Silken Prey by John Sandford

Silken Prey by John Sandford

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jacket Blurb: Very early one morning, a Minnesota political fixer answers his doorbell. The next thing he knows, he’s waking up on the floor of a moving car, lying on a plastic sheet, his body wet with blood. When the car stops, a voice says, "Hey, I think he’s breathing,” and another voice says, "Yeah? Give me the bat.” And that’s the last thing he knows.  

Davenport is investigating another case when the trail leads to the man’s disappearance, then—very troublingly—to the Minneapolis police department, then—most troublingly of all—to a woman who could give Machiavelli lessons. She has very definite ideas about the way the world should work, and the money, ruthlessness, and sheer will to make it happen.  No matter who gets in the way.


This selection didn't seem to have the grittiness driving the crimes as in previous books, and maybe because of that, the plot seemed to move rather slowly.  It was rather like watching a Nascar race: you know the wreck is coming, you're anticipating the wreck - it's just a matter of when - but it's. taking. forever.

Ultimately, Silken Prey just didn't do anything for me.  Rather than finding myself sitting in the car listening to "just one more tract", I had a hard time even turning the book on.  I didn't care for the political plot in part because it felt like something out of the paper rather than fiction, the sub-plot felt a bit tacked on (and was actually more interesting than the main plot), the regular characters were trotted out for their on page appearance but didn't really contribute to the overall story, and several key points just seemed implausible.

I did thoroughly enjoy the witty dialog, the snarky comments, and the trips around the Twin Cities.  I love finding out what snazzy outfit Davenport is wearing and which car he's driving.   I love the other characters comments about his clothes.  I do like watching the guys ogle the gals, and the gals ogle right back - a nice balance of ogling.  But I don't like reading about rich people not getting their comeuppance.  There's enough of that in the papers already and it's not even fiction! 


Recommended with reservations.  It is a Davenport book after all! 



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