Mortal Prey – Book Review (John Sandford)

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Mortal Prey is a sequel to the book Certain Prey and the thirteenth book in the Prey series written by bestselling crime stories author John Sandford.

It follows the super-cop, Lucas Davenport, who chases Clara Rinker, a professional killer as she tries to exact revenge on her former bosses after a personal tragedy.

Mortal Prey Book Review

(May contain spoilers)

Clara Rinker has not lost her touch of guns even after fleeing from Wichita where Lucas Davenport traces her to in the previous book.

Now someone has sent a hit-man to kill her though she lives anonymously far  away from her home country. Everyone assumes that she was hit in the attempt to kill her boyfriend.

After the failed attempt on her life, Clara takes some time to recover and is taken care of by her boyfriend’s mafia family. Later, as expected, Clara Rinker starts avenging the people she thinks are responsible for the shooting.

The way Clara Rinker’s childhood is portrayed evokes sympathy from the reader.

Lucas Davenport

Lucas Davenport is his usual self, anticipating Clara Rinker’s every move. And he eventually hunts her down too.

FBI agent, Malone, gets killed by Clara Rinker increasing the pressure on the department. And the net closes in more tightly around Clara Rinker. Lucas and his group target Clara by luring her into Lucas’s wedding.

This story sees Davenport working hard to get his house renovated to make space for his new family and also according to his taste.

Lucas is getting ready for his marriage to Weather, who is pregnant. He is also in the middle of a job change following police chief Rose Marie’s exit from the department.

My thoughts

Though the story is paced well enough, I have personally not felt the spark in this book. I was so taken with Certain Prey and this was a let down to me.

The writing style does not seem to be Sandford’s and looks a little forced to me. The language too was not in tandem with other Prey novels. Makes me wonder if it really was written by John Sandford himself or if some ghost-writer penned it.

I found certain sections glaringly out of sync with other Davenport thrillers. May be after reading the breath-taking Certain Prey (A Prey Novel), I put too much expectations on Mortal Prey.

On the whole, it is a good book to curl up with on a rainy day if you have time to kill. Have a great time reading this thriller.

Buy it on Amazon now available as Mortal Prey (Lucas Davenport, No. 13).

Also read: Certain Prey – Book Review

For the review of the next book in the Prey series read Naked Prey.

For the review of the previous book in the Prey series read Chosen Prey.

For the complete list of Sandford’s Prey series books, check List Of Prey Series Books.