Buried Prey by John Sanford

Buried Prey is one of John Sanford’s later works in his Lucas Davenport series but herein reveals the younger, hungrier Davenport at the beginning of his career with a taste for fast cars, fine clothes and attractive women.

In present day Minneapolis, the bodies of two young women are discovered at a construction site near the university.  Davenport recognizes the bodies from his first big case twenty five years earlier.  He flashes back to his brief time as a patrolman destined for greater things.  His tenacity in the kidnap investigation gains him temporary detective status and leads him to a person of interest, a homeless schizophrenic living down by the river.  Pursuit of the suspect results in the police fatally shooting the homeless man and the kidnapping is conveniently pinned on the deceased.  But Davenport doesn’t believe the homeless guy capable of the crime yet politics and media attention demand a quick solution.  Davenport vows to find the real killer but his natural savvy in manipulating the news media and politicians in solving crime catapults his career leaving his first case a distant memory.  Now 25 years later with evidence the girls were murdered, Davenport feels his complacency may have unleashed a serial killer.  His ego fueled by regret, Davenport will stop at nothing to find the real killer.  But his family and friends worry that his unleashed obsession will make him ignore police procedure and legalities that will mar his career if not cost him his life.

Buried Prey is a good starting point for readers not so familiar with John Sanford’s prolific Lucas Davenport series.  We see the young Lucas Davenport developing his own brand of justice… following the rules where necessary but skillfully manipulating the system to get the desired results… a dangerous but effective formula.