She then collects her money and returns to her home base in Wichita, Kansas, where she owns a bar. Rinker arrives in Minneapolis and smoothly dispatches Barbara Allen. Once Barbara is out of the way, Carmel figures to help Hale get over his loss ASAP. Carmel has kept her desire for Allen a secret and, through the intercession of a drug dealer she successfully defended, she hires Carla Rinker to kill Allen's wife, Barbara. The problem is that Allen is married and thus, for the moment at least, unavailable. Actually, Lucas is up against two great antagonists in this story: Rinker, who is a particularly deadly professional hitwoman and Carmel Loan, a man-eating, ass-kicking Minneapolis criminal attorney.Īs the story opens, Carmel Loan has fallen madly for Hale Allen, a sexy but rather dimwitted attorney who also works in her firm. Sandford is famous for creating terrific villains and the main antagonist here, Clara Rinker, is perhaps his best. and, later, of the Minnesota State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This is probably my favorite book in John Sandford's Prey series, featuring Lucas Davenport of the Minneapolis P.D. This is the third time I've read Certain Prey and I enjoyed it even more this time around. His wife, Susan, died of metastasized breast cancer in May, 2007, and is greatly missed.Īfter reading a handful of books lately that didn't really meet my expectations, I decided to take no chances and read (again) a book I knew I'd love. He has two children, Roswell and Emily, and one grandson, Benjamin. He is the principal financial backer of a major archeological project in the Jordan Valley of Israel, with a website at In addition to archaeology, he is deeply interested in art (painting) and photography. He's also the author of two non-fiction books, one on plastic surgery and one on art. From 1990 to the present he has written thriller novels. Paul Pioneer-Press from 1978-1990 in 1980, he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, and he won the Pulitzer in 1986 for a series of stories about a midwestern farm crisis.

He was a reporter for The Miami Herald from 1971-78, and then a reporter for the St.

Army from 1966-68, worked as a reporter for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian from 1968-1970, and went back to the University of Iowa from 1970-1971, where he received a master's degree in journalism. In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. He then spent four years at the University of Iowa, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. John Sandford was born John Roswell Camp on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Certain prey sequel