I enjoyed Rules of Prey, the first entry in Mr. Sandford's long-running Prey series, so I happily picked up Shadow Prey, the second book in the series. This was very good, too: lots of tension, good banter between the cops, a challenging case, and some interesting fringe stuff involving central character Lucas Davenport and the domestic challenges he's facing with his newest lady love.
Like the first book in the series, there's nothing really new here, but I think that's the point: Mr. Sandford knows what a good cop thriller should be and delivers it, not worrying about throwing in gimmicky plot contrivances to set it apart from other thrillers. The entertainment comes from solid craftmanship, Sandford's eye for detail, a dozen or so engaging characters, and a good thriller story.
I also liked the shades of grey that complicate the proceedings in several areas. For example, one can't really blame the criminal antagonists in the story for wanting to accomplish their goals, which is to draw attention to the injustices against American Indians and exact revenge for one particular injustice. But things quickly spiral out of control when the antagonists use new violence to respond to old violence. And things are further complicated because one of the antagonists really likes doing violence, with "the cause" only being a convenient excuse to undertake it.
Shadow Prey is available on Kindle for $6.39. The accompanying image shows the original hardback edition of the novel.
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