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46 of 51 found the following review helpful:
 SANDFORD LEADS THE SUSPENSE GENRE!May 11, 2001
By Brad Stonecipher
All of us Sandford fans deeply look forward each year for early May to come around because that mostly means the release of a new Prey novel! In "Chosen Prey," Minneapolis Detective, Lucas Davenport, along with Marcy Sherrill, Sloan, Del, and Weather (Lucas fiance), return in one of John Sandford's most interesting and exciting Prey novels that he has written. The plot: James Qatar is a prestegious history professor at St. Patrick University in Minneapolis. He has a very secretive life on the side. He enjoys playing kinky sex games with women he barely knows and ends up killing them for pleasure. He also enjoys taking pictures of women and distorting their figures to look like they are participating in grotesque sexual activities. His method of murder: a rope. James Qatar is a very sick individual that has killed over eight women in three states. None of the cops have been able to link him to the murder. When a murdered women turns up in the barren woods, close to home to Lucas Davenport, he vows to find this killer who killed this beautiful woman. After investigating for a while, and with the assistance of and out of state officer, he discovers that three other women have mysteriously disappeared in Wisconsin. All these murders/ disappearances are connected. Can Davenport and the gang get James Qatar before he claims his next victim? The twelfth novel in this amazing series is a definite success!
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
 Better than Easy Prey,but......Jul 08, 2001
By Surya B
The 12th installment in the prey series starts off promisingly, slows down in the middle and again picks off in the end.This book is definitely better than the authors last release Easy Prey but it still falls short of expectations.The novel introduces the killer James Qatar, right in the first page and then develops the character of the killer quite convincingly and that's what makes this book interesting and better than Easy Prey because in this novel the author takes pain to develop each and every character,but the main drawback atleast according to me is the lack of interaction between the killer and the Lucas Davenport,if the author had atleast introduced some cat and mouse game between these two characters then the book would have been more fun.So basically this book runs on two parallel plots, one plot runs on Qatars actions and his character devlopment which according to me has been handled quite convincingly and the other plot runs on Lucas trying to find the killer which is not handled properly at all and even the clues by which Lucas traces the killer are far fetched and has got nothing to do with his intelligence and has got more to do by the mistakes made by the killer.Overall this book is better than EasyPrey because the loose ends are very few,the Qatars character is very well developed and the pace of the novel is very fast.If you are a fan of Lucas Davenport then you won't be disappointed.
24 of 27 found the following review helpful:
4 stars as part of a series 2 stars as a stand alone bookAug 31, 2001
By Andy Edie
This was a hard book for me to rate. I have read the previous books in Sandford's Prey series, eleven in all. As a reader who is familiar with all long running characters and plot threads, reading this book was like running into an old friend you have not seen in years, and talking like you live next door to each other. It was a pleasure to read simply for the continued evolution of the characters I have grown to know and love.On the other hand, as a passable, stand alone novel, Sandford falls so far short of his past triumphs that I wonder if this does not signal the end for Lucas Davenport and company. Gone is all the tension, suspense, and thrill-of-the-chase that was so prevalent in many of the early Prey books. It has been replaced with a tired reworking of past Prey villains and a soap opera pace. In fact, the hunt for the bad guy plays a secondary role to Lucas' relationship with his ex-fiancée. It is writing like this that leads me to believe that Sandford is trying to stage a stopping point in this series. If you have not read the previous Prey books, perhaps your money or time would be better spent reading a different book. If you are a Prey veteran, then carry on.
13 of 15 found the following review helpful:
DAVENPORT...BACK IN A MASTERFUL NOVELMay 08, 2001
By Nick G
He desires women, all women, many different types of women. He studies their beauty. He takes pictures of them to create art masterpieces. He takes the pictures one step further...digitaly enhancing them, and turning them into repulsive works of pornography. His desire for women, and his "art" is taken a little further by murder... After his first killing he realized he liked it, and wanted more. When the body of Julie Aronson is found, Lucas Davenport is called to the crime scene. The body has been dead eighteen months, and Davenport does not have a clue, except the photo of the girl when she was alive. When several other women come forward to explain how they were also photographed by a man, for art purposes, only to find their photos have also been altered into filth, Davenport knows he is on the trail of a psycho. As each killing becomes more daring, Davenport and his usual gang of coherts go head-to-head with a monster with one thing on his mind...blood. While 'Chosen Prey' discloses the killer's identity early on, the reader is still plunged head first into a suspenseful ride, with twists and turns to keep the pages turning. As always in a 'Prey' novel, the characterization is rich, and the plot razor sharp. John Sandford has been writing the 'Prey' series for many years, and some of the entries are good, and some are not so good, 'Chosen Prey' is one of the best; the plot races along combining page-turning action, and the emotional drama surrounding it's main characters guaranteed to keep readers up all night. Fans of this series will not be disappointed.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
The domestication of Davenport?May 27, 2001
Let me preface my review with the statement that I have copies of all the previous Prey novels and have been known to re-read them. That's how much I enjoyed them. This one runs true to form--sadistic killer on the loose, one we get to meet and attempt to understand, with Davenport one step behind. Along with the hunt we get the usual snappy dialogue among Lucas's colleagues. The appearance of Joe Kidd added a little extra as did Lucas's reaction to his interest in Marcie. Sanford has a gift for characterization that makes them come alive; this book is no exception. As usual the writing is superb, the plot as intricate as the previous Prey novels. Although a good read, I found the sub-plot between Lucas and Weather distracting and of little or no interest. Babymaking!! Puhlease! It may be that I prefer Lucas as a free spirit and am not quite ready for him to grow up. Enough already, bring back the hardcore police work colored by the distractions previously experienced by Davenport.
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