A serial killer is at work, and this one leaves notes behind with his victims: the notes each detail a single rule that he has about his murders - e.g. don't kill anyone you know; don't establish any discernible pattern, etc.. But Lucas has a hunch that there is something that the victims have in common, and starts to feed information about the case to a TV news reporter based on the hunch that the killer will focus on her...

Davenport in this book seemed somehow less cool and in control than I'm used to. Checking, this turns out to be the very first "Prey" book, and I think that it shows, in that Davenport's character isn't fully developed. He's still good, and the book is still worth reading, but it does have a noticeably different feel to it. It does explain the background to the birth of his child though, who is referenced in later books.

The story is a good one, and there are some gripping moments in it - notably when they almost catch the killer after Lucas's strategy pays off and he comes after the TV reporter. Worth reading again.

Completed : 8-Jun-2007

Read again in 2014, in my project to listen to all the audiobooks in order.

This is the first Prey book and, according to the afterword by Sandford, it wasn't anticipated as the first in a series. Although when re-reading it, I assumed it was, because he seems to be setting the scene for lots of potential interest in subsequent stories, such as his love of poetry, friendship with El, game-playing, and relationship with Jen.

I was reading The Fool's Run more-or-less at the same time as this book: both appear to have been written around the same time, but this is loads better than that. But there are some common aspects to the plot: at least, in both books the way you break into someone's house when you're not sure if anyone's in is that you phone the house from a callbox, then leave the phone off the hook so that when you get to the house you can still hear it ringing from inside.

Enjoyed it.

Completed: 29-Jan-2014