Saturday, June 14, 2008

"Invisible Prey"

"Invisible Prey" is a Lucas Davenport novel by John Sandford, © 2007, ISBN: 978-0-425-22115-1, paperback, 420 pages.

My boredom with "In Plain Sight" continues. Wondering what in the world the people giving rave reviews can possibly see in it makes me think it might be a taste that takes a long time for me to acquire. I might like Marshall and definitely do like the little boy the second episode's about, but isn't the main character's name Mary Shannon? Why did she tell the judge her name is Sara White? Whatever. "In Plain Sight" is so bad, I reach for another book and happily begin rereading what I read a year or two ago.

But, I'm here to to give you my 2¢ about "Invisible Prey" by John Sandford while my first impression is still fresh.

Sandford is an author who tends to occasionally drift over to the dark side. I like Lucas Davenport and the rest of the good guys & gals that populate the "Prey" books so much, however, that I keep reading them.

Fortunately, "Invisible Prey" doesn't get into the really grisly details. We find out right away that serial killing's the crime, but there's little resemblance in the book to the creep or deeds seen in the movie, "The Silence of the Lambs" based on the book by Thomas Harris.

I highly recommend "Invisible Prey" for the story and the likable characters. The craftiness behind the murders in "Invisible Prey" and the tactics taken by the guilty make for page-turning intrigue. The bonus is what we learn from it about antiques.

One piece of advice: Don't read it immediately after reading "Echo Park" by Michael Connelly as I did because Sandford's style comes across as rough, even jagged, after Connelly's smooth flow. It's not that Sandford's writing actually is rough or unpolished; it's just that Connelly's writing is such a contrast that it seems that way.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I didn't connect it until I read your part about her name in court being different. I hadn't been paying full attention to the show when Stan and Marshall started talking about that it was okay for her to use an alias in court without fear of perjury because she was a US Marshall and protecting her witness. I didn't actually notice that she used Sara instead of Mary. However, that's why the names are different. You are clearly paying closer attention than I am! I just watch it as "fluff". It works for me until Burn Notice comes back on in July. :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks, I missed the Stan and Marshall part that explains it.

"Burn Notice" is great! I'm enjoying the reruns.