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NAKED PREY
by John Sandford
Recorded Books, January 2003
Unabridged audiobook pages
$79.75
ISBN: 1402543964


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Buy or rent from www.recordedbooks.com

Alive, inter-racial couple Jane Warr and Deon Cash draw little notice from the townsfolk of Broderick, Minnesota. Dead, they attract the attention of the entire country. When 12-year-old Letty West finds the pair beaten and hung by their necks from a tree, it's assumed by the press that the two have been lynched. The fact that they're naked only adds fuel to the fire. But it's a fire the governor wants doused, and the man to do the dousing is Lucas Davenport.

Assigned as a troubleshooter to the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Lucas is sent to Broderick along with his long-time working partner, Del Capstock. Their mission is to assist the local and state police while downplaying the lynching aspect of the crime to the press.

Letty West may be young in age, but as Lucas and Del soon discover, emotionally, she's more adult than many grown-ups. Letty lives in an old house outside of town with her alcoholic mother. Desperate for cash, Letty traps muskrats and sells them for their fur. It was while checking her traps that Letty found the bodies, and she has no reservations about discussing her find with either Lucas or the press. Letty becomes something of a media celebrity, but Lucas isn't worried about that.

With the help of his bosses back in the state capital, Lucas has discovered a connection between Deon Cash and an unsolved kidnapping of a young Minnesota girl. It soon becomes clear that Cash and Warr were murdered as an act of revenge for the kidnapping. The case appears solved, but then a second murder occurs.

Lucas and Del find themselves digging deeper into the first crime, following leads that take them to a casino operated by Native Americans and a car repair shop owned by a Broderick businessman. Cash's connection to a Kansas City mob opens another door in the investigation when Lucas is made aware of a stolen car ring operating in the area.

His suspicions increase when he learns that a group of inter-denominational religious women led by an ex-nun are transporting cars across the border from Minnesota into Canada. While the women deny any wrongdoing, Lucas suspects the cars they're driving may be carrying drugs from one country to the other. Lucas leans on the auto repair shop owner for answers, but then that man and his wife go missing. Lucas and Del soon find themselves in a race against time, searching for a killer desperate to wipe out any and all witnesses to his crimes.

The opening sequence of this book is both graphic and horrifying, but if listeners can get beyond the shocking first scenes, they'll be hooked on the rest of this complicated story. Lucas and Del are portrayed as the ultimate professionals as they go about their work in a solid policeman-like way.

Letty, though, is the character who steals the show, grabbing at the listener's heart while similarly worming her way into Lucas' affections. Fans of Sandford will care about what happens to this little girl even as, in the end, they will care about the tiny band of women who pursue a secret, and ultimately sacred, mission from their backwoods Minnesota headquarters.

Read by professional actor and narrator Richard Ferrone, NAKED PREY is a nail-biter that will keep listeners on the edge of their seats up to the bitter and ultimately satisfying end. A fine addition to a long-running series.

Reviewed by Mary V. Welk, April 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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