliminates her various targets, sometimes under the nose of the FBI. It forces Davenport to be just as imaginative in his pursuit. And once she realizes he’s on the scene, there is more interaction between the two of them. Over the phone, of course; at her instigation. And more than once. These are interesting conversations and readers are left to wonder just how much of Davenport’s affection and respect is real and how much is an attempt to keep her talking while trying to trace her location. Both characters had been through a lot since their first meeting years ago, and we can never be completely sure of their true feelings, at least not until the conclusion. But that’s the point. It keeps us turning the pages.

Mortal Prey contains more than a few multi-layered reasons to keep turning pages. It stands among the best John Sandford has to offer. And that’s often as good as it gets. show less

The best in the series so far.

Rereading this series after so many years has been a mixed bag. Having lived through the genre fiction climate of the 80s and 90s, I understand why it was so successful, but I'm also appalled by the elements I found not just acceptable, but not even worth notice at the time. I'm trying to read the books as I would read Victorian novels: paying attention to the different mores of the time, but not imposing twenty-first century values on the text. It's more difficult when the texts are from your own lifetime and you must accept that you yourself were once blind to so much that is problematic.

With all that out of the way, I'm pleased to say that Mortal Prey is the first book in the series that I've truly show more enjoyed rereading. Yes, Davenport is still an asshole, but he's supposed to be one and he's growing into a more likeable asshole. He's well on his way to being the less impulsive, more aware-of-his-values character we see in later books. Similarly, Sandford finishes what he started in Certain Prey, building Clara Rinker into a complex, often sympathetic antagonist. Best of all, he makes it very tempting for the reader to root for Clara, but doesn't fall into the cliched, sentimental trap of minimizing her actions or letting her evade their consequences.

The police characters and many of those they encounter still tell sexist jokes and say gross things about women, which don't seem to be necessary to either the plot or to character development, but the narrative stance seems to be less misogynistic than in the initial books. I'm not saying Sandford has ever been deliberately sexist. By the standards of the time in which they were written, the early Prey books are downright feminist and Sandford makes clear that he sees women as competent professionals. But he also writes from the old male point of view that defines women first by their appearance and then by their qualities. The early Lucas Davenport "loves women," but he loves them the way he loves a good steak - as something to be enjoyed for a limited time - and the narrative is generally supportive of this stance.

Some of the early novels' plots were a bit muddled, but Mortal Prey is as clear as glass (in retrospect) while still having plenty of twists to keep the reader on their toes. There's plenty of action and the plot is fast-paced without being rushed. Given the primary setting in St. Louis rather than the Twin Cities, we don't see much of the usual side characters. I'm rather fond of some of them, but the story more than made up for their absences.

One interesting note: Sandford isn't a "location" writer in the way that, for example, William Kent Krueger is, but there is a distinct difference in the feel of this novel, set in a city with which Sandford has clearly taken the time to familiarize himself, and those set in his personal home territory. Even though he doesn't make M-SP a "character" in his work, the environment feels much more alive in the pieces set there than does St. Louis in this one. It doesn't really matter in the big picture, but it's interesting.

If you're looking for an old-school police thriller, I highly recommend Mortal Prey. You should probably read Certain Prey first since this story arises from that one. Certain Prey is good, but Mortal Prey is excellent. The time you invest will be well spent. show less

Sigh. Wow. Sandford holds nothing back in this 13th book in the Lucas Davenport series. He brings back Clara Rinker and we are on for a wild ride. I really had no issues with anything except the ending, I wanted a different one, which probably says more about me than anything else.

In "Mortal Prey" we have Lucas and Weather planning their wedding and expecting their first child together. Lucas is going crazy with plans for their new house coming together and also with him planning on leaving the Minnesota PD to go and work for Rose Marie when she moves over to a new department as well. When the FBI calls up Lucas to ask for his help with Rinker, he decides why not, he still feels like he owes Rinker after she tried to kill him. And Lucas show more also admires Rinker especially after he is provided background on her life.

Sandford makes this a book about Rinker too. We get even more details about her and what she's been doing since she went on the run. And you actually will wish her well on her quest to take out the mafia after they kill her lover and cause her to miscarry. And you feel a bit sad, because Rinker had dreams of what her life was going to be, and now it's all up in smoke.

We have some old favs from the FBI returning, Mallard and Malone, and those two keep making some mistakes with Lucas coming along to fix. And we have new characters that Lucas meets in St. Louis.

The writing is very good. I cracked up a few times. And I have to say that I loved the women in this book. They definitely end up outsmarting a lot of men. Part of me wishes that Sandford had written a separate series for Rinker. The flow was very good too. I kept being happy when Rinker was getting away with everything.

The ending definitely shows you a big loss to Lucas that I don't even think he was expecting. show less

(Number 8 in the Davenport series.) Years ago, Lucas Davenport almost died at the hands of Clara Rinker, a pleasant, soft-spoken, low-key Southerner, and the best hitwoman in the business. Now retired and living in Mexico, she nearly dies herself when a sniper kills her boyfriend, the son of a local druglord, and while the boy's father vows vengeance, Rinker knows something he doesn't: The boy wasn't the target--she was--and now she is going to have to disappear to find the killer herself. The FBI and DEA draft Davenport to help track her down, and with his fiancé deep in wedding preparations, he's really just as happy to go--but he has no idea what he's getting into. For Rinker is as unpredictable as ever, and between her, her old show more bosses in the St. Louis mob, the Mexican drug lord, and the combined, sometimes warring, forces of U.S. law enforcement, this is one case that will get more dangerous as it goes along. And when the crossfire comes, anyone standing in the middle won't stand a chance.… show less

Things are happening in Davenports life and he doesn't need any more excitement but no one told this to the FBI or the DEA. They've drafted Lucas to help track down his old "friend", hit woman, Clara Riker who is retired and living in Mexico. Clara has had some excitement of her own when her boyfriend, the son of a local druglord, is killed. The father swears revenge but Clara knows that he wasn't the target, she was. Davenport books are always full of fast moving plots and enjoyable characters. This one will not disappoint.

Although this book's central protagonist has been the star of all the Prey novels, each novel so far has been a standalone story. In Mortal Prey we see the return of a killer from a previous book, and Clara Rinker was such a great character existing readers will welcome her return. You needn't read the previous one as this is still a self-contained story. Clara Rinker is an anti-hero, a perfect mirror image of Lucas Davenport, our hardened hero. It's that relationship between killer and cop that make Mortal Prey a pleasure to read. In fact, it seems that Clara is the central character in Mortal Prey rather than Davenport. The plot takes the chracters outside of the usual parameters of a Prey novel, which keeps it from becoming mundane, show more with a pace that keeps up for most of the book. The ending, however, is somewhat predictable, with a lack of impact and flair usually found in Sandford's work. A worthy addition to the series, but flawed none-the-less. show less

Clara Rinker, the assassin that got away, would have happily stayed south of the border living the life she always wanted to have. But when a shooter takes out not only her man, but her unborn child... she has no choice but to go back and settle the score. Called in to consult, Lucas Davenport, the one man who almost caught her, isn't a target. At least at first.

Clever, clever Clara... to bad she had to go looking for that one last bit of revenge. Like Lucas, I was sort of sorry to see her go down.