Guest reviewer Kevin Tipple is back with his review of a mystery novel. Check out his blog Kevin's Corner for more book reviews and book news, as well as links to topics of interest.
Reviewed by Kevin Tipple
The
United States Marshals went to pick up Clayton Deese after he failed to show up
for trial. Everyone knows Clayton Deese did the crime he is wanted for and if
it was not for bureaucratic issues they would not already be at least three
days behind me. His ankle monitor went
dark at about the same time that he failed to show up for court. No doubt he
has left his home in a rural area of Louisiana. Still, Marshals Rae Givens and
Bob Matees and F. B. I. Agent Tremanty have to raid the house Deese was living
in to make sure he really left. If he is gone, a manhunt will begin as they
need to apprehend this guy, not only for what they know he did, but because he
is a link to a far bigger target.
When
law enforcement hits the house, it is clear that Deese is long gone and is
never coming back. The house sits on a large piece of land that has a swamp
like area outback that is thickly wooded with at least one trail back into the
woods. A trail that clearly gets frequent use. A trail that goes quite a
distance back in where there is thick ground cover and clearly more open areas
that could be more than one shallow grave. Maybe many graves.
What
is found means US Marshal Lucas Davenport is soon on the way to help track down
the missing Clayton Deese. A hunt for a contract killer who occasionally
indulges in a taste for human flesh. A contract killer who happens to be in
close contact with some other folks in another part of the country that also
need to be stopped as soon as possible.
The
latest in a long line of thrillers by John Sandford, Neon Prey, is another
good one. As true with earlier books in the Lucas Davenport series in
recent years, the bad guys and girls are known to the reader from their first
introduction. Unlike the way it was when this series started when there was a
complexity to the reads and there was a solid mystery, there is no mystery at
all here expect for the fact Law Enforcement does not know from the start just
how bad Clayton Deese is or the identities of some other folks who also need to
be stopped. This book is a straight action read where the pace is fast,
chapters are short, descriptions of locations are kept to a minimum, and the
clock to prevent more carnage is always ticking. For writers, this read, as has
the last several in the series, fits the old adage ascribed to Elmore Leonard
about leaving out the parts that readers tend to skip.
Pure
escapism, Neon Prey, is another good one in the Lucas Davenport Series.
Neon Prey: A Lucas Davenport Novel
John Sandford
Random House Large Print
April 2019
ISBN#978-1-9848-8283-7
Paperback (also available in hardback, audio, and digital formats)
480 Pages (461 pages are the actual story)
$31.00
Material
supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Public Library System.
Kevin
R. Tipple ©2019
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