Rating: 
Summary: RIVETING, COMPELLING. SPLENDID READINGS.
Review: John Sandford's Prey series has been called riveting, compulsively readable, and splendid. It is all of these, and the readers on the audio versions are also riveting and splendid.Eric Conger, voice performer on the abridged edition, is an accomplished actor and narrator who has the patois down pat with his sixth Prey recording. He's the recipient of a Golden Earphone Award, deservedly so. Broadway and television performer Richard Ferrone ably delivers a suspenseful reading to the Unabridged edition. This is his 12th Prey recording, and he's in top form. With 15 books in the Prey series under his belt author John Sandford just keeps getting better and better. There's no rest for popular protagonist Lucas Davenport in this one as with the discovery of a dead Russian on the shores of Lake Superior Davenport feels like it's deja vu the Cold War in today's Minnesota. As it turns out the FBI discovers that the murdered man had KGB connections. Was he a Russian intelligence agent? Everyone has both questions and theories - Davenport arrives on the scene, a Russian policeman jets in from Moscow, law enforcement officers investigate, and reporters of every ilk converge. A barrage of violent events cloud the original crime: a homeless woman is garroted, a bar owner is attacked, and a police officer is shot. Despite the confusion Davenport finds out a few things he didn't want to know - this part of his home state once sheltered a bunch of Communist sympathizers, and there's every indication that this cell is alive and well once again. Both readers take listeners on a dizzying series of twisted trails and head-ons. Don't miss it. - Gail Cooke
Rating: 
Summary: SANDFORD - STILL TOPS
Review: John Sandford's Prey series has been called riveting, compulsively readable, and splendid. It is all of these. Then, just when you think this author couldn't possibly pen a story any more dynamite reading than the last he does. "Hidden Prey" is Sandford in top form - it's surprising, exciting with action aplenty. There's little rest for popular protagonist Lucas Davenport in this one. With the discovery of a dead Russian on the shores of Lake Superior Davenport feels like it's deja vu the Cold War in today's Minnesota. Before long the FBI discovers that the murdered man had KGB connections. Was he a Russian intelligence agent? Everyone has both questions and theories - Davenport arrives on the scene, a Russian policeman jets in from Moscow, law enforcement officers investigate, and reporters of every ilk converge. A barrage of violent events cloud the original crime: a homeless woman is garroted, a bar owner is attacked, and a police officer is shot. Despite the confusion Davenport finds out a few things he didn't want to know - this part of his home state once sheltered a bunch of Communist sympathizers, and there's every indication that this cell is alive and well once again. There's much for Davenport to retrace - another place, another time - all of which puts him in peril. Yet, this must be done before he can begin to unravel this many layered mystery.
If you liked "Naked Prey" you'll be delighted WIth "Hidden Prey." Or, if you haven't read any of the Prey series - treat yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Just great!
Review: Lucas Davenport is the main character in this fast-paced, sprawling, well-thought-out thriller. With lots of spies, Russians, intrigue, secrets, and twists and turns, this John Sanford page-turner will do a lot of things, but disappoint is not one of them. Why was a man shot with fifty-year-old bullets? You'll have to read this stellar achievement to find out. My only hesitation: The "synopsis" that a few are touting sounds complicated and misleading. Don't worry. This is a great, fun, and quick read. Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
Rating:
Summary: The streak continues
Review: Man, you would think that Sanford would run out of new things to put Davenport through - wrong. This one is purely for the readers who have followed Davenport throughout. And for the new readers - this is what good writing and plot movement is all about. For many reasons, I found this book to be the best since Certain Prey. Police work is top notch, very funny, good descriptions, some old characters popping in, and Davenport doing Davenport things. This series has been so good to me I sometimes forget this guy is fictional. Why not 5 stars?? Sanford has written better (Sudden Prey, Certain Prey), but nevertheless still better a LOT out there by far.
Rating: 
Summary: I agree with the others!
Review: Maybe with Lucas davenport getting married this series has finally "jumped the shark." The plot never really came together for me and I found myself laboring to get through each chapter. And this from some one who is a big John Sanford fan. I recomend you read one of the earlier "Prey" books, or check out "A TOURIST IN THE YUCATAN" little known but interesting thriller
Rating:
Summary: Sandford Pleases Once Again
Review: Over and over Sandford has made happy people out of those who decide to follow the tales and escapades of Lucas Davenport. This time using the old tensions left from the Cold War, Sandford lures us in with tales of espionage and times forgotten. He uses past fears of the indominable Russians to help keep the reader on edge. A real page turner.
Rating:
Summary: Great Series Continues: Hidden Prey By John Sandford
Review: Picking up six months after "Naked Prey" the series continues with Lucas Davenport still with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BAC). Officially, he runs the Office of Regional Research within the BAC. Unofficially, he is the Governor's man for sticky problems where the worlds of politics and crime intersect. The murder of a Russian on the shores of Lake Superior has fast become a political problem and Davenport's talents are needed. The dead man has finally been identified as Rodion Oleshev and he was shot three times-once in the heart and twice in the forehead. He died two weeks ago on a concrete slab next to a grain elevator on the shores of Lake Superior one night. The death of what apparently was at one time a KGB agent has become a major political problem. The dead man, not only was still a spy, but also was the son of a very high-ranking person in the Oil Ministry in Russia. The father has talked to Putin and the Russian Embassy has contacted the State Department. The ball has rolled downhill gathering steam and urgency and now Rose Marie Roux, Davenport's longtime boss, is handling the issue to Davenport. The Russians are sending someone to oversee the investigation and review it. Rose Marie wants Davenport to make sure that everything that could be done has been done and to make sure the Russian is happy. Send the Russian back home satisfied and make everyone look good, especially the BAC, because yet another budgetary cutback is in store for the new agency. Davenport begins to investigate while awaiting the arrival of the Russian by talking to the Feds. The FBI is running the investigation, not as a homicide but as an intelligence operation trying to uncover possible Russian deep cover assets in the area. They have virtually nothing after two weeks and ask Davenport to share whatever information he uncovers in the course of his homicide investigation and not to blow their case. That is, if they can ever develop anything. With no leads and no suspects, a somewhat bored Davenport is thrilled with the prospects whether he wants to publicly admit it or not. Despite political problems and other issues such as the real reasons the Russian has arrived, Davenport begins to make progress. Before long, Davenport is tearing up the countryside in search of suspects and John Sandford has this reader pulled deep into his view of the world once again. As in other novels of this series, almost everyone is back, a little older and a little wiser, and still very interested in getting all the bad guys no matter what. The case becomes more and more complex as secrets from before the cold war come to light. This is another very good read from John Sandford and well worth your time. Most of the books in this series can't be read as stand alones. However, with just a couple of minor references to earlier novels in the series, this one certainly could be read as a stand alone and would serve as an excellent introduction to a strong series well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: The Fascinating Evolution of Lucas Davenport
Review: The writing of John Sandford is like a drug. Go ahead and pick up one of his Lucas Davenport novels --- yeah, right there on that shelf, any one with the word "PREY" as the second word of the two-word title --- and start reading. Davenport is a wise guy with power, and that is a potentially dangerous combination, except that he's smart enough to know when to rein it in, at least most of the time. He's such an interesting character --- independently wealthy, a magnet for women, intelligent --- that he kind of takes on a life of his own. It's easy to forget that he is Sandford's creation; Davenport is only as good as Sandford can be. Fortunately for the reader, that is very, very good indeed. The latest Davenport novel, HIDDEN PREY, pretty much begins where NAKED PREY left off, with Davenport comfortably ensconced in domestic tranquility with wife Weather and baby Sam, and in his almost-new job as a troubleshooter for the Minnesota State Police. Davenport's new life, if you will, is a terrific plot device, removing him from the Minneapolis area and letting him beat around to the more exotic, less traveled parts of Minnesota. Marriage doesn't cramp Davenport's style as much as one would expect, mostly because his style has changed; he doesn't chafe under the yoke of monogamy or even seem to regard it as much of a yoke. As the old joke goes, Davenport is of mixed heritage possessing roamin' eyes and rushin' hands --- he keeps his hands in check even if his eyes do check out the scenery. The scenery, in this case, is Russian --- one Nadezhda "call me Nadya" Kalin. Kalin is officially a Russian policewoman, but it soon becomes evident that she is at once something more and less than that. She has come to the United States to investigate the murder of Vladimir Orslov, a Russian national who met a violent and unexpected end on the dark piers of Lake Superior. Orslov, it turns out, is the son of a very powerful man in the new Russian government. The reason for Orslov's murder is unclear; it might be robbery, violent happenstance, or political assassination. The Russians want some closure on the matter, and the quicker, the better. When an elderly woman thought to have witnessed the murder meets a violent end as well, Davenport and the local police are at loose ends, unsure if it is a serial killer who is at large or if there is something more nefarious occurring. Indeed, there is more --- much more --- roiling beneath the surface in small towns and byways of upstate Minnesota, including a mystery linking generations of families and surreptitious activities conducted at the behest of a foreign master that has all but forgotten its servants. Sandford, always a master, continues to outshine himself here. He keeps the reader ahead of Davenport's curve of knowledge, but only slightly, feeding out just enough information to keep things progressing nicely, while Davenport occasionally wanders in the wrong direction only to stumble back onto the right path with a combination of street smarts, intelligence and dogged police work. Kalin almost steals HIDDEN PREY away from Davenport...oh, what the heck, she does steal it, with a combination of charm and an endearing misunderstanding of English metaphors. Sandford additionally gives his reader a bit of a travelogue of the smaller towns and hamlets of rural Minnesota. Hibbing, for example, is on the map primarily due to its being the birthplace of Bob Dylan, but I did not know until reading HIDDEN PREY that there is a Virginia, Minnesota, and that its five block main drag is of some notorious interest. In HIDDEN PREY Sandford continues to develop Davenport's evolution as a character, keeping his core personality familiar while constantly and subtly continuing to change and shape his surface. While Davenport as a character is strong enough to have some scenes stolen from him, it might be nice if Sandford could find a way to bring Kalin back to Minnesota at some time in the future. That possibility alone makes the next Davenport novel worth anticipating. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Rating:
Summary: Solid
Review: There is less suspense in Hidden Prey than in previous volumes. The plot is also a bit predictable, sort of like Lucas Davenport's life. In the end, most series turn into a lovefest between the reader and the characters. Lucas is no longer the wild man of earlier volumes. He's settled, middle-aged and happy, but the dialogue still crackles and the characters are like old friends, no longer full of surprises but still pretty interesting. I give it four stars and look forward to the next in this consistently excellent series.
Rating: 
Summary: The worst of the Prey novels
Review: This is an extremely disappointing book. The plot is boring and slow because Davenport doesn't do much but go from one murder scene to the other. He is more a crime scene tourist than a detective. Nothing he does moves to solve the case. Nothing! A passive hero is a classic writing 101 mistake. The Russian intelligence officer is also a cliche. I suppose her "What is this ____? What is this ____?" is intended to be humorous but it gets old very fast.
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