Twisted Prey by John Sandford

Financially, Lucas Davenport doesn’t need to work.  He gained wealth early in his career by successfully starting a computer game company then selling it for a ridiculous profit.  Plus his wife, Weather is a well-respected surgeon.  Lucas’ law enforcement career could have ended with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension where he solved many of the toughest cases.  But with his political connections Lucas was able to land a job as a U.S. Marshall with the luxury of working only the cases he finds interesting… a way of scratching his itch for the thrill of the hunt.  Lucas didn’t know when he took the job, however, he’d get pulled into a dangerous fight between the two Minnesota U.S. Senators that would threaten his reputation and his life as well as the lives of his family.

Senator Porter Smalls is injured when his vehicle driven by a female aide is forced off the road near his remote cabin in the mountains of West Virginia.  His aide is killed and the senator is convinced the murderers were hired by his nemesis Senator Taryn Grant and intended to kill him.  Senator Grant has aspirations to be president and knows Smalls will stand in her way.  Years earlier she had anonymously planted kiddie porn on Smalls’ computer to defeat him in a senatorial election.  Smalls has since proven his innocence and subsequently was elected to the second seat for Minnesota senators.  But Grant is careful and sneaky.  She has connections to some ex-military special ops guys who are professionals in covert operations and in covering their tracks… an apparent mismatch for a former state cop now U.S. Marshall Davenport.

Lucas does what he does best… collaborates with and uses the resources of several law enforcement agencies to gather evidence… this time about the accident.  But as Lucas closes in, he and his wife become targets.  Lucas must put his life on the line to find evidence that leads through these professionally trained mercenaries to the twisted Senator Grant.

Twisted Prey is number 28 in John Sandford’s prey series and is just more of what his fans love… Lucas Davenport chasing the bad guys and charming everyone else along the way.  I wouldn’t categorize this one as a page turner but a solid, enjoyable read… pretty much what we expect from John Sandford.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.