Customer Reviews (68) 
Sandford's second Lucas Davenport mystery/thriller/police prodecural novel
This is the second of John Sandford's successful series of mystery/thriller/police procedural novels starring Detective Lucas Davenport of the Minneapolis Police Department.The antagonist is a cabal of Native Americans attempting to avenge society's mistreatment of their ethnic group through a nationwide series of murders.Sandford instills a morally ambiguious theme to their crusade: in the introduction, he explains that this novel originally had more political overtones before he softened the presentation.Having fathered a child with his ex-reporter girlfriend Jennifer, Lucas now is attracted to NYPD detective Lily Rotherburg who has traveled to Minneapolis to help with the case.The story drags at times (especially some Lucas/Lily scenes) but builds to an explosive ending.Like other reviewers, I did not enjoy this as much as the first novel "Rules Of Prey" but I still plan to continue with this series.
Davenport and Rothenburg against the Crows
An Indian uprising of sorts is the plot of the second "Prey" novel and is a gripping page-turner from start to finish. The killers are headquartered in Minneapolis, which gets Lucas Davenport involved in a case that already has claimed three high-profile victims. Lily Rothenburg, a New York detective, is assigned to Lucas to track down the murderers, and this pairing results in a romantic, whirlwind relationship. Sparks fly between Lucas and Lily but they know that their smoldering passion for each other must take a back seat to solving the puzzle of who and why is behind the gory killings. An FBI director, the youngest bureau chief since J. Edgar Hoover, figures prominently in the story and he has a deep, dark secret he must keep hidden in the shadows of his early life. The Crows, self-appointed avengers of past wrongs and injustices suffered by Indians, are ritualistic killers, but it is Billy Hood and Shadow Love who pose the greatest danger to Davenport and Rothenburg. This book is a wonderful follow-up to the first successful novel in this series.
No Go
I really wasn't too impressed with the book from page 1. What really cinched it for me was the portrayal of Davenport's love interest, Lily. Mr. Sandford described Lily as a hardcore, overweight, police lieutenant with huge, bushy eyebrows. Not exactly romance material. I didn't finish the book. I know Lily is in the next book, so I'll pass that one up too.
Sandford's "Shadow Prey" does not Belly Up to the Bar.
In his crackerjack debut RULES OF PREY, New York Times bestselling author John Sandford did a phenomenal job in providing his readers with a womanizing and no-nonsense hero in Minneapolis homicide detective Lucas Davenport. He has amazed his readers in portraying Lucas' breeching tactics upon catching the villains. Such literary elements like the ones mentioned are lacked in his following entry SHADOW PREY.
In chapter two of his notorious Prey series, the ball that Sandford hits with this book falls right into the sandpit. Throughout the entire police procedure, enter through the investigation of several murders, those of a slumlord, welfare supervisor, rising politician and federal judge. For those that may ask on what the connection lies in between all of them, it is in regard to every victim having their throat cut out with an Indian ceremony knife. Throughout the investigation, Lucas partners up with Lily Rothenberg, a married NYPD detective on a personal pursuit of her own to find the killers. Together on the case, both Lucas and Lily ramshackle their way through the derelict streets of Minneapolis; they go on their cat-and-mouse pursuit through urine-stenched residencies to hunt down a group of Native Americans who are driven with a distinct purpose. The ringleader of this particular group, Shadow Love, is one is self-willed and will allow nothing to stand in his way of what he attempts to achieve. It is up to both Lucas and Lily to prevent the body count from rising...that is if they can.
SHADOW PREY, nonetheless, falls short to Sandford's standards with writing a good, solid story. He fails to indulge his readers with the story elements that made him successful in his previous Prey novel RULES OF PREY. The myriad number of inconsistencies that the author tends to draws can and will annoy his fans scene in and out. For starters, the pace of the book in a few of the scenes tends to drag on from time to time. It thereby has the reader finding the storyline to become tiresome at times. Aside form the slow pacing, Sandford fails to weave together all of the loose ends of the story; it makes for nothing but an execrable hodgepodge. Chapter in and out, you are sitting in your seat at home constantly cheering for Sandford to resolve the issues he has going on in the story, only to find yourself disappointed at the end of the road. In addition to all of that, the biggest mistake that torpedoes SHADOW PREY is that Sandford gets too caught up and focused into the loving relationship between Lucas and Lily rather than the case at hand. Readers will find this element portrayed by the writer to rather distracting from scene to scene.
Despite the endless flaws in SHADOW PREY, Sandford does nevertheless make an attempt to compensate them through a few of the intriguing elements that he creates. In one of the good strengths that he portrays through the book, Sandford does a great job with providing his readers with a different lens on the main storyline involving racism. He cleverly gets his readers to view the morality of racism through the vendetta that this Native American group has, especially through a background of people that nobody hears about. The author's most enjoyable function upon creating this entry involves portraying to his readers a more sensitive and vulnerable side of Lucas Davenport. Throughout midway of the story, Davenport almost loses his life in a hostage negotiation with one of the killers. Following the sudden takedown of this particular villain, Lucas is thereby traumatized and plagued with the ghosts of this ordeal.
Overall, it is sad to say that Sandford lets his readers down after a heart-stopping debut. The major inconsistencies throughout the book make it read like a rough draft. As you read along, you will find the many mistakes he uses to become a major headache. Any reader that intends on picking up one of John Sandford's books will be better off if they skip this particular entry.
In the Shadows
It was a decent novel but not quite the best that I have read of John's novels.
Hope Lucas gets back with the mother of his child, they seem meant for each other on some level.
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