Review of Storm Prey

Storm Prey
John Sanford
Putnam
408 pages
Lucas Davenport is still the top cop after all these years.
Lucas has his hands full when a group of bumbling thieves knock off the pharmacy of University hospital and in the process kill one of the pharmacy techs. University Hospital is where Weather, Lucas’s wife is a surgeon and she has no time to be scared, she’s got conjoined twins to save, so when she sees one of the possible villains she’s in harm’s way. Now she and Lucas are in a constant battle as she tries to go about her normal hair-raising day and he tries to keep her safe.
You’d think that after this long in a series that there would be staleness, you’d be wrong. In this the 20th in the series John gives us as usual in his exceptional style of storytelling a whopper of a tale. A plot that could be and probably is taken off the front pages of a newspaper and yet with his particular flare gives it it’s uniqueness. His dialogue is precise and clear-cut, the man does not believe in over wordy novels, there’s an enormous dose of cop-speak so be prepared for large amounts of cursing and other crass behavior, it’s also descriptive in detail as he takes us through various parts of Minneapolis during the winter season. You will also get a taste of his incomparable humor don’t be surprised that one minute someone is dying and the next moment you’re laughing out loud. You will have a reunion with all the characters associated with the Prey series that you’ve come to like, and the co-star in this one is Virgil Flowers who now has a series of his own. The villains are an example of why you shouldn’t have children with your first cousin and yet in their stupidity they get unbelievable breaks.
Those of you addicted to Lucas will get your all deserved fix. Those of you who have never read him, what is wrong with you and better yet what are you waiting for. Be prepared for a chilling thriller to keep you cool in this summer heat.