The Days of Prey Tour: Broken Prey - John Sandford

There are no words for the excitement I experienced when I was invited to participate in the TLC Days of Prey Tour, in honor of John Sandford's newest release "Storm Prey", which launches on 5/18. I have been reading the Prey series for well over fifteen years, starting with the debut "Rules of Prey" and working my way through them all. I chose to re-read and review one of my favorites, "Broken Prey":

Title and series number of the book you read: Broken Prey (#16)

Year published: 2005

Tell us about Lucas Davenport:

• What is Lucas doing when he first appears in the book? Set up the scene.

Lucas has been called to the scene of a vicious murder of a young woman. He and Sloan are working the case. Aspects of the case do not indicate an act of passion, but one that is planned, cold and calculated. Lucas receives input from his childhood friend turned psychiatrist nun Elle.

Lucas is also attempting to shed a few pounds through a low-carb diet. He aimlessly wanders around the house, lonely, while Weather, the kids and the housekeeper are enjoying a maxillo-facial surgery fellowship in London for three months.

Weather recently purchased Lucas an iPod with a hundred dollar iTunes gift card. Lucas has accepted this as a challenge to compile the top 100 rock and roll tunes in which to load on his new device.

Sloan is burned out and considering quitting the job and opening a bar. He pledges to load the top 100 rock and roll songs on the bar's juke box.

• Give us a sense of time and place.

Summer in the twin cities, current with date of publication.

• Lucas’s occupation or professional role?

Lucas works for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), a state unit specialized in solving atypical crimes. He acts as a fixer of sorts for the Governor and Marie Roux, the commissioner of public safety. In Broken Prey, he is teamed up with his buddy Sloan, and gets a little help from Shrake and Jenkins as well.

• Lucas’s personal status (single, dating, married):

Lucas has settled down into married life with Weather, their toddler son, Sam, and his their ward, Letty. That doesn't stop him from noticing an attractive female, or an attractive female noticing HIM. After all, he is THE DUDE.

• Lucas Davenport is a known clothes-horse; did you notice any special fashion references?

I've always admired Lucas for his fashion sense. He sort of breaks all the rules as a police officer, not only with his clothes, but with his hot red Porsche. Here are some examples of his attire in Broken Prey:

"He was wearing a gray summer-weight wool-and-silk suit from Prada, over black shoes with a pale blue silk golf shirt, open at the neck."

"He finished dressing, picking out a good-looking Versace blue suit and tie, a Hermes necktie, blue over-the-calf socks with small coffee-colored comets woven into them, and soft black Italian loafers."

(I don't think it is a coincidence that his number 1 rock and roll song is ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man".

Let’s talk about the mystery:

• Avoiding spoilers, what was the crime/case being solved?

A particularly sadistic serial murderer, who rapes and scourges his male and female victims, then displays them in public areas. Very early in the story (so it isn't a spoiler), all evidence points to a bumbling rapist recently out of prison, but things quickly don't add up. The perpetrator takes pleasure in calling and toying with the press and Lucas. The story contains adequate twists and turns, and prevents us from easily determining the killer.

• Does the title of your book relate to the crime?

I suppose so. I've always thought that the crimes and the titles of the books can be a bit of a stretch in this series. I guess there are lots of "broken" bones, and of course, what bad guy isn't "broken" in one form or fashion?

Who was your favorite supporting character, good or evil?

Lucas Davenport aside (he will always be my favorite), I really liked Ruffe Ignace, a journalist who is always on the make. He is described as "short, big-nosed, red-haired, pugnacious, intense, loud, never wrong, willing to bend any ethical rule, and three years out of journalism school". He is always buzzing quietly to himself, with bits of commentary on his surroundings and passersby, possible leads, song lyrics, and what he might do over the weekend, called the "Ruffe Radio". He is obnoxious but has moxie. Sanford HAS to have based this character on someone he knows. He is too larger-than-life to be a figment of an author's creative reservoir.

What was your favorite scene or quote?

My favorite part of this book, and the reason I chose to re-read it, was the ongoing banter between Lucas and his friends about the list of rock and roll songs. They are all in an uproar about it. They debate, they rant and rave, they rage because the Beatles aren't on the list, they doubt its credibility, they bring up songs that have been omitted. For someone like me, who is a fan of all things rock and roll AND a fan of the crime thriller series, this is like having my cake and eating it too.

Finally, how do you envision Lucas Davenport? If he were to be portrayed in a movie, what celebrity would play him?

This was really hard! Lucas has dark salt & pepper hair, is attractive in a dangerous kind of way, with mesmerizing eyes and lots of sharp edges. He isn't necessarily buff, but strong and agile enough to kick butt or chase someone down if necessary. Here are some possibilities:

Michael Madsen










Clive Owen (why not, right?)









Daniel Craig, but with dark, salt & pepper hair

Have you read any of the Prey novels? As with most series, it is possible to pick any one of them up and read it independent of the others. But it means so much more if you read them in order. You get to know the history of all the main characters, you develop an understanding of all their emotional baggage, of how Lucas received each and every one of his scars, and how he met and married Weather. The books do have language, which is inherent with stories involving police. Some can be rather gory and some can be sexually explicit (Broken Prey was both).

I would like to thank TLC Book Tours for this wonderful opportunity! Please make sure you visit the official Days of Prey Blog Tour to check out reviews of all the books in the series.