March 31, 2014
In bestseller Sandford’s suspenseful 24th Lucas Davenport novel (after 2013’s Silken Prey), an amorous couple’s chance discovery of a body in an abandoned cistern near Red Wing, Minn., becomes a major investigation when authorities begin excavating and the body count reaches 17 and threatens to go higher. With Bob Shaffer of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension heading the investigation, and Davenport and Goodhue County deputy Catrin Mattsson assisting, they begin looking for a serial killer/rapist who’s been operating for at least 10 years in the cluster of small towns near the cistern. When a lead investigator is killed and another targeted, the pressure builds. Meanwhile, a pair of sadists plot deadly and taunting actions to confuse the investigators, and Davenport searches desperately for a clue that will help narrow the search to manageable numbers. As always, Sandford has tricks to play to confound readers before the tension rises and leads to a violent and surprising conclusion. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.
April 15, 2014
Lucas Davenport's latest case involves at least 15 women who were raped and strangled. Maybe more. Years after Heather Jorgenson, the fifth intended victim of a murderous rapist, escaped thanks to her Leatherman knife, a pair of high school kids searching for a remote location for a tryst makes a horrifying discovery which indicates that an awful lot of women were less lucky. A cistern near Sally James' farm is filled with 15 items immediately identifiable as skulls and so much undifferentiated organic matter that it's anybody's guess how many victims were dumped there--let alone who they were. Methodical, unspectacular Bob Shaffer, of Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, is put in charge of the case, and his patient collection and sifting of facts indicates that Mary Lynn Carpenter, a candy-store owner who vanished two weeks ago, was the latest in a string of murders that may stretch back 20 years. When an uncharacteristic episode of solo snooping abruptly ends Shaffer's involvement with the case, Lucas (Silken Prey, 2013, etc.) is on hand to take over. Working with Goodhue County deputy Catrin Mattsson, he reaches the pivotal conclusion that the rapist is actually two men working together, even though one of them, ex-dogcatcher Jack Horn, seems to have died years ago. Unfortunately, this intelligence comes too late to prevent the abduction of Catrin herself, who's put through the same nightmare as all those other women while Lucas is off in Texas seeing what he can do for his close BCA friend Del Capslock, who was shot in a drug bust gone wrong. Like so many of Lucas' cases, his 26th is routine but proficient and intense. If it doesn't add anything new to the genre, it provides all the thrills fans will expect.
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Starred review from May 1, 2014
A couple of high-school lovers conclude an evening of passion in rural Minnesota by noticing a really bad smell. They inform the local cops, who find an underground cistern filled with God knows how many bodies and body parts. It's obviously not a job for local cops, so Lucas Davenport and his Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are called in. There are 15 skulls and counting when Lucas arrives. The early forensic examinations reveal the killings have been going on for years. How did someone not notice? Davenport's usual partners are engaged in other investigations, so he teams up with Catrin Mattsson, a detective with the county sheriff's office. They seem a mismatched pair at first. She resents his wealth, and he sees her as a bit of a confrontational smart-ass. They wade through a couple of false leads, one supplied by an eight-year-old beauty pageanteer whose parents view the ensuing publicity as a big break. There are a couple other investigatory sidebars, but when the killer decides Mattsson should be his next victim, the case escalates quickly. Sandford writes best-sellers more often than most of us take vacations. This is as engaging and thrilling as any of them, even with a subplot that feels unnecessary. But that's like whining about Willie Mays striking out once while hitting four home runs in a game. As always, Sandford and Lucas are superb. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: You could say same old, same old, but in Sandford's case, you'd mean another top-notch thriller destined for best-seller lists. That's the good kind of same old, same old. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)